Support U.S. Delegation to the Annual Meetings of the International Society for Rock Mechanics

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This award is for an international travel grant for the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) Foundation to support the U.S. delegation to the 2006 and 2007 International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) symposia. The current U.S. delegation consists of the Vice President for North America, Francois Heuze from the United States, and the U.S. delegate, Peter Smeallie, the executive director of ARMA. Dr. Heuze serves on the ISRM Board and represents the interests of the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. Mr. Smeallie serves on the ISRM Council and represents the interests of the U.S. rock mechanics community. The U.S. delegation will attend the ISRM board, council, and commission meetings as appropriate in Singapore in November 2006 and in Lisbon, Portugal in July 2007, and will represent the U.S. rock mechanics community at the corresponding symposia.Participation in the ISRM meetings will enhance US geo-engineering and rock mechanics research by providing an international perspective on important issues currently being addressed by ISRM such as international underground research laboratories, rock testing methods, application of geophysics in rock mechanics, and post-mining rock mechanics. It is essential that the United States research community be formally represented at these meetings by an ARMA official and that the North American President attend so that the interests and concerns of our research community are articulated, and the results of the meetings are circulated to the research community. Results of US participation in the activities of ISRM have broad impact. Much of the committee discussion has direct impact on issues of national importance through collaborative alliances fostered by the international society. These areas include resource exploration and production, national security issues, environmental considerations, and civil infrastructure systems through advances in tunneling and excavation technologies.