IABSE congress Chicago 2008

The IABSE congress, 'Creating and renewing urban structures - Tall buildings, bridges and infrastructure', organised by the USA group of IABSE, will be held from September 17- 19, 2008 in Chicago, USA.

The topics selected for the 2008 Congress keep in mind the ever present need for engineers worldwide, to exchange information on the evolving practice of structural engineering. As the world changes, demands are placed on educators and practising engineers to develop state-of-the-art techniques for analysing, designing, constructing, evaluating, maintaining and predicting how structures will behave. The technical programme will include following keynote lectures:

• The structural design of the worlds tallest structure - William F. Baker, USA
  
• Engineering for climate change - The adaptation challenge and the role for engineers - Peter Head, UK
  
• Personal involvement in early US cable-stayed bridges - Holger Svensson, Germany
  
• New trends and new models for analysing dynamic interactions - Christian Cremona, France
  
• Appropriate seismic regulations for urban structures - Loring A. Wyllie, Jr., USA
  
• Sutong bridge - A cable-stayed bridge with main span of 1088 m - Qingzhong You, China
  
• Past, present and future: Trends, drivers and challenges in tall buildings and urban habitat - Antony Wood, USA
  

The 'Young Engineers Programme', prepared by the organising committee and the IABSE Fellows, will allow young engineers to participate at a reduced registration fee, as well as to report on their research or practical work and to meet experienced colleagues. Two prizes will be awarded to the most outstanding presentations.

For more details, please contact:
IABSE Chicago 2008
Organizing Committee
c/o WJE
330 Pfingsten Road
Northbrook, Illinois 60062 USA
Phone: +1 847 753 6338
Fax: +1 847 291 4813
E-mail: secretariat@iabse2008chicago.org
Website: www.iabse.org/chicago08

ACC releases its 1st corporate sustainable development report

ACC Limited released its first sustainable development report to coincide with World Environment Day, June 5, 2008. The report was released simultaneously in Dubai by ACC's Deputy Chairman, Mr. Paul Hugentobler at a Holcim Group regional meeting, and by Dr. Rajen Mehrotra, the company's chief knowledge officer in Mumbai.

ACC takes pride in its history of good governance especially in demonstrating concern for nature, the planet and its people. Community development programmes were initiated in ACC more than sixty years ago, when the term corporate social responsibility was not yet coined. Environmental protection and pollution control were practiced, long before pollution control norms and other regulatory laws came into existence.

The report has been compiled using the G3 guidelines of the global reporting initiative. It describes the economic, environmental and social impacts of the organisation's performance during the year 2007 and explains management approach and strategy with performance indicators and case studies showing its achievements and stakeholder engagement. Highlights include descriptions of environment management systems, emissions control, the quest for renewable non-fossil energy sources and effective solutions for dealing with hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. In respect of community development, the report explains the nature of schemes meant to visibly improve the quality of life and environment in the communities living around the company's cement plants.

In a foreword of the report, the company's Chairman Mr. N.S. Sekhsaria and Managing Director Mr. Sumit Banerjee reiterate their deep commitment to uphold this great tradition with the following words.

"Sustainable development and corporate social responsibility find special place in our organisation structure and form an intrinsic part of our business strategy. We believe in the Triple Bottom Line theory and would like to assess our performance on the basis of this framework. We aim to be recognised as a leading champion of sustainable development not only in the cement industry but on a wider plane."

The company intends to make this report a regular feature and will publish it once in two years. An electronic version is available on the company's website, www.acclimited.com.

FRP composites in civil engineering

The 4th International conference on 'FRP composites in civil engineering' will be held from July 22-24, 2008 at Zurich, Switzerland.

The conference will provide a forum for international scientists, engineers, members of the industry and young researchers to discuss state-of-the-art, state-of-the-practice, recent advances and future trends in the application of FRP composites in civil engineering.

The topics of the conference will include

• External strengthening with subtopics of materials, products and application techniques, bond and interfacial stresses, theoretical investigations of mechanical behaviour, strengthening of concrete, timber and steel structures, strengthening of masonry and historic structures, confinement of concrete columns, near surface mounting reinforcement, prestressing, post-tensioning, design codes and guidelines and practical applications.
  
• Reinforced concrete with subtopics similar to that of external strengthening,
  
• Seismic retrofitting with subtopics of strengthening of masonry and historic structures, increasing ductility of columns, design codes and guidelines, practical applications.
  
