ISRM Newsletter No. 73 - Spring 2026


2026 ISRM International Symposium, ARMS14 – Fukuoka, Japan, 22–27 November 2026
Over 480 Abstracts Received! Updates on Full Papers, Registration, and Scholarships

The Organizing Committee of the 14th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium (ARMS14) is pleased to share the latest progress for our symposium in Fukuoka, Japan, from November 22 to 27, 2026.

1. Call for Full Papers – To All Accepted Abstract Authors
We are excited to announce that we have received over 480 abstract submissions from around the globe. To all authors whose abstracts have been accepted: please ensure you submit your Full Paper by the deadline of April 30, 2026. We look forward to including your high-quality research in the symposium proceedings.

2. Registration – Opening in Mid-April
The online registration portal is scheduled to open in mid-April 2026. The Early Bird Discount will be available until September 22, 2026. We encourage you to register early to take advantage of the reduced rates.

3. Pre- and Post-Symposium Events
A variety of professional and technical programs are being prepared: • Short Courses: A total of 7 Short Courses will be held on November 22 and 23 (the two days preceding the main symposium). • Technical Tour: A dedicated Technical Tour is planned for November 27 (Friday) to visit a major rock engineering site in Japan. Further details of these events will be updated on our official website.

4. ARMS14 Scholarship Program
To encourage the participation of the next generation and researchers from developing countries, we are establishing a Scholarship Program. The Selection Criteria are:

  • Applicants must be under 38 years of age as of November 26, 2026.
  • Must be the first author of a paper submitted to ARMS14.
  • Must be an individual member of ISRM.
  • Must have completed symposium registration and payment.
  • Must attend the symposium in person in Fukuoka. Recipients will be selected from the pool of eligible applicants. Please check our website for application procedures.

For the latest information, please visit the ARMS14 official website.

We look forward to seeing you in Fukuoka!

ARMS14 Organizing Committee

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

Volume 28 - 2025 of the ISRM News Journal is now online

The 2025 issue of the ISRM News Journal is available on the website. It reports the ISRM activities in 2025, announces future events and presents technical articles. The electronic version of the News Journal is distributed to all members, and printed copies are available at our sponsored symposia.

You will find information about the Board and Council meetings, the President's and Vice President's reports on the ISRM activities, the Secretary-General's report on the evolution of ISRM National Groups and ISRM's membership in recent years, the ISRM Awards, reports of the Technical Oversight, Education Fund, Young Members and Communication Committees, the Online Lectures, commission work, the annual review, conference announcements and reports, and many other articles of interest for the rock mechanics community.

Six technical articles are included in this issue:

  • the Franklin Lecture 2025 delivered by Dr Charalampos Saroglou from Greece;
  • the Rocha Medal presentation by Dr Lucille Carbillet from France, winner of the Rocha Medal 2025;
  • the paper of the winner of the Young Rock Engineer Award, Dr Ignacio Pérez Rey, from Spain;
  • the papers of the winners of the Technical Innovation Award, the Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan.

Click here to read the News Journal directly on our website, or download it.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

53rd ISRM Online Lecture by Marc Diederichs broadcast on 19 March 2026

The 53rd ISRM Online Lecture was given by Dr Mark Diederichs from Canada. The topic of the lecture was "Putting Geology Back in the Numbers – The Role of Engineering Geology in Rock Engineering and Risk Mitigation". It was broadcast on 19 March. The recording remains available on the ISRM Online Lectures webpage.

Dr Mark Diederichs is a Professor Emeritus of Geological Engineering at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Canada, and President of Innovative Geomechanics Inc., in Kingston, Canada.

Dr. Diederichs has, for over 35 years, provided practical solutions to rock mechanics problems and rock engineering challenges. Within that time, he has also spent 25 years in the academic world as a professor of Geological Engineering, training over 12,000 undergraduate engineers and geologists and has supervised over 100 research graduate students in rock mechanics and rock engineering.

In his research and teaching role, he has taught 25 different undergraduate and graduate course titles ranging from structural geology to introductory and advanced engineering design, to field techniques and field mapping, to rock mechanics, to engineering geology, to advanced rock engineering, and to numerical analysis in geomechanics. As a result, he has won numerous teaching and supervision awards from Queen’s University and the Faculty of Engineering.

