News/Events Archives

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Created: 16 March 2018

Recent developments

A reminder of decisions approved at the ISRM Council meeting, held at AfriRock 2017:

• The full name of the society has changed to the “International Society of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering”, but the acronym will remain “ISRM”.
• Prof. Reşat Ulusay was elected as the next ISRM President. He will start his term of office after the 14th Inter-national Congress of the ISRM, which will take place in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in 2019.

Online lectures

Two ISRM Online Lectures are available for viewing on or downloading from the ISRM website (www.isrm.net):

• 19th Online lecture: Professor Xia-Ting Feng – Rockbursts at deep tunnels
• 20th Online lecture: Professor Milton Kanji: – Dam Foundations affected by Geological Aspects

The 21st Online lecture will be presented on the 15th March by Professor Laura Pyrak-Nolte and will be on geo-physical characterisation of fractures.

ISRM Conferences

The following ISRM Conferences are scheduled:

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Created: 16 March 2018

Full Name: Dewald Adriaan Wynand Lamprecht

Position: Unit Manager Rock Engineer

Company/ Organisations: Sibanye-Stillwater – Driefontein BU1 (1# & 6#)

Date and Place of Birth: 17 October 1986, Randfontein

Education: FMDP, COMSOC 1, COM SCC, COM REC

First Job: Top Vending – Driver

Personal Best Achievement/s: Obtaining my Rock Engineering Certificate

Philosophy of Life: Never judge anyone; you never know what they went through in life.

Favourite Food/Drink: Medium rib eye steak with mash and vegetables, together with and a glass of wine.

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Created: 16 March 2018

Photo Catgeory

First Prize: Dewald Lamprecht

Second Prize: Jeanne Walls

Third Prize: Denisha Sewnun

Video Catgeory

First Prize: Adriaan van Zyl

See the video here...

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Created: 16 March 2018

By G.C. More O’Ferrall

Honduras is a Central American country, bordered by Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It has the Caribbean Sea to the Northeast and the Pacific Ocean to the South (Figure 1).

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Created: 16 March 2018

Full Name: Jeanne Walls

Position: Director; Principal Geotechnical Consultant

Company/ Organisations: Jewal Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Date and Place of Birth: 24 March 1976, Greytown, KZN

Education: MEng (Rock Eng.), GDE (Mining), CoMAREC, BSc (Hons) Geophysics

First Job: Exploration geophysicist (first job in mining)

Personal Best Achievement/s: Discovering after nearly 20 years that I have achieved a meaningful career, accomplished my own financial independence, established my own business, and developed valu-able relationships amongst my peers, superiors, and young up-and-comings within the industry.

Philosophy of Life: Every one of us walks a different path. The world is bigger than we are as individ-uals, but we are each of us uniquely relevant. Most of us deserve a second chance, most of us deserve some considered understanding, and there is always beauty and redemption somewhere, if we’re brave enough to know it.

Favourite Food/Drink: A fine whiskey

Favourite Sport: Mountain Biking

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Created: 16 March 2018

WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 83 new members and 16 foreign members, announced NAE President C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., today. This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,293 and the number of foreign members to 262.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or educa-tion, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE's annual meeting in Washing-ton, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2018. A list of the newly elected members and foreign members follows, with their primary affilia-tions at the time of election and a brief statement of their principal engineering accomplishments.

Napier, John A.L., extraordinary professor, department of mining engineering, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa. For contributions to computational simulation of rock fracture around underground excavations.

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Created: 05 March 2018

Prof. Don U. Deere died on 14 January 2018 in Gainsville, Florida. He was born in 1922, in Mt. Etna, Iowa. He was part of a small group of rock engineers that decisively influenced the development of rock mechanics in the 20th century.

Prof. Deere graduated in Mining Engineering at Iowa State University and obtained a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois in 1955. An expert on tunnelling, dam building and design, and the construction of large underground spaces, in 1989 he was appointed as Chairman of the US Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. He received numerous distinctions throughout his career including being elected to both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.

After working as a mining engineer in Arizona and New Mexico, Don moved to the University of Puerto Rico and started the Foundation Engineering Company of Puerto Rico. In 1955 he accepted an appointment as an associate professor at the University of Illinois. In 1972 he moved to Gainesville where he co-founded Deere and Merritt, a consulting firm in geology and rock mechanics, and joined the University of Florida.

He wrote and co-authored numerous papers and was the inventor of the rock mass assessment tool, the RQD – Rock Quality Designation. Together with Prof. Giovanni Lombardi, he invented the GIN method of grouting. He was the President of the Commission on Standardization of Laboratory and Field Tests of the ISRM from 1968 to 1973.

At this time our thoughts are with his close family and friends.

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Created: 26 January 2018

You are invited to the Mining and Tunnelling Seminar.

Agenda: Innovations and experiences in ground support for the mining and hydropower industry

Where: Ruimsig Country Club

When: 15 February 2018 from 8:30 (registrations); will continue until around 16:00

Contact: Mariette Esterhuyse (mariette.esterhuyse@geobrugg.com) on Tel. +27 83 7725564

Cost: Free of charge

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Created: 23 January 2018

Obituary Notice: Prof. Richard Z.T. Bieniawski,

Prof. Richard Z.T. Bieniawski, 81, of Prescott, Arizona died Monday December 11, 2017 at his home. He was born October 1, 1936 in Krakow, Poland.

Dr. Hon. Causa (Madrid, Spain), Dr. Hon. Causa (AGH, Krakow, Poland), Ph.D. M. Sc. Distinguished Professor (ret.) and President, Bieniawski Design Enterprises, Prescott, Arizona.

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Created: 16 January 2018

Paper 1 is a general theoretical paper covering basic rock mechanics theory applicable in all types of mining environments, surface as well as underground. This course will cover the Syllabi for Paper 1, preparing the candidate attempting the certificate of competence examination on the themes of stress & strain, constitutive behaviour, rock properties, stress in rock & rockmasses and rockmass properties.
 
The course will be presented over 5 days (12-16 March 2018), allowing sufficient time for transferring knowledge and information, resolving misunderstood concepts and practical.
 
For more information please contact:
 
Mpolokeng Rammutloa - mpolokeng.rammutloa@enterprises.up.ac.za
Jannie Maritz - jannie.maritz@up.ac.za