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Geo-Congress 2024

Vancouver, Canada | –

Special Sessions

Monday, February 26

8:00 am - 10:00 am

Keynote - I Want to Try the Impossible

Darrell FoxDarrell Fox, Terry Fox Research Institute

In the summer of 1980, Terry Fox touched all of Canada and beyond with his Marathon of Hope. Hear Terry’s story and why it remains just as important today as it was over 40 years ago from someone who was there with him, his brother Darrell.

Darrell Fox is the younger brother of Terry Fox, for whom the Terry Fox Foundation (TFF), the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) and Terry Fox Centre (TFC) are named. In 1980, at the age of 17, Darrell joined Terry (and Terry’s best friend Doug Alward) on his Marathon of Hope in Saint John, New Brunswick. As Terry’s younger brother, Darrell has had a long history of involvement with the legacy founded by his brother. In 1990, Darrell became the provincial director for The Terry Fox Foundation in British Columbia. In 1994, he moved to the National Office in Toronto, Ontario where he served for two years as the assistant national director and then national director of the Terry Fox Foundation from January 1996 until June 2009.

During his national director tenure he worked closely with the National Cancer Institute of Canada with respect to the stewardship and allocation of funds raised in Terry's name to peer reviewed research projects and grants across the country. Darrell was the lead as TFF celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope in 2005 resulting in close to $50 million raised. This success, a doubling of what was raised in the previous year, led to the creation of the TFRI in 2007 after Darrell, together with research leaders, consulted with the Canadian research community. More recently he supported the TFRI leadership team in securing $150m in federal funding to create the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centre Network. To date, the Foundation has raised over $850 million for cancer research worldwide. Today Darrell serves on the TFRI’s Board of Directors, is a senior advisor to the Institute and a member of the three Terry Fox identities. A holder of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, Darrell continues to be involved in projects and activities related to sharing the Terry Fox story and recognizing his legacy.

Geo-PIT:

  • Being a Leader in your Geoprofessional Life - Rudy Bonaparte, Geosyntec
  • Terzaghi Meets Darwin - How Animals and Plants Inspire Solutions for Engineering Challenges - Alejandro Martinez, University of California Davis
  • Thawing Tales & Permafrost Predicaments - Jocelyn Hayley, University of Calgary

5:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Geo-PIT:

  • Nurturing the Soul of a Nerd: Hacking Your Way to Success Through Innovation - Matthew Lato, BGC Engineering
  • We Are Built for This - Jewels Stover, Bauer Equipment America

Tuesday, February 27

8:00 am - 10:00 am

Panel Discussion - The Role of Geotechnical Engineers in Responding to Climate Change

Join our interdisciplinary panel as they offer insight from the public, private, and academic sectors about the geo-profession’s place in the climate change puzzle. Speakers TBD.

Geo-PIT:

  • Deployable Anchors: Origami is for Geotechnical Engineers - Ann Sychterz, University of Illinois
  • Moving Toward a More Sustainable Future Using Reinforced Soil - Stan Boyle, Shannon & Wilson
  • The Grain Size Distribution of Photos: How Soil and Rock are a Foundation for Landscape Photography - Ben Leschchinsky, Oregon State University
  • Up Close and Personal with Flood Protection Systems: What Does the Future Hold? - Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, University of California Berkeley

Wednesday, February 28

8:00 am – 9:30 am

Ed KavazanjianGeo-Legends Live with Ed Kavazanjian

Sit in on a recording of one of the Geo-Institute’s most popular Youtube series: Geo-Legends! Matt Evans of Oregon State interviews Ed Kavazanjian of Arizona State about his life and career. 

Edward Kavazanjian is a Regents Professor and the Ira A. Fulton Professor of Geotechnical Engineering in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. 
Professor Kavazanjian’s expertise includes geotechnical engineering for civil infrastructure systems, design and construction of waste containment systems, geotechnical earthquake engineering, the mechanical properties of solid waste, and the emerging field of biogeotechnical engineering.

He is recipient of the 2009 Ralph B. Peck Award, 2010 Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award, and the 2011 Terzaghi Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In 2013, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his work on landfills and geotechnical earthquake engineering. In August 2015, he became Director of the Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG), a National Science Foundation-funded Gen-3 Engineering Research Center dedicated to the emerging sub-discipline of biogeotechnical engineering. In 2018, he was elected a Distinguished Member of ASCE and is past-president of the ASCE Geo-Institute and the US University Council for Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER).

1:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Geo-PIT:

  • A Geotech in Avalanche Terrain - Erik Jensen, University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Statistics Cannot Create Data: A Call for More Raw Field Data Collection in the Geohazards Community - Scott McDougall, University of British Columbia
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