17th PAN-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON SOIL MECHANICS AND GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

2nd LATIN-AMERICAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF IAEG

La Serena • Chile • 2024

November 12-16

2024

cordially invited to participate

Dear colleagues: On behalf of the Chilean Geotechnical Society (SOCHIGE), you are cordially invited to participate in the 17th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (XVII PCSMGE) and 2nd Latin-American Regional Conference of the International Association of Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG) to be held in La Serena, Chile in November 2024. We are delighted to organize this event, for the second time, after hosting it back in 1991.

With an average width of 180 kilometers and a length of about 5000 kilometers, Chile is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the majestic Andes Mountains to the east. These characteristics result in a country with a wide variety of climates and vegetation, as well as both soil and rock conditions along its territory. As part of the Circum-Pacific Belt, Chile is one of the great seismically active regions in the world, which is of particular interest to geoscientists and geotechnical engineers worldwide.

The Panamerican congress will serve as a unique platform for dissemination of knowledge and fruitful interactions among researchers and practitioners from different generations and nationalities. We are excited to keep growing as a community and your attendance is essential to the success of this conference. We look forward to receiving you in our country!

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REGISTRATION

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Key dates

Conference - November 2024

• Tuesday 12th: Workshops / Short courses / Registration / Opening

• Wednesday 13th – Friday 15th: Conference

• Saturday 16th: Technical visits / Side Activities

Papers

• Deadline for abstract submission: 31st August 2023

• Notification of abstract acceptance: October 30th, 2023

• Draft paper submission deadline: February 29th, 2024

• Notification of paper acceptance: May 31st, 2024

• Final paper due: July 31st, 2024

Conference Themes

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Edgar Bard (Chile)

Carlos Ovalle (Chile/Canada)

Bernardo Caicedo (Colombia)

Alexandra Ossa (Mexico)

Heraldo Giacheti (Brasil)

  • Lab and in situ testing

  • Physical and constitutive soil modeling

  • Unsaturated soils

  • Soft soils

  • Residual and saprolitic soils

  • Rockfill

  • Soil geochemistry

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

José Campaña (Chile)

Juan Manuel Pestana (Venezuela/USA)

Miguel Manica (Mexico)

Werner Bilfinger (Brasil)

  • Numerical modeling

  • Seismic analysis of natural soil deposits and geotechnical structures

  • Mining structures

  • Talings dams

  • Infrastructure and transport works

  • Foundation of buildings and large works

  • Transportation geotechnics 

  • Monitoring and observational method

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Juan Manuel Fernandez (Chile)

Mario Terceros (Bolivia)

Walter Paniagua (México)

Mauricio Sales (Brasil)

  • Soil improvement

  • Use of geosynthetics

  • Special foundations

  • Rehabilitation of geotechnical structures

  • Advances in instrumentation and sensing systems

  • New image-based technologies in geotechnics

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Sergio Sepúlveda (Chile – Canada)

Stella Moreiras (Argentina)

Victor Hernández-Madrigal (México)

  • Engineering Geology

  • Environmental Geology and Geotechnics

  • Applied Hydrogeology and Water Resources

  • Rock Mechanics and applications

  • Geohazards remote sensing and monitoring

  • Geologic hazard and risk assessment, and territorial planning

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Cesar Pasten (Chile)

Douglas Cortés (USA)

Marta Miletic (USA-Canada)

Joan Larrahondo (Colombia)

Yolanda Alberto (Chile-Mexico-Canadá)

Renato Pinto da Cunha (Brasil)

  • Energy geotechnics

  • Geotechnical uncertainty

  • Biogeotechnics 

  • Machine learning and big data in geotechnics

  • Sustainability and climate change

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Matías Silva (Chile)

Pooneh Maghoul (Canadá)

Cristina de Hollanda Cavalcanti Tsuha (Brazil)

  • Geotechnical Engineering and sustainable development

  • Education of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering

  • Academia and practice in Geotechnical Engineering. How to diminish the gap

  • Geotechnical works and their impact on communities

Invited Lectures

Below is a list of some of the invited lectures that will be featured at the congress. More speakers and topics will be announced soon

Prof. Carlos Santamarina

Casagrande Lecture:

Prof. Carlos Santamarina

Stead, panamgeo, canada, la serena

Progress toward understanding complex rock slope failure mechanism

Prof. Doug Stead, Emeritus Professor Simon Fraser University, Canada.

