Seattle and the AEG Professional Forum on Landslides

I must apologize for not posting much around here as it's been a very hectic beginning of 2015. So, I'll just skip ahead a bit.

About to speak at the Washington Section meeting.

At the end of February I traveled to Seattle, WA to speak at the Washington Section AEG, at an applied geology course at the University of Washington, attend the AEG Professional Forum on Landslides, and then hold a couple of days of meetings with the rest of the Executive Council of AEG. It was an exhausting trip, but also a very rewarding trip.

It began with me presenting to a class at UW full of some of the most prepared applied geology students I've come across. The program they have set up is very impressive and I hope it has a long future ahead of it. Then I presented at the Washington Section meeting - once again the Hoover Dam Bypass talk which seems to be a crowd pleaser. This was my largest Section audience yet at 70+ people. 

Oso (SR 530) Landslide

Next up was 2 days of talks and workshops at the AEG Professional Forum on Landslides: Time to Face the Landslide Hazard Dilemma: Bridging Science, Policy, Public Safety, and Potential Loss. It was a very impressive forum that brought scientists together with stakeholders such as emergency planners, local government officials, forest service, FEMA, USGS, policy professionals, insurance professionals and more. I think a lot of steps were taken toward truly protecting the public from landslide hazards and I hope to see movement on the policy front both regionally and nationally. 

House destroyed at Panaview Landslide, Everett, WA

As part of the forum there was a field trip that included stops at the Panaview landslide in Everett, WA as well as the the Oso landslide site (also known as the SR 530 landslide). It was very impressive to see these up close and it was especially impactful to see the full scale of the Oso landslide. It was also very sobering to see the destruction and site where so many lives were lost. It was one of the best field trips I've been on, for both the geology and the human element.

AEG will be following up with another conference related to this in the next year or two - this time probably on the eastern side of the country.

Traveling to Las Vegas and Los Angeles Next Week

Next week I'll be on the road again with visits to AEG Sections in Southern Nevada (Las Vegas) and Southern California (meeting in North Hollywood). I'll be in Vegas on Tuesday evening and the LA-area on Wednesday evening. If you're in the area, it'd be great if you could attend (both Sections have selected my talk about the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge). Information below

Las Vegas: 

TUESDAY, January 13, 2015 AT Embassy Suites Convention Center 3600 Paradise Road Las Vegas, NV THE SOUTHERN NV SECTION MEETING PRESENTATION: Mr. KEN FERGASON NATIONAL PRESIDENT of AEG

The Geologic, Geo-Hazard, and Geotechnical Field Investigation for the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge

Los Angeles:

JANUARY MEETING NOTICE
***Wednesday, January 14, 2015***

Greetings AEG Southern California Section Member
We hope you will join us for the AEG Southern California Section's first meeting of 2015, to be held at Victorio's Ristorante, in North Hollywood, on Wednesday, January 14th.

The presentation will be by Ken Fergason, Senior Geologist with AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Inc. (AMEC) in Phoenix, Arizona and current President of AEG. Ken will present a retrospective of the field investigation portion of the geohazard investigation and geotechnical design of the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge that spans the border of Arizona and Nevada, crossing the Colorado River immediately downstream of the Hoover Dam. A summary and full abstract of the presentation topic can be found near the bottom of this page.

Link to more information

The following week I'll be visiting the AEG Carolinas Section in the Charlotte, NC area and the AEG Southeastern Section in the Atlanta/North Georgia area. I'll post more specific information next week.

2015 AEG Professional Landslide Forum: Time to Face the Landslide Hazard Dilemma: Bridging Science, Policy, Public Safety, and Potential Loss

AEG has a wonderful opportunity coming up in February, 2015 for experts in landslide hazard to interact with public safety, planning, insurance, political, emergency management and other stakeholders in a public forum. The lineup of speakers is very impressive and I believe that this will prove to be standout forum. Please consider attending - I will be there.

http://www.aegweb.org/about-aeg/aeg-meetings-events/2015-landslide-forum

2015 AEG Professional Landslide Forum

Time to Face the Landslide Hazard Dilemma:

Bridging Science, Policy, Public Safety, and Potential Loss

February 26-28, 2015  |  University of Washington, Seattle, WA

The conference will consist of two days of technical and other presentations by invited speakers, posters, discussion sessions and workshops regarding: landslide hazard assessment and risk methodology, current state and local programs and how these can be integrated into current and potential future national programs, what’s working and where do we need to improve, can we develop consensus recommendations and guidance for agencies responsible for land use, and more. Cost for the conference is $300 per attendee. There will also be an optional field trip to the Oso landslide and another recent landslide impacting several houses in Everett, WA on Saturday. Cost for the field trip is $100. More details are available on the registration form. 

• Schedule of Activities
• Register Online
• Download and Print Registration Form
• Sponsorship Form
• Biographies

Hotel Information

Silver Cloud Inn Lake Union
1150 Fairview Ave North
Seattle, WA  98109

For Reservations: 1-800-330-5812 (Please indicate group name AEG when making your reservation.)

Note: If you use any other phone number and/or book online, you may not receive the group rate listed below.

The following rates have been negotiated and are only guaranteed until Jan. 26, 2015 so don't delay in planning your trip to attend this conference!

• Standard Guestroom: $129.00 per night plus tax
• Lakeview Guestroom: $149.00 per night plus tax
• Lakeview Suite Upgrade: $179.00 per night plus tax

- See more at: http://www.aegweb.org/about-aeg/aeg-meetings-events/2015-landslide-forum#sthash.Fcv5XbEu.dpuf

Profiled in International Innovation Magazine

Late last year an exciting opportunity came about in the form of an interview/profile with the magazine International Innovation. Well, the article is live now. It was a lot of fun and I think it covers a lot of what AEG is, what AEG does, and how I got where I am as President. Please give it a read.

"Many of the current trends in higher education in the US endanger the future of applied geology."

I'm also happy to see it get a fair bit of coverage all around. Some examples are linked below.

Arizona Geology

AEG Facebook

AEG Insider

AEG Homepage

And as always, I've promoted it heavily on my Twitter page.