 Message from the PresidentFollowing a difficult year in 2020 due to Covid-19, we all also continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic in this year. Last year we could not have imagined how the world would respond to the fight against Covid-19. But now a rapid increase in the rate of vaccination with the determination and dedication of the scientists in the world and the measures seriously taken by many countries against the pandemic give us great hopes to achieve better conditions on the way back to normality. Therefore, in these difficult days, ISRM also continued the use of techniques, such as video conferences, webinars and similar tools, for the communication with its members and continuation of its activities. I am glad to update you on the news and activities in our society that are summarized in the following paragraphs. Since April, the Board continued to work on the planned issues and became in constant dialogue with the organizing committees of the ISRM events planned in 2021. The organizing committee of EUROCK 2021, the ISRM international symposium, that will be held in Turin, Italy, has been working hard to guarantee an event in presence but unfortunately, the pandemic situation and its resolution is still uncertain, and therefore, they had to evaluate the possibility of guaranteeing the conference online via live links and downloadable recordings. 5th Early Carrier Forum postponed to this year will also be held in this event. As ISRM, we would like to show our deep appreciation for the kind work of the Organizing Committee and of the Italian National Group for Rock Mechanics, who did everything they could to go ahead with the organization of this event. |
 ISRM International Symposium Eurock 2021 programmeDear rock mechanics colleagues, the Eurock 2021 organization is moving forward: we are now in the phase of receiving and reviewing the final version of the papers, more than 200 papers from Europe and around the world were proposed. Among the 14 topics the most numerous are "Rock mass characterization" and "Rock properties and testing methods". We remind that all papers will be Open Access publication and all articles are free to be read and downloaded in perpetuity. The Editor will send all papers to the indexing services such as Scopus EI Compendex and Inspec (please note as a proceedings journal EES is not assigned an Impact Factor) and that the creation of hyperlinked references and tracking of future citations is forecasted. We confirm that the opening lectures that will be held by prof. John Cosgrove and John Harrison and the keynotes lectures held by prof. Tatiana Rotonda, Michel Alber, Leandro Alejano and Carlos Carranza Torres. The event will then be enriched by the awards ceremony and related presentations of two winners, respectively for the year 2020 and 2021 of the Rocha medals and of the Franklin lecture. To remember our past reference colleagues a tribute session will be dedicate to Prof. Giovanni Barla. As many of you may know, the conference will be online due to the uncertainties about travelling difficulties that are still worrying all of us. Since a different kind of scheduling is suggested in case of online event we have decided to reschedule Eurock 2021 as follows:
To avoid possible connection problems only a certain number of events will be live and in particular:
The paper presentations will be organised in live sessions, divided by topics or groups of topics. Each session includes:
For more information visit the conference website (https://eurock2021.com). We are really sorry not being able to have all of you here in Turin but we really hope to being able to have an interesting conference with your precious contribution.
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34th ISRM online lecture by Prof. Doug Stead For the 34th ISRM Online Lecture the ISRM invited Professor Doug Stead, from Simon Fraser University, B.C, Canada . The title of the lecture was "Rock Slope Engineering: A Combined Remote Sensing-Numerical Modelling Approach". It was broadcast on 24 June 2021, and will remain available on the online lectures dedicated webpage.Dr. Stead began his career in geotechnical engineering in 1978 working on rock and soil slope stability at Nchanga Open Pit in the Zambian Copperbelt, Africa. This was immediately followed by periods working in engineering geology and rock mechanics consulting in the UK and Hong Kong. In 1984, after obtaining his PhD at the University of Nottingham, investigating rock slope stability in UK surface coal mining he was appointed Lecturer in Applied Geology at the University of Papua New Guinea and then in 1986 Assistant Professor in Geological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. From 1996-2000 he was Chair in Geotechnical Engineering Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, UK. In 2000, he returned to Canada where he was Chair in Resource Geotechnics until June 2021. His research has focussed on experimental rock mechanics (brittle fracture and acoustic emission), open pit and underground geomechanics and rock slope engineering, Current research emphasises the applications of numerical modelling, remote sensing, and most recently mixed-virtual reality visualisation in rock engineering. Dr. Stead has received several awards for his contributions to geotechnical engineering from the Canadian Geotechnical Society, CGS, including the societies most prestigious award the RH Legget Medal (2017), the John Franklin Award for contributions to Canadian rock mechanics (2009) and the Thomas Roy Award for engineering geology, (2008). He was also awarded the Engineering