Assessment of liquefaction effects on infrastructure

Prof. Katerina Ziotopoulou, Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. University of California, Davis.

andy small, panamgeo, conferencia, la serena

Dam safety review

Andy Small, PEng. Geotechnical Engineer specialized in dam safety and dam design. ICOLD and CDA leading member. Senior geotechnical consultant at Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB).

GEOTECHNICAL LESSONS LEFT BY XXI CENTURY (2000-2024) LARGE EARTHQUAKES

Ramón Verdugo, Ph.D. CMGI Ltda.

Bright Spark Lecture

The Young Member Presidential Group (YMPG), the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), and the organising committee of the Seventeenth Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (PANAMGEO 2024), invite all ISSMGE member societies to nominate their most promising young geotechnical engineers to participate in the “Bright Spark Lecture Award”. Those selected will present their work as keynote speakers at the PANAMGEO, along with a paper to be included in the proceedings of the event. The award, introduced by the ISSMGE, was created to recognise the careers of promising young engineers and academics and to give them a forum to present their work. More information about the award can be found on the ISSMGE website: https://www.issmge.org/the-society/awards/bright-spark-lecture-award.

Eligibility:

– Age 36 or under on the last day of the converence (16 November 2024)
– At least one and no more than three letters of support explaining the excellence of the candidate
– Curriculum of the candidate including full contact information at home institution
– Member of any of the North America (https://www.issmge.org/member-societies/north-america) or South America (https://www.issmge.org/member-societies/south-america) ISSMGE Societies
– To download the form, and apply sending it to info@panamgeochile2024.cl before July 31 2023!

Organizing Committee

Daniela Pollak

Daniela Pollak

Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee
Gonzalo Montalva

Gonzalo Montalva

Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee
Luis Valenzuela

Luis Valenzuela

Chair of the Scientific Committee
Sergio Sepúlveda

Sergio Sepúlveda

Chair of the 2nd Latin-American Regional IAEG Conference
Carolina Jadue

Carolina Jadue

Treasurer
Omar Núñez

Omar NÚñez

Secretary
Claudio Román

Claudio Román

Scientific Committee Coordinator
Juan Pablo Mira

Juan Pablo Mira

Administrative Coordinator
Daniela Pollak

Daniela Pollak

Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee
Gonzalo Montalva

Gonzalo Montalva

Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee
Luis Valenzuela

Luis Valenzuela

Chair of the Scientific Committee
Sergio Sepúlveda

Sergio Sepúlveda

Chair of the 2nd Latin-American Regional IAEG Conference
Carolina Jadue

Carolina Jadue

Treasurer
Omar Núñez

Omar NÚñez

Secretary
Claudio Román

Claudio Román

Scientific Committee Coordinator
Juan Pablo Mira

Juan Pablo Mira

Administrative Coordinator

STEERING COMMITTEE

Marc Ballouz

President of the ISSMGE

Walter Paniagua

ISSMGE VICE-PRESIDENT FOR NORTH AMERICA
México

André Assis

ISSMGE VICE-PRESIDENT FOR SOUTH AMERICA
Brasil

Timothy Newson

ISSMGE IMMEDIATE PAST VICE-PRESIDENT FOR NORTH AMERICA
Canada

Alejo Sfriso

ISSMGE IMMEDIATE PAST VICE-PRESIDENT FOR SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina

Juan Paulin

Secretary of the XVI Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
México

Technical Advisory Committee (in progress)

FERNANDO SCHNAID

PROFESSOR UFRGS
Brasil

ROBERTO Q. COUTINHO

PROFESSOR UFPE
Brasil

RAMÓN VERDUGO

PRINCIPAL. CMGI LTDA.
Chile

REGIONAL SUPPORT

ABSTRACTS SUBMISSION

Abstract submission guidelines are available in English and Spanish, please 

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NEWS

Technical Sponsors Exhibition

The Conference Venue will provide a functional and pleasant setting for the Technical Sponsors Exhibition. Refreshments will be served close to the exhibition site to ensure that attendees have plenty of time to visit the exhibit booths.

