ISRM Newsletter No. 67 - Autumn 2024

Eurock2025 and ISRM International Symposium 2025, Trondheim, Norway, 16-20 June 2025

Dear ISRM community

The EUROCK 2025 conference is approaching fast, and the EUROCK 2025 Organizing Committee is working at full capacity. The abstract submission is now closed, and we are happy to announce that we have received more than 300 abstracts that are being reviewed by our Scientific Committee. We have received feedback from the reviewers that the abstracts' scientific level is generally of high quality, and we are confident that the scientific outcome of EUROCK 2025 will be great!

Otherwise, conference planning is going as planned:

  1. Our Exhibitors and Sponsors packages are now ready, and detailed information can be found at https://eurock2025.com/sponsors-and-exhibitors.
  2. Workshop planning is well underway, currently with about seven different workshops.
  3. EUROCK 2025 will host the Early Career Forum, promoting young professionals, and will also arrange Rock Bowl, a fun game of questions and answers in which teams compete to win bragging rights and glory!

Finally, we would like to brag about our seven excellent Keynotes:

  • Åsa Fransson: Is it watertight? Observations and comments related to grouting of rock mass
  • Charlie Chunlin Li: A study of the arching effect, bond strength and rock mass failure around rock anchors
  • Hongwei Huang: Machine learning for safety risk assessment on Rock Tunnel Driving
  • Jessa Vatcher: Are we in the golden age of numerical modelling?
  • Marco Barla: The design of energy tunnels for a sustainable future
  • Mark Diedrichs: Tunnelling in Rock: Engineering Geology, Rock Engineering and Observational Design in Four Dimensions
  • Thomas Marcher: The challenges of "hard soil and soft rock": an inside into this material's brittle to ductile behaviour

Please follow us at www.eurock2025.com and remember to save the following dates: 16-20 June 2025.

Hoping to see you in Trondheim!

The Eurock2025 Organizing Committee

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2024 ISRM International Symposium and ARMS13 held in New Delhi, India, 22-27 September 2024

The International Society for Rock Mechanics (India) successfully hosted the prestigious ISRM International Symposium 2024 and the 13th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium (ARMS 13) from 22 to 27 September 2024 in New Delhi, India. The event focused on the theme  “Advances in Rock Mechanics—Infrastructure Development.”

The first two days, September 22 and 23 featured well-attended workshops and short courses. During this time, the ISRM Board, Commission, and Council meetings were also conducted.

On 24 September, the symposium officially began with an inaugural session, followed by the Rocha and Franklin Lectures and a tribute to Past-President Eda Quadros. Key highlights included the 9th ISRM Early Career Forum, featuring eight young participants from Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Mongolia and India, as well as the Rock-Bowl competition, which saw participation from 13 teams comprising 36 participants representing India, Norway, South East Asia and Korea. Nine keynote lectures were delivered in plenary sessions, while additional papers were presented in parallel and poster sessions.

The symposium attracted participants from over 25 countries, with around 190 papers presented throughout the event.

Attendees were treated to a welcome reception and a banquet dinner featuring a captivating cultural performance. The event concluded with technical visits to notable sites.

Prof. Mahendra Singh
Chair of the Scientific Committee and President of ISRM India

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Dr. Jonny Rutqvist47th ISRM Online Lecture by Professor Ranjith Pathegama Gamage 

Prof. Ranjith Pathegama Gamage delivered the 47th ISRM online lecture from Monash University, Australia on 19 September at 10 A.M. UTC. The lecture title was: “Deep Geothermal Energy: A Key Player in the Sustainable Energy Mix” and it is available from the Online Lecture's page.

Prof. Ranjith Pathegama Gamage is a distinguished academic and researcher in the field of Geomechanics Engineering, currently holding a professorial position at Monash University. He obtained his BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. He then pursued his PhD at the University of Wollongong in Australia, where his research focused on multiphase flow in fractured rock media.

Prof. Ranjith began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where he served for three years. He then joined Monash University, where he is currently the Professor of Sustainable Development of Energy and Resources. He is the founder and director of Deep Earth Energy Laboratory at Monash University.

Prof. Ranjith is a leading figure in sustainability, energy innovation, and geomechanics. His research tackles key challenges in sustainability, industry innovation, energy, and climate change, including advanced carbon sequestration and geothermal energy research. He also pioneers large-scale hydrogen storage in geological formations and innovative rock-breaking technology for mineral and energy extractions. Additionally, he invented eco-green cement made from waste materials to promote sustainability and achieve carbon neutrality. He serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals, including as Editor-in-Chief of the Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources journal.

Prof. Ranjith has an impressive portfolio of over 600 peer-reviewed publications, including 1 book, 10 book chapters, and 490 journal papers spanning Earth Sciences, carbon sequestration, and energy. His commitment to academic mentorship is evident in the successful guidance of over 100 PhD graduates, including two Rocha Medallists, and 40 postdoctoral scholars.

Throughout his career, Prof. Ranjith has been honoured with numerous accolades and fellowships. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, an International Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and a member of the European Academy of Science and Arts.

All online lectures are available on this page.

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ISRM Board and Council Meetings, 22 and 23 September 2024

The ISRM held its 2024 Council meeting on 23 September in New Delhi, India, in conjunction with the 13th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium - ARMS13 and the 2024 ISRM International Symposium.

43 National Groups were represented at the Council, which was also attended by the Board members, the Past President Resat Ulusay and observers from the Commissions and the National Groups. Reports of the Board members and Board Cimmittees, as well as the forthcoming conferences were presented. Issues concerning the FedIGS were discussed

Commission meetings took place before the Council. Several well-attended courses and workshops took place during the 2 days preceding the conference.

