International Workshop on Bio-Soil Interactions and Engineering

摘要：生物材料与岩土过程的相互作用长期以来被岩土工程所忽视，其重要性才刚刚认识到。在2006年美国国家科学院题为“新千年的地质和岩土工程：研究和技术创新的机会”的报告中，生物过程在土壤行为中的作用被确定为一个尚未被考虑的技术领域，并被引用为未来的关键研究推动力和机会。土壤环境在结构上是异常复杂和不均匀的。这种复杂性对于支持生物活性至关重要，它提供了一个复杂的颗粒孔基质，由固体、液体和气相组成，用于营养物质的有效循环和储存。土壤中的生物材料是独一无二的，因为它们具有在岩土土基质中自我活性和再生的固有特性。这种复杂的土壤基质也是岩土工程的基本“构建块”。随着对土壤生物过程的了解的增加，这些活动的过程和产物可以用来为岩土工程问题提供新的创新解决方案，并为观察到的地质系统性能提供解释。为了解决和探索这个机会，科学和工程的整合是必要的，因为过程的复杂性不能在单一学科中得到充分的解决。本次研讨会的目标是汇集来自传统学科（如岩土工程、环境工程、地球科学、微生物学、海洋学、生物学）的专家，他们是各自领域的领导者，具有创造性和创新性，并且对探索这一新的跨学科领域有个人兴趣。这将通过举办约50名参与者的研讨会来完成，其中约50%为美国参与者，50%为国际参与者（由NSF和EPSRC共同资助）。研讨会经过精心设计，其结构将支撑或逐步建立，从发展学科理解的相互基础，到分享当前的研究和对新机会的集思广益，再到确定必要的“行动项目”，或发展步骤，使该领域成熟。促进讨论、头脑风暴和自由分享想法的非正式环境和活动已纳入议程。讲习班组织者起草的最后报告将综合本次讲习班的所有讨论成果，并简明扼要地提出对该领域现状和未来潜力的评估，以及计划的未来努力。报告将分发给所有参与者审查，然后通过电子和纸质出版物分发给资助机构（NSF和EPSRC）和国际同事。

Abstract: 0628782The interaction of biological materials with geotechnical processes has long been ignored by geotechnical engineering, and its importance is just beginning to be realized. In the 2006 report from the National Academy of Sciences entitled "Geological and Geotechnical Engineering in the New Millennium: Opportunities for Research and Technological Innovation" the role of biological processes in soil behavior is identified as a technical area that has not been accounted for and is cited as a critical research thrust and opportunity for the future. The soil environment is known to be exceptionally complex and heterogeneous in structure. Such complexity is essential to support biological activity by providing an intricate particle-pore matrix that consists of solid, liquid and gas phases for the effective cycling and storage of nutrients. The biological materials within the soil are unique by their innate characteristics of being self-active and re-growing within geotechnical soil matrices. This same complex soil matrix is also the fundamental "building block" for geotechnical engineering. With an increased understanding of biological processes in soils, the processes and products of these activities could be harnessed to provide new innovative solutions for geotechnical problems as well as provide explanation for observed geosystem performance. To address and explore this opportunity integration of the sciences and engineering is necessary as the complexity of the processes cannot be sufficiently addressed within a single discipline. The goal of this workshop is to bring together experts from a spectrum of traditional disciplines (e.g. geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, geosciences, microbiology, oceanography, biology) that are leaders in their field, are creative and innovative, and have a personal interest in exploring this new interdisciplinary field. This will be accomplished by holding a workshop with about 50 participants, about 50% US and 50% International participants (jointly funded by NSF and EPSRC). The workshop has been carefully designed in a structure that will scaffold, or gradually build, from developing a mutual foundation of discipline understanding, to sharing current research and brainstorming about new opportunities, to identifying the necessary "action items", or developmental steps, required to mature this field. An informal environment and activities that foster discussion, brainstorming, and free sharing of ideas has been incorporated into the agenda. A final report drafted by the workshop organizers will integrate all discussion outcomes of this workshop, and concisely present the assessment of the current status and future potential of the field, as well as planned future efforts. The report will be distributed to all participants for review and then disseminated to the funding agencies (NSF and EPSRC) and colleagues internationally via electronic and hardcopy publication.