Geosynthetics February/March 2022 - 12

UPDATES
All-plenary GeoNashville 2021
was a success
The first in-person geosynthetics conference since the pandemic began featured
an all-plenary program focusing on the future of geosynthetics.
By Todd R. Berger
Geosynthetics professionals from across North America gathered in Nashville, Tenn., in
November as the industry returned to in-person events. GeoNashville 2021, Nov. 4-5, 2021,
drew approximately 280 people to the Music City.
To maximize learning and networking opportunities, organizers decided to host the
presenters and the exhibitors in the same room. Past events have sometimes made it
difficult for exhibitors to attend the educational sessions.
" The unique one-room setting helps to solve that problem, "
says Fred C. Chuck, executive director of the Geosynthetic
Materials Association.
The theme of the conference was " Geotechnical
Silas C. Nichols, P.E., principal
geotechnical engineer with the
Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) Office of Infrastructure,
speaks about " Transforming
Transportation Geotechnics with
Geosynthetics " at GeoNashville.
Photograph courtesy of Mark Skalny/
Mark Skalny Photography
Innovations, Renewed Connections, " a celebration of the
in-person reuniting of members of the geosynthetics community
after so many months/years apart and an emphasis
on what speakers thought was coming for the geosynthetics
world. This 1.5-day, all-plenary geosynthetics conference
featured speakers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA),
presentations from several geosynthetics manufacturers on
their innovative products, and an open discussion on the
current infrastructure legislation before the U.S. House
of Representatives that was being considered during the
conference and was subsequently passed by the House and
signed into law by President Joe Biden. Jie Han, Ph.D., the 2021 R. M. Koerner Award and
Lecture Series winner, presented his Koerner award lecture, " Geosynthetic-Reinforced
Column-Supported Embankments: Bridging Theory and Practice. " Han is the Glenn L.
Parker Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Kansas.
" We wanted to come out of the pandemic a little bit forward thinking, " Chuck says. " We
asked a lot of the presenters to tell us what they think the future of geosynthetics in their
marketplace would be. "
Indeed, many of the speakers talked in detail about how they see the future of geosynthetics
unfolding. Silas C. Nichols, principal geotechnical engineer with the FHWA Office of
Infrastructure, said, " The things we are looking to do here are to continue to support construction
and sustainability in transportation. I think the big overarching concepts geotechnically
are these concepts of sustainability and speed of construction. They are mantras agencywide.
We are looking to embrace them geotechnically, and we are looking at more ways to do that
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Geosynthetics | February March 2022

Geosynthetics February/March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics February/March 2022