• New structures with subtopics of FRP structures, FRP bridge decks, concrete filled FRP tubes, CFRP stay cables, connections, design codes and guidelines and practical applications
  
• Durability with subtopics of fatigue behaviour of FRP and connections, and chemical resistance Inspection, testing and structural health monitoring
  

FRP in 2020: Visions and reality

For more details, please contact:
Conference Secretariat
ETH Zurich
Raemistrasse 101
8092 Zurich,
Switzerland
Tel: +41 44 823 44 33
Fax: +41 44 823 44 55
Email: cice2008@empa.ch

Concrete : Construction's sustainable option

The Concrete Technology Unit of the University of Dundee is organising the 7th international congress on 'Concrete : Construction's sustainable option' from July 8-10, 2008 at Dundee, Scotland, UK.

The topics of the conference are:

• Role for concrete in global development
  
• Precast concrete: Towards lean construction
  
• Concrete durability: Achieve-ment and enhancement
  
• Designing concrete for the visual environment
  
• Concrete for fire engineering
  
• Harnessing fibres for concrete construction
  

For more details, please contact:
Prof. R.K. Dhir OBE
Director,
Concrete Technology Unit,
University of Dundee,
Dundee, DD1 4HN,
UK
Tel: +44 (1382) 344347
Fax: +44 (1382) 345524
E-mail: r.k.z.dhir@dundee.ac.uk

Landslides, slope stability and the safety of infrastructures

A 3-day training programme on 'Landslides, slope stability and the safety of infrastructures' would be held from July 24-26, 2008 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Landslides are a serious geological hazard common to most countries of the world. Globally, landslides cause a loss of billions of dollars in damage and thousands of deaths and injuries each year. The severity of the landslide problem worsens with increased urban development. An important aspect related to landslide mitigation is selection selection and design of appropriate, cost-effective remedial measures which in turn require a clear understanding of the conditions and processes that cause landslides. A wealth of experience has been accumulated in recent years in the treatment of landslide hazards but our knowledge is still fragmentary.

Hence, it is not surprising that landslides are rapidly becoming the focus of major scientific research and engineering studies. Case histories are an important feature of the conference. Our progress into the future will depend partly on innovation and therefore, research orientated papers will also be solicited. Potential topics for contributions are:

• Advancement in slope design and construction (taking into account factors such as rainfall, groundwater, seismicity, climate change, etc.) including preventive and remedial solutions for landslides
  
• Site investigations, field and laboratory testing, instrumentation and monitoring
  
• Slope stability analyses (both soil and rock slopes)
  
• Slope assessment and management, guidelines for hill slope development, slope maintenance, early warning and real time monitoring systems
  
• Loss assessments
  
• Emergency preparedness, response and recovery
  
• Information collection, interpretation, dissemination and archiving, and public awareness
  
• Case histories of slope failures/landslide (including slope instability of landfills and waste materials, coastal areas, urban areas, slope instability in special materials such as residual soils, shales, loess, soft sensitive clays, etc.)
  

The aim of the conference is to provide an opportunity for engineers and scientists working in the field of slope instability and remediation to meet and present new ideas, achievements and experiences. It will serve as a meeting place for the development of closer links among researchers and practitioners.

For more details, please contact:
The Conference Secretariat
CI-Premier Pte Ltd.
150, Orchard Road # 07-14
Orchard Plaza, Singapore 238841
Tel: (065) 67332922
Fax: (065) 62353530
E-mail: cipremie@singnet.com.sg
Website: www.cipremier.com

CBX08

The seventh international construction and building exhibition - CBX08 would be held from November 19 - 23, 2008 at Pune.

Construction and building are weighty determinants that decisively matter to the development and prosperity of every nation. Man's unceasing quest for perfection and a need to provide the basic requirements and amenities to the soaring population, have together given rise to new concepts in this industry.
In India, construction is the second largest activity next only to agriculture. Indeed, there is genuine construction boom all over the country in general and more specifically in the urban areas. The liberal policies of the government and its concern for infrastructure development has resulted in large scale construction activity. The industry is witnessing an unprecedented growth in activity all over the country.

CBX08 would project the latest developments in construction, machinery, material and provide an overview of the building activity.

The event would be a buyer-seller meet of the highest order. This would be a platform for interaction amongst administrators, government officials, manufacturers, marketers, contractors, builders, architects, interior designers and concerned professionals.

The event is targeted at builders, consultants, civil contractors, engineers, developers, electrical contractors, plumbing consultants, students and faculty of engineering.

For more details, please contact:
Expo Center
No. 202, Isha Vaastu
449, Somwar Peth, Pune 411 011
Tel: 020-26054915 / 16
Fax: 020-26054917
Email : cbx2008_pune@yahoo.com
Website: www.cbx08.com