North America, Austin

Educate the Educators on Geosynthetics, North America

Building on the successes of the new form of the ETE program piloted in Argentina and refined in Europe, ETE returned to North America in 2015. The United States was the home of the original ETE program, first known as  “Professor Training Course for Geosynthetics” and held at Auburn University, Alabama under the leadership of Prof. David Elton. A feature of the original course was the provision of modular notes that Professors could easily integrate into their existing courses.

Key facts:

  • Venue – Austin, Texas
  • Number of participants: 40
  • Topics: applications of geosynthetics in geotechnical, transportation, hydraulic, and environmental engineering
  • Major technical and financial support was provided by the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), and Tencate
  • Sponsors included the Erosion Control Technology Council (ECTC), GSE Environmental, HUESKER inc., Presto Geosystems, ThraceLinq, and TRI Environmental
  • Lecturers: Prof. Richard Brachman, Queen’s University; Dr. Barry Christopher, National Highway Institute Engineering Instructor; Prof. Jorge Zornberg, The University of Texas at Austin

Portugal

Educate the Educators on Geosynthetics, Portugal

The Portuguese Chapter of the IGS hosted a European ETE in cooperation with the Portuguese Geotechnical Society (SPG) in Lisbon.

Key facts:

  • 35 attendees representing national universities and polytechnic schools of engineering
  • Sponsors: Atarfil, Bianchini, Huesker, Quinimar, NAUE, Renolit
  • Subjects covered included: geosynthetics applications in geotechnical, transportation, hydraulic, and environmental engineering
  • Lecturers: Prof. Jorge Zornberg, The University of Texas at Austin; Prof. Erol Güler, Boğaziҫi University and Dr.-Ing. Michael Heibaum