Should you be interested in booking a space at the conference, please feel free to reach out to us at sponsor@panamgeochile2024.cl.

Sponsors Panamgeo

PLATINUM

ISCHEBECK, PANAMGEO,LOGO
ISCHEBECK, PANAMGEO,LOGO

GOLD

MOVIL GOLD

SILVER

MOVIL_SLVER

BRONZE

GDS, LOGO, PANAMGEO
Enjoy Coquimbo

Convention Center

CONVENTION CENTER AND HEADQUARTERS HOTEL

Peñuelas Norte 56, Coquimbo, Región de Coquimbo, Chile

LA SERENA, COQUIMBO REGION, CHILE

Playa La Serena

Images and videos from Sernatur Chile (www.sernatur.cl)

Discover the virtues and surprises that the so-called “Small North” of Chile hides. Located less than 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital, Santiago (there are daily flights between the two cities), this destination offers its visitors nice weather throughout the year, extensive plantations of vineyards and fruits, and one of the clearest skies in the world for gazing at the stars. One of the favorite touristic places for Chileans – and we’re sure soon yours too – is the city of La Serena and its surrounding areas. Its beaches, coastline and outdoors, where many sports and leisure activities can be enjoyed, as well as its wide gastronomic offer, its beautiful night skies, and many more appeals, make this city a notable destination for those who would like to know the Small North of Chile.

Take advantage of the beaches of La Serena during the spring and summer, walk along the long Avenida del Mar or go shopping at Recova, the area’s most famous market and arts & crafts fair. In Coquimbo, 9 km from La Serena. you can’t miss La Herradura beach and Barrio Inglés’ nightlife. You can also try your luck at the casino. If you have a sports soul, come and enjoy the many adrenaline sports of La Serena and Coquimbo: trekking, sport fishing, surfing and paragliding are some of the activities waiting for you.

The Elqui valley is a spectacle in itself.  The Valley, deeply carved by the Elqui River (formerly called the Coquimbo River), begins only 15 km from La Serena, from where the road makes its way into the Andes Mountains. The sun shines more than 360 days a year in the Elqui Valley, a privileged climate that makes the perfect ripening of the grapes possible in order to produce the best pisco and some of the best wines of Chile. With one of the clearest skies in the southern hemisphere, several international astronomical organizations have installed their observatories here on the summits of the Pachón and the Tololo hills. But for those who love to gaze at the night sky, the spectacle of stars is visible to the naked eye or also with smaller telescopes. The Elqui Valley’s special climatic conditions, with sunny days and cold nights, as well as its fertile land and protected hillsides, make this the most exceptional wine region of northern Chile. In addition to the cultivation of grapes for the production of pisco, Syrah is the leading variety planted for the production of red wine, and Sauvignon Blanc for white wine.  Many wineries are open to the public and have wine tastings, tours of their vineyards and facilities, which can be visited entirely in a few hours. The small and sunny traditional town of Vicuña is the main city of the Elqui Valley. This is where Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet, Nobel Prize winner in 1945, was born. In addition to all these enjoyable scenarios, the Elqui Valley is known for its mystical energy. The locals say it is caused by the clarity of the skies and the direct light that comes from the stars, which translates into healing energies, giving its visitors a moment of total relaxation and disconnection, which can be further enhanced with the wide range of alternative therapies, meditation and spa centers that exist in the place.

You can find more information about Chile and La Serena in these videos:

logo delfines

TOURISM IN LA SERENA

CONTACT US

info@panamgeochile2024.cl

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