Institute of Canada, John B. Stirling Medal (2019) for his leadership and services to geotechnical engineering. Dr. Stead has authored over 300 technical papers on engineering geology and rock engineering. He has delivered numerous keynote presentations and has been selected as the Fall 2021 CGS Cross Canada Lecturer. He was co-author with Dr. Loren Lorig of the chapter on numerical modelling in the textbook "Rock Slope Engineering, 2017 5th edition" by Dr Duncan Wyllie and was co-editor with Dr. John Clague of the book "Landslides: Types, mechanisms and modelling". Dr. Stead served as both ISRM Vice-President for North America and Chair of the ISRM Technical Commissions Oversight Committee (2015-19), He is Past Vice-President Technical for the Canadian Geotechnical Society and Past President of the Canadian Geoscience Council. Dr. Stead is a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter, UK and Affiliate Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Stead has undertaken extensive research/consultancy on a wide range of projects in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. |
Three nominations were received for ISRM President 2023-2027  The deadline for presentation of nominations for the next ISRM President, for the term of office 2023-2027 is now over. The three candidates are:
The candidates were asked to provide videos of their background and intentions. These videos can be watched on the ISRM website, where the candidates' nomination documents are also available (https://www.isrm.net/gca/?id=1577). The election will take place at the 2021 ISRM Council meeting. |
| Three candidates to the organization of the 16th ISRM International Congress in 2027 The ISRM is pleased to announce that three valid applications were received for the organization of the 16th ISRM International Congress in 2027. The candidates are:
The applicants will make a presentation during the ISRM Council meeting 2021.The decision on the winning application will be taken during the 2022 Council meeting. |
ISRM International Symposium LARMS 2022
The 9th Latin American Rock Mechanics Symposium (LARMS IX), an International Society of Rock Mechanics International Symposium, will be held in Asuncion, Paraguay, from October 16-19, 2022.
Latin America will hold its first ISRM Symposium since 1994, under the theme "Challenges in rock mechanics: towards a sustainable development of infrastructure". Among the main topics, we will be sharing the most recent advances on:
- Rock mechanics for energy infrastructure
- Environmental and safety issues in rock engineering and mining
- Petroleum and deep reservoir engineering
- Tunneling and deep excavations in rock
- Case stories in rock engineering (interdisciplinary case stories particularly encouraged)
- Rock mass characterization
- Geophysics applied to rock engineering
- Monitoring techniques
- Numerical methods and modeling in rock mechanics
- Soft rock engineering
The symposium will be preceded by two days of short courses and workshops. Participation of young researchers and students in encouraged, as the event will hold poster and paper presentations, as well as a Rock Bowl competition.
We will also be hosting meetings of the ISRM Board, Technical Commission and Council, and will be delivering ISRM Awards.
Key dates for the event are as follows:
- Abstract submission deadline: September 30th, 2021
- Paper submission deadline: February 28th, 2022
- Event dates: October 16th to 19th, 2022
Looking forward to meeting again in Asunción!
Jose Pavon
Chairman
 ARMS11, Beijing, China, 21-25 October 2021, the 2021 ISRM Asian Regional SymposiumOn behalf of Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CSRME, ISRM NG China), we are pleased to invite you to Beijing for the 11th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium (ARMS 11), which will be held on October 21~25，2021. The theme for ARMS 11 is "Challenges and Opportunities in Rock Mechanics and Engineering". The technical program will focus on advances and innovative applied research on rock mechanics and rock engineering. It will provide a showcase of recent developments and advances in rock mechanics and innovative applications in rock engineering. It will offer an international forum for exchanging new ideas and exploring the future directions in rock mechanics and engineering. Short courses, workshops, industrial exhibitions and technical visits will also be organized. Attractive programs will be provided for young researchers and students, including the student night, poster and paper competitions. Beijing, as the capital city with a history of over 3000 years, is a unique cosmopolitan city where traditional Chinese culture has been blended seamlessly into modern living style. In Beijing, you can find a wealth of both historical relics and modern buildings. The organizing committee looks forward to welcoming you in Beijing and witnessing the great event together.Click here to visit the conference website.  The Presidents of Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering |
Eurock 2022, Helsinki, Finland, 12-15 September 2022 - call for papers
 You are invited to reunite with your colleagues on solid bedrock at the EUROCK 2022 - Rock and Fracture Mechanics in Rock Engineering and Mining in Espoo, Helsinki-region, Finland, 12 to 15 September 2022. The conference themes include but are not limited to the latest advances in rock mechanics, interesting mining and rock engineering cases, and engineering education. The conference includes parallel sessions, short courses, workshops, and excursions. The call for papers is now open, scroll down for more information!