He has published 450 refereed articles in these same fields and has been awarded numerous research and impact honours including the Rocha Medal from the ISRM, the Franklin Rock Mechanics and Thomas Roy Engineering Geology Awards as well as the CGS Colloquium Lecture, Hardy Lecture, and Cross Canada Lecturer Honours from the Canadian Geotechnical Society. He has been inducted as a Fellow into the Engineering Institute of Canada, The Canadian Engineering Institute, The American Rock Mechanics Association and, recently, the Royal Society of Canada. He has delivered 35 keynote and invited lectures around the world and delivered 25 international rock mechanics and rock engineering short courses and workshops.

As a geological engineer and rock engineering consultant, Dr. Diederichs has worked on six continents providing guidance, expertise and review on a wide range of rock engineering projects including high stress mining and rockburst mitigation, open stope and caving.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

10th Latin American Rock Mechanics Symposium (LARMS 2026) – Brasilia, Brazil, 26–28 August 2026

The Brazilian Committee for Rock Mechanics (CBMR) is pleased to invite the international community to the 10th Latin American Rock Mechanics Symposium (LARMS 2026), to be held from 26 to 28 August 2026 in Brasília, Brazil.

Under the theme “Rock Mechanics for a Sustainable Future: Innovating in Mining, Energy, and Infrastructure,” the symposium will bring together researchers, practitioners, and industry leaders to discuss the role of rock mechanics in addressing major global challenges, including sustainability, energy transition, and resilient infrastructure. The event will highlight both emerging technologies—such as digitalization and artificial intelligence—and traditional core topics in rock mechanics, fostering integration between academia and industry.

As part of its advancing technical program, LARMS 2026 is pleased to announce its first confirmed keynote speakers, representing leading institutions and industry worldwide. Professor Manchao He, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the State Key Laboratory for Tunnel Engineering at the China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), is internationally recognized for his contributions to rock mechanics, particularly in landslide prediction, large deformation control in rock masses, and innovation in mining technologies.

Dr. Luís Lamas, Principal Researcher and Head of the Rock Mechanics and Modelling Unit at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), Portugal, has also been confirmed. He has served as Secretary-General of the ISRM since 2003 and currently coordinates the expert group responsible for the revision of Eurocode 7 on Rock Engineering, playing a key role in bridging research and engineering practice.

Another distinguished speaker is Esteban Hormazábal, Executive Director and Corporate Rock Mechanics Consultant at SRK Consulting (Chile), and ISRM Vice President for Latin America. With more than 30 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics, and instrumentation, he has contributed extensively to the development of applied solutions in mining and infrastructure projects.

LARMS 2026 will be held in conjunction with the XXII Brazilian Congress on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, one of the largest geotechnical events in Latin America, which gathered more than 2,000 participants in its last edition. This joint event will provide a unique platform for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration.

Brasília, the capital of Brazil and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is internationally renowned for its modernist architecture designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa. The city offers excellent infrastructure, convenient international access, and a pleasant climate in August, creating ideal conditions for both technical discussions and networking.

We warmly invite you to join us in Brasília and be part of this important event, contributing to the advancement of rock mechanics and its role in building a more sustainable and resilient future.

For more information, please visit the conference website.

Marcos Massao Futai
Chair of the Organizing Committee

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

ISRM Regional Symposium EUROCK 2026 – Skopje, N. Macedonia, 15–19 September 2026

We are pleased to share exciting updates about the ISRM Regional Symposium – EUROCK 2026, which will take place from 15–19 September 2026 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

The global rock mechanics community has shown remarkable interest, with more than 300 abstracts already submitted and over 350 participants registered on the abstract and paper submission platform. We are also seeing strong engagement from industry, with numerous international and domestic companies participating in the industrial exhibition and with paper contributions.

EUROCK 2026 will focus on Risk Management in Rock Engineering, bringing together global case studies, technological innovations, and interdisciplinary dialogue. In addition to the scientific sessions, the symposium will feature short courses, workshops, technical tours, ROCKBOWL competition (application for teams will open in March), and a dynamic industrial exhibition, as well as a dedicated accompanying persons program.

We encourage participants to take advantage of the reduced registration rates for early bird and group registrations, and secure their place early for what promises to be a major international gathering of the rock mechanics community.

Key Dates & Information:

We warmly invite engineers, researchers, academics, consultants, students, and industry partners to join us in Skopje for a scientifically enriching and culturally memorable event in the heart of the Balkans.

