The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), in accordance with its bylaws, will hold midterm elections in 2020. IGS members will have the opportunity to elect seven council members. Each of the elected members will serve a four-year term, beginning on Sept. 5, 2020.

The IGS encourages any IGS member who is interested in furthering the IGS mission to consider standing for one of the council positions. It is a requirement for all council members to attend IGS meetings during their tenure as a council member. In a typical year, the IGS Council meets once for a two-day period preceding a geosynthetics event. It is the responsibility of the IGS Council member to travel to these meetings and participate in the plenary and committee meetings. The IGS Council attempts to host the meetings in equal distribution around the world and based on the most suitable location in any given year.

The elected IGS Council members whose term of office concludes in 2020 are:

·         Erol Güler, Turkey

·         Boyd Ramsey, USA

·         Kent von Maubeuge, Germany

·         Martin Ziegler, Germany

·         Francesco Fontana, Italy

·         Hong Kwan (Hogan) Kim, Korea

·         Dr. Junichi Koseki, Japan

The IGS bylaws stipulate that a council member may only be elected to two consecutive terms; hence, Erol Güler, Boyd Ramsey, and Kent von Maubeuge are not eligible for re-election to a council member seat. Each of the other members are eligible to stand for re-election to a council position.

Nomination and election schedule

The call for nominations will close March 1, 2020. All nominees should submit a brief biographical note not longer than 400 words and a photograph to the office of the IGS Secretariat Manager at IGSsec@GeosyntheticsSociety.org. The biographical notes and photo will be published in the announcement of candidates. The IGS will announce the eligible candidates in an issue of the IGS News and on the IGS website.

Voting: April 15 to June 15, 2020

Voting instructions will be sent via email to each eligible individual IGS member and each designated representative from the IGS corporate membership. Each member may vote once, and all voting will be done electronically. Please make sure you have submitted an accurate email address to the IGS.

Announcement of successful candidates: July 1, 2020

IGS members will be made aware of the successful candidates via email and website on July 1, 2020.

First meeting of the new IGS Council

The first meeting for the new elected members will be at EuroGeo7 held in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2020.

If you have any questions or would like any further information on the election process or the responsibilities involved with becoming an IGS Council Member, please contact the IGS Secretariat Manager, Terry Paulo, at IGSsec@geosyntheticssociety.org.