Annual Southeastern Transportation Geotechnical Engineering Conference (STGEC)

History

The first meeting of this annual event was held in 1969 when the Federal Highway Administration proposed that the southeastern states would meet to discuss landslide problems on I-40 near Rockwood, Tennessee, and I-75 in northern Georgia, and settlement problems with high interstate embankments.

The first STGEC meeting was held in Atlanta, Georgia, near the Georgia Tech campus on December 5th through 7th, with Professor George Sowers as the guest speaker. There were approximately 50 attendees to this meeting, and because this event was such a success, interest spread quickly, and an annual meeting was soon scheduled due to the overwhelming response. A "Steering Committee" was formed to be a governing body consisting of one member of each State involved, as well as one member from FHWA and TRB. The Committee also established a set of by-laws to assist in governing the group. The main objective in these meetings is to discuss the transfer of technology concerning the rapidly advancing technology of Soil Mechanics and to share success or problems in the Geotechnical field to meet the demands for economical and successful transportation systems.

The previous name of this conference until 1976 was Southeastern Soil Engineering Conference when the present name was adopted. The steering committee chaired by the host member selects the time, place, and duration of each conference for the following year. The conference rotates among all member states, and this method ensures that each state involved has hosted multiple times since the conference's existence.

In terms of economics, the conference has always been self supported as a non-profit organization. The registration fee charged to all participants covers the costs incurred to provide meeting facilities, transportation, banquet, etc. Any excess funds are passed along to help fund the next meeting. Over the past 37 meetings the attendance has varied from 40 to 160 participants.

STGEC 2009 will be held in Wilmington, North Carolina on November 2 - 5, 2009. For more information visit the STGEC 2009 website.

For more information about STGEC, contact:

Ben Rivers
Geotechnical Engineer
FHWA Resource Center
(404) 562-3926
benjamin.rivers@dot.gov

History of Southeast Geotechnical Engineers Conference

STGEC Conference History

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Contact:

Ben Rivers
Resource Center (Atlanta)
404-562-3926
benjamin.rivers@fhwa.dot.gov