Warm regards,
The EUROCK 2026 Organizing Committee

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

Join ISRM2027, the 16th ISRM International Congress in Seoul, October 2027 – Call for abstracts opening soon

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to inform you that preparations for the 16th ISRM International Congress on Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM 2027), to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea (October 16–23, 2027), are progressing steadily, and are pleased to share several significant updates.

Call for Abstracts – Opening Soon

The Call for Abstracts for ISRM 2027 will be opening soon. We strongly encourage researchers and professionals worldwide to submit their abstracts and actively participate on the congress. All abstract submitters will be considered for awards, and selected contributions will be invited for publication in Special Issues of leading international journals in the field. ISRM 2027 will provide an excellent platform for sharing innovative research, exchanging ideas, and advancing knowledge in rock mechanics and rock engineering.

Honorary International Advisory Committee – Invitation to Global Leaders

The Organizing Committee is currently inviting distinguished experts in rock mechanics and rock engineering from around the world to serve on the Honorary International Advisory Committee (Chair: Professor Resat Ulusay, Immediate Past President of ISRM). This initiative aims to bring together globally recognized leaders in the field, whose knowledge and experience will contribute to making ISRM 2027 a truly exceptional and impactful congress. We warmly encourage all ISRM members to take great interest in this unique gathering of leading experts from across the global rock engineering community.

3rd DECOVALEX Coupled Processes Symposium Embedded in ISRM 2027

The 3rd International DECOVALEX Symposium will be embedded within the ISRM 2027 program, further enriching the congress with in-depth scientific discussions. The symposium will highlight the outcomes of the DECOVALEX-2027 international collaboration (2023–2027), focusing on advancing the understanding and numerical simulation of coupled THMC processes in geological systems.

We are also pleased to note the strong interest expressed by leading companies in sponsoring and exhibiting their innovative technologies and services, which will further enrich the Congress and provide valuable insights into the latest advancements in the industry.

To stay updated on Congress developments, we invite you to visit the official website and follow us on LinkedIn.

ISRM 2027 is shaping up to be a landmark event for the global rock mechanics and rock engineering community. We look forward to your active participation and contributions.

ISRM 2027 Organizing Committee

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

GeoEng2030 – Call for bids launched

The four FedIGS societies—ISSMGE, ISRM, IAEG, and IGS—will join forces for GeoEng2030, a landmark joint meeting to be held in 2030.

FedIGS is committed to transparency and the highest standards of professional ethics. For this reason, FedIGS published clear bid guidelines outlining the full selection process, including voting procedures. These guidelines have already been sent to the National Groups of all FedIGS member societies. Applicants are required to submit their bids according to the specified timetable, and the successful bid will be selected through a vote of the FedIGS Board at the beginning of 2027.

The decision to organize GeoEng 2030 builds on the precedent set by GeoEng 2000, held in Melbourne, Australia—a remarkable conference that fostered closer collaboration and coordination among the leading societies in geo-engineering. That event laid the groundwork for discussions that eventually led to the formation of the Federation of International Geo-Engineering Societies (FedIGS).

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

Swedish added to the ISRM Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering Glossary

The ISRM Glossary assembles a list of approximately 1000 Rock Mechanics terms translated by the ISRM National Groups from an original list in English into their national languages. We thank the Swedish National Group for the translation, which is now available at the ISRM Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering Glossary. 

The glossary is currently available in 19 languages: Chinese, English, Finnish, French, German, Korean, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Mongolian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. Translation into several other languages is still going on and they will be added to the glossary in the future.

Click to open the ISRM Glossary.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

Two ISRM Young Members' Seminars promoted in the first quarter of 2026 – watch them on the YouTube channel

Two Young Members' Seminars were promoted in the first quarter of 2026.

The seminar on 15 January featured expert presentations on underground engineering topics, including deep tunnelling, underground reservoirs, and fractured rock mass behaviour by young members coming from France and Italy. Click here to download the program.

The seminar on 31 March featured expert presentations on tunnel digital twins, carbon storage, experimental rock mass behaviour and soft rock masses by young members coming from Brazil, USA, Chile and Costa Rica. Click here to download the program.

These Young Members' Seminars, as well as all the previous ones, can be watched on the ISRM Young Members YouTube channel.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

TuniRock 2026, International Conference on Advances in Rock Mechanics – Hammamet, Tunisia, 9–12 April 2026

Preparations for TuniRock 2026, an ISRM Specialized Conference, proceed smoothly according to the established timeline.