The ISRM has a membership of approximately 9300 individual members and 167 corporate members, belonging to 61 National Groups. After two decades of continuous growth, the number of individual members has stabilized during the last two years in around 9300.

The National Groups of Morocco and Iran joined the Society during 2024.

The National Groups of Macedonia and Japan presented excellent proposals to host the 2026 ISRM International Symposium. The Council, by secret ballot, selected the proposal by Japan, in Fukuoka, from 22 to 26 November, where the Board, Council and Commission meetings of 2026 will take place.

The ISRM Board met in a physical meeting on 22 September. A detailed discussion on the past activities took place, new initiatives were discussed and decisions were taken for future activities.

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European Debate6th ISRM European Debate on 16th October

The 6th ISRM European Debate's title is "Failure criteria:  Mohr-Coulomb vs Hoek&Brown" and it will happen on 16th October at 16:00 CET time. The speakers are Joseph Labuz from University of Minnesota, USA and Ming Cai from Laurentian University, Canada. Philippe Vaskou, from France, will moderate.

The series of debates aims to stimulate communications among academics and practitioners of rock mechanics and rock engineering in Europe. It is hoped that such communications will strengthen the European rock mechanics and engineering network. The debates are held virtually, and each one will have two speakers with different perspectives on a hot rock engineering topic or a specific technical aspect of rock mechanics. One of the main aims is also to collect opinions and suggestions from the rock mechanics community.

The Organizing Committee comprises Philippe Vaskou and Muriel Gasc (Europe ISRM Vice-President).

For complete information, follow the link.

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Iran joined the ISRM

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the Iranian Society for Rock Mechanics (IRSRM) was approved by the Board as the ISRM National Group of Iran. The ISRM looks forward to welcoming our Iranian colleagues in the ISRM activities.

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ISRM Award winners were announced

During the Council meeting the ISRM awards winners were announced. The Rocha Medal Award committee selected the winner of the Rocha Medal Award 2025 and two runners-up:

  • Winner: Lucille Carbillet, from France; Université de Strasbourg, France.
  • Runner-up: Georgios Tzortzopoulos, from Greece, École Centrale de Nantes, France;
  • Runner-up: Quan Zhang, from China, China University of Mining and Technology.

The Science Achievement Award 2024 was given to Weiren Lin, from Japan, and to Pinnaduwa Kulatilake, from Sri Lanka.

The Young Rock Engineer Award 2024 was given to Gabriel Walton, from the USA.

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VietRock2024 - Hanoi, Vietnam, 26 October 2024

The Vietnamese National Congress of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering is an ISRM Specialized Conference organized by the Vietnamese Society for Rock Mechanics. It will take place on 26 October 2024 at the Institute of Geological Science, VAST, in Hanoi. The ISRM Vice President for Asia, Prof. Ki-Bok Min, will deliver a special keynote lecture.

The Symposium topics will be:

  • Physical Properties of Rocks – Testing Techniques
  • Rock Mechanics & Engineering in Petroleum Engineering
  • Rock Mechanics & Engineering in Civil Engineering and Mining
  • Rock Mechanics Applied to the Protection and Reinforcement of Global Geoparts, Ancient Sites
  • Numerical Methods in Rock Mechanics and Numerical Modeling
  • Geodynamic Hazards – Reinforcement and Prediction
  • Geo – disaster Prediction and Monitoring System
  • Application AI and IoT in Rock Mechanics and Engineering

For further information, check the conference website: https://vietrocknet.org/

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CouFrac2024 - Kyoto, Japan, 13-15 November 2024

Delving into the intricacies of coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes within fractured geological media not only provides insights into the earth's evolution but also underscores their pivotal role in myriad near-surface and subsurface activities. These include, but are not limited to, carbon sequestration, energy storage, nuclear waste disposal, geothermal exploration, and oil and gas exploitation. To truly harness and optimize these THMC processes, a blend of numerical modelling and experimental observations is paramount. This conference aims to propel scientific discoveries and refine subsurface engineering practices.

The 4th International Conference on Coupled Processes in Fractured Geological Media: Observation, Modeling, and Application (CouFrac2024) is an ISRM-sponsored Specialized Conference organized by the Japanese Society for Rock Mechanics. It will take place from 13 to 15 November 2024 at the Kyoto University Katsura Campus in Japan.

The conference, which succeeds the first held in Wuhan, China in 2018, the second held in Seoul, Korea, in 2020, and the third held in Berkeley, USA in 2022, will focus on new and exciting advances in all areas of coupled processes associated with fractured geological media, including numerical methods, in-situ tests, lab experiments, machine learning, and applications to different activities in the near-surface, subsurface, and critical zone. The conference will be held in a face-to-face format only.

Click here to visit the conference website.

We look forward to your participation!

Prof. Hideaki Yasuhara
Chair of the Local Organizing Committee

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1st ISRM Commission Conference on Estimation of Rock Mass Strength and Deformability, Lima, Peru, 6 December 2024

The Sri Lankan Rock Mechanics and Engineering Society (SLRMES) along with the Peruvian Society of Geoengineering (SPEG) invite you to participate in the First ISRM Commission Conference on Estimation of Rock Mass Strength and Deformability to be held in Lima, Peru on December 6, 2024. The main purpose of the conference is to establish the current status of the procedures available to estimate rock mass strength and deformability.

The conference will cover advances in the areas of rock mechanics and rock engineering encompassing the fields of mining, civil, geological, and petroleum engineering, and geophysics. Each session is expected to start with a Session Lead Lecture given by an expert on the session topic. The technical lectures and trade exhibition programs are organized to provide conference supporters maximum exposure and interaction with participants from universities, industry, government, and exhibitors.

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ISRM Sponsored Conferences

Click here to open the conferences webpage