Should the COVID-19 situation allow, the conference will be held in the Dipoli conference center in Espoo near the Aalto University campus in the Helsinki region. The touristic city of Helsinki will be at your disposal with its underground and above-ground marvels. Virtual participation with networking possibilities will be offered in parallel.
Click here to join our mailing list! (https://www.lyyti.fi/reg/eurock2022mail)
Call for papers is open! Submit your abstract to scientific or practical / technical track.
Scientific track
Scientific submissions will go through two-stage review process (abstract and full paper) and the final acceptance will be made based on the full papers. Accepted papers will be INDEXED and published via IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Full papers will also be published in the conference online programme.
Practical / technical track
Practical / Technical track will go through two-stage review process and the final acceptance will be made based on the Extended abstract. Accepted Practical / technical abstracts will be published in the conference online program, but they will not be published in the proceedings or be indexed.
Find out more and submit here! (https://www.ril.fi/en/events/eurock-2022/call-for-papers.html)
Jointly organized by Kalliomekaniikkatoimikunta (The Finnish NG of ISRM) and RIL
See you there!
Lauri Uotinen, Chair of the Scientific Committee of EUROCK 2022
Ville Raasakka, Chair of the Organizing Committee of EUROCK 2022
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New ISRM course on Monitoring Data Interpretation by Prof. Wulf Schubert
This course was recorded in 2021 by Prof. Wulf Schubert, an ISRM Fellow and Vice President at Large for the ISRM from 1999 to 2003.The course has six parts:
The ISRM courses are available to everybody during the coronavirus pandemic at https://www.isrm.net/gca/?id=912.
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| New ISRM course on Rock Mass Characterization and Monitoring based on Advanced Remote Sensing Techniques
This course was coordinated in 2021 by Prof. Leandro Alejano, from University of Vigo, Spain and ISRM Vice President for Europe. The course has an introduction and four parts.
The ISRM courses are available to everybody during the coronavirus pandemic at https://www.isrm.net/gca/?id=912.
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Part 0 - Leandro Alejano - Course Presentation
ISRM Suggested Method video on the website
 Based on the cooperation between the Laboratorio de Geotecnia (Geotechnical Laboratory) of the CEDEX (Madrid) and the ISRM Commission on Testing Methods, a new video film on the ISRM Suggested Method for Determining Direct Tensile Strength of Rock Materials (Part 1: Suggested Method for Determining Tensile Strength) was prepared and is presented on the ISRM website.These videos are made for educational purposes. New videos on other Suggested Methods will appear in the near future on the ISRM website (https://www.isrm.net/gca/index.php?id=1233).
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 ISRM Rocha Medal 2023 - nominations to be received by 31 December 2021
Nominations for the Rocha Medal 2022 are to be received by the ISRM Secretariat by 31 December 2021. The winner will be announced during the 2022 ISRM International Symposium, LARMS 2022 in Asuncion, Paraguay, and will be invited to receive the award and deliver a lecture at the ISRM International Congress in 2023. The Rocha Medal has been awarded annually by the ISRM, since 1982, for an outstanding doctoral thesis in rock mechanics or rock engineering, to honour the memory of Past President Manuel Rocha while stimulating young researchers. Besides the Rocha medal awarded to the winner, one or two runner-up certificates may also be awarded. Click here to download the announcement with details on the Rocha Medal 2023. |
| ISRM Sponsored Conferences
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