The scientific excellence of the event is guaranteed by a committee of 32 international experts briefed on the peer-review process and the confirmation of five world-renowned keynote speakers: Prof. Seokwon Jeon, Prof. Sergio Fontoura, Prof. Muriel Gasc, Prof. Pinnaduwa Kulatilake and Prof. Rick Chalaturnyk. Beyond the main sessions, a specialized workshop titled "Cutting-Edge Advances and Benchmarking in Geological Sequestration: CO₂ and Hydrogen Capture, Utilization, and Storage" will be conducted by Prof. Jun Liu and Prof. Rick Chalaturnyk.

Marketing efforts are also yielding results, with a fully operational website. The social and technical program includes a gala dinner designed to showcase Tunisia's cultural heritage and a confirmed field trip to the Sidi Bou Said cliff to study its specific stability challenges. 

A significant academic opportunity is available as the best high-quality papers will be considered for a special "TUNIROCK2026" issue of the Geological Journal (Wiley), guest-edited by a distinguished team including Prof. Essaieb Hamdi, Prof. Rick Chalaturnyk, Prof. Jun Liu, Dr. Kais Ben Abdallah, Dr. Lang Liu, and Dr. Salma Souissi, with a final submission deadline for this special issue set for June 30, 2026, welcoming extended conference papers.

For more detailed information visit the conference website.

Prof. Essaieb HAMDI, Chairman of TuniRock 2026

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

LaRGE 2026, Landslide, Risk and Geo-Education Risk – Queenstown, New Zealand, 27 April–3 May 2026

The New Zealand Geotechnical Society is delighted to invite you to the First International Joint Workshop of Joint Technical Committee 1 and Joint Technical Committee 3 of the Federation on International Geo-engineering Societies (FedIGS) on Landslide Risk Assessment, Communication and Geo-education. We will share the latest research and develop best practice guidelines in the stunning New Zealand city of Queenstown.

This landmark international event unites JTC1 and JTC3 to advance landslide risk assessment, education, communication, and outreach – creating a unique opportunity to make a real change, and will be attended by leading experts from around the world.

Our confirmed keynote and panel speakers include Nicola Casagli, Tim Davies, Manchao He, Xuanmei Fan, Dave Petley, Janus Wasowski, Ann Williams, Jean Hutchinson, Gonghui Wang, Jo Horrocks, Lori Peek, Reginald Hermanns and Sally Potter. The Hutchinson Lecture, established by JTC1 in 2017 to honor the outstanding scientific contributions of Professor John Hutchinson (1926–2011), will be given by Yifei Cui.

Our theme “Landslide Risk and Geo-Education” unifies the full lifecycle of landslide risk management. It encompasses the need to educate the next generation of landslide risk managers, to robustly understand landslide risk, and to communicate that risk to the public and decision makers so that real change is implemented.

For more detailed information visit the conference website.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

CouFrac 2026 – Uppsala, Sweden, 20–23 September 2026

We are pleased to announce CouFrac 2026, the 5th International Conference on Coupled Processes in Fractured Geological Media: Observation, Modeling, and Application, to be held 20 to 23 September 2026 in Uppsala, Sweden.

This ISRM Specialized Conference will bring together researchers, engineers, and practitioners working on coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in fractured geological media, a topic of growing importance for carbon sequestration, geothermal energy, nuclear waste disposal, underground energy storage, hydrocarbon recovery, groundwater management, and mining engineering.

CouFrac2026 provides a dynamic platform for sharing the latest advances in fundamental process understanding, computational methods, laboratory studies, in-situ testing, and practical applications across scales, from near-surface to deep subsurface environments. The conference builds on successful previous editions held in Wuhan (2018), Seoul (2020), Berkeley (2022), and Kyoto (2024).

The conference will take place in person at Uppsala University’s historic main building, offering an inspiring setting for scientific exchange and collaboration. More details can be found in the conference website: https://www.coufrac2026.com.

We invite companies and organisations to support the conference through sponsorship. CouFrac provides an excellent opportunity for industry partners to present technologies, software, and services, and to connect with researchers and practitioners working on rock mechanics and subsurface engineering. Details of the available sponsorship packages can be found here: https://www.coufrac2026.com/sponsorship.

We look forward to welcoming you to Uppsala in 2026!

