This award is an international travel grant to the American Rock Mechanics Association Foundation (ARMA/F) to support the U.S. delegate to the 2011 and 2012 International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) Council meetings and symposia. For 2011 and 2012, the U.S. delegate is Peter Smeallie, the executive director of ARMA and the ARMA/F. In 2012, the delegation will be expanded to include the ISRM Vice President for North America who at that time will be a delegate from the United States. Mr. Smeallie serves on the ISRM Council and represents the interests of the U.S. rock mechanics community. The U.S. delegate will attend the ISRM Council and Commission meetings, as appropriate, in Beijing in 2011 and in Stockholm in 2012.
The presence of the US delegation will enhance US geo-engineering and rock mechanics by providing an international perspective on important issues currently being addressed by ISRM, such as international underground research laboratories, radioactive waste disposal, rock testing methods, application of geophysics in rock mechanics, and post-mining rock mechanics. The ISRM meetings, at which up to 46 nations participate, will also allow the opportunity to generate international interest in U.S. rock mechanics research and education. US participation in the activities of ISRM has a direct impact on issues of national importance through collaborative alliances fostered by the international society. These areas include resource exploration and production, national security issues, environmental considerations, and civil infrastructure systems through advances in tunneling and excavation technologies.
The grant is to support international travel to the annual council meetings of the International Society for Rock Mechanics. The ISRM is a non-profit scientific association supported by the fees of the members and grants. The objectives of the Society are: to encourage international collaboration and exchange of ideas and information among rock mechanics practitioners; to encourage teaching, research, and advancement of knowledge in rock mechanics; to promote high standards of professional practice among rock engineers so that civil, mining and petroleum engineering works might be safer, more economic and less disruptive to the environment. Significant results emerging from the ISRM Council meetings: Commissions: Reports were presented on the activities of the ISRM Commissions. The following Commissions are now active: Application of Geophysics to Rock Engineering; Preservation of Ancient Sites; Testing Methods; Mine Closure; Rock Engineering Design Methodology; Radioactive Waste Disposal; Rock Dynamics; Education; and Spalling. Reports were also presented by five Commissions that are now starting their activities: Underground Research Laboratory Networking; Petroleum Geomechanics; Hard Rock Excavations; Coupled THCM Processes in Geological Materials and Systems; and Crustal Stress and Earthquakes. The ISRM Digital Library is fully operational. It contains the papers and keynote lectures published in the ISRM Congresses and sponsored Symposia, thus giving them a greater visibility and making them available to all the rock mechanics professionals. The ISRM digital library has now 4,000 papers published in 21 conferences, and these numbers will to continue to increase. Communication: The ISRM website is the main source of information about the Society and most benefits are offered to the members in a password-protected members’ area. The digital newsletter is distributed 4 times per year and includes news about the society and other news related to rock mechanics. Modernization: Initiatives that were accomplished by the ISRM Board include the launch of the digital library, the new and more productive operation of the Commissions, the revised ISRM News Journal, the launch of digital Newsletter, the upgrade of the website, the ISRM series of downloadable lectures, and the videos for the election of the President and of the Vice Presidents.
