ASCE GSP 271

Abstract

Scope: Preface Geo-engineers and geo-scientists have been playing a major role in providing, protecting, and preserving infrastructure and the environment. Many innovative technologies and practices are constantly being developed and implemented. Evolving global climate change and exploding world population are leading to major concerns such as extreme geohazards, increased environmental pollution, and rapid depletion of natural resources. These new challenges can be addressed with new and innovative concepts, materials, energy sources, technologies, and practices. Sustainability and resiliency have become essential in the development of new materials and infrastructure systems. Geo-Chicago 2016: Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment held in Chicago August 14-18, 2016, provided a unique opportunity to highlight recent advances, new directions, and opportunities for sustainable and resilient approaches to design and protect infrastructure and the environment. The Geo-Chicago 2016 Conference attracted a significant amount of interest and in the end more than 350 papers were accepted for publication. The papers are divided into five Geotechnical Special Publications (GSPs) that capture the multidisciplinary aspects and challenges of sustainability and resiliency, energy and the geoenvironment. The first GSP, Sustainability and Resiliency in Geotechnical Engineering, addresses major broad issues related to sustainability and resilience in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering, including carbon sequestration as well as characterization, analysis, monitoring, and response to geohazards and natural disasters, including earthquakes and landslides. Advances in emerging technologies and materials such as bio-mediated soils and nanomaterials are also presented. The second GSP, Geotechnics for Sustainable Energy, tackles the new and innovative ways of storing and extracting energy in and from geotechnical media and structures such as shallow and deep ground, piles and foundations, and landfills. The second GSP also presents the challenges of the energy storage and extraction at the field and lab scales as well as its numerical and experimental modeling. The third GSP, Sustainable Geoenvironmental Systems, addresses recent advances in landfill engineering and geosynthetics used for geoenvironmental systems, as well as advances in sustainable barrier materials and systems. The third GSP also presents studies into slopes, dikes, and embankment, the application of ground improvement in geoenvironmental applications, and the geoengineering of mine wastes and industrial byproducts.