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

6th ICITG – Graz, Austria, 13–16 October 2026

The 6th International Conference on Information Technology in Geo-Engineering (6th ICITG) will be held from 13 to 16 October 2026 in Graz (Austria). It will be an arena to discuss all topics related to the ongoing digital transformation in Geo-Engineering. Case studies of IT in Geo-Engineering, integration of digital systems (Scan2BIM, BIM2FEM, etc.), benchmark datasets, information modelling, monitoring technology and artificial intelligence are some of the focus topics of the 6th ICITG.

The 6th ICITG is co-organized by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and the Graz University of Technology under the auspices of the Joint Technical Committee 2 (JTC2) on “Representation of Geo-Engineering Data” of the Federation of International Geo-Engineering Societies - FedIGS.

For more detailed information visit the conference website.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

Slope Stability 2026, Slope for Safety Performance – Lima, Peru, 26–29 October 2026

The 10th edition of the International Symposium on Slope Stability will be held from 26 to 29 October 2026 at the Lima Convention Centre, as an ISRM Specialized Conference.

The organiser is the Large Open Pit (LOP), an industry-sponsored international research and technology transfer initiative launched in April 2005 to address the industry-wide need to improve understanding of rock slope failure in open-pit mines (www.lopproject.com).

The local organisers are the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP), which has established itself as a technical and proactive leader for the development of mining in Peru, and the Peruvian Society of Geoengineering (SPEG), the ISRM National Group of Peru.

Visit the Slope Stability 2026 website for more information on the event.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

10th Conference of the Croatian Geotechnical Society – Split, Croatia, 12–14 November 2026

The 10th Conference of the Croatian Geotechnical Society: Geotechnical Engineering in Soft Rocks and Heterogeneous Rock Masses—an ISRM Specialized Conference—will take place in Split, Croatia, 12–14 November 2026. The venue is the Hotel Radisson Blu, Split.

THE CITY OF SPLIT, the second biggest in Croatia, on the rocky Adriatic coast, between the mountains and the islands, still cherishes the palace of Roman Emperor Diocletian, built in the year 303, enriched through exciting centuries into a pleasant city with parks, beaches, galleries, theatres, and famously passionate citizens.

The conference topics are:

  • Engineering behaviour of soft rock and heterogeneous rock masses
  • Site investigation, testing and engineering geological models
  • Analysis and numerical modelling in soft rocks and complex ground
  • Slopes, excavations and ground stability in soft rocks and weathered rock masses
  • Underground structures and foundations in soft rocks and difficult ground conditions
  • Construction practice, monitoring, risk and case histories

Abstract submission deadline is 15 April and full papers should be submitted by 1 September.

Click here to download the official First Announcement, where you can find all the key information about the conference.

Click here for additional details on the conference.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

Review of the 1st International Conference on Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, Mexico

The “First International Conference on Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering”, organized by the Mexican Society of Geotechnical Engineering (SMIG) and the Mexican Association of Tunnel and Underground Works Engineering (AMITOS), also with the collaboration of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM), and the International Association of Tunnels and Underground Spaces (ITA-AITES), was successfully held on 19-20 March at the Jose Luis Sanchez Bribiesca auditorium hall of the Engineering Tower, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in Mexico City.

This event presented advances, research and practices on relevant topics and brought together national and international specialists and professionals with recognized experience, namely: R. Ulusay (Turkiye), S. Fontoura (Brazil), L. Alejano (Spain), M. Manica (Mexico), C. Carranza – Torres (USA), A. Samaniego (Peru), E. Hormazabal (Chile) and A. Marulanda (Colombia).

The sessions highlighted the complexity and importance of carrying out a detailed characterization of rock masses, namely discontinuities, and discussed the variables that have the greatest influence on the behavior and stability of any infrastructure and/or mining project.

Regarding topics such as geotechnical design and numerical modeling, although significant progress has been made, these still face major challenges associated with defining representative parameters, sometimes intangible, and the inherent complexity of incorporating rock masses to model the behavior of the ground.

Issues related to the characterization of sedimentary and igneous formations for deep geomechanics were presented. Finally, it is worth highlighting the presentation on integrated and multifunctional approaches that ensure that, by aligning technical considerations, environmental and social factors, would allow for improved decision-making and underground space planning to reduce long-term risks.

The event was well attended by students, teachers, suppliers and professionals in the fields of geology, geotechnics and mining, who exchanged opinions, knowledge and experiences, which allowed them to understand the current context and trends in rock mechanics and rock engineering.

Go to the top of the Newsletter.

ISRM Sponsored Conferences

Click here to open the conferences webpage