Last Sunday the U.S. National Committee met here in the Leamington Hotel. It was my first chance to preside as Chairman of this committee, although we had three planning meetings to regroup and reorganize the work for the Committee. During the meetings, both the planning meetings and the meeting last Sunday, I sensed a new spirit among the members. There was not only a new spirit of recognition that we had new challenges, bigger challenges than we've had in the past, but also a new spirit in wanting to expand the work of the U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics to encompass all of you. I think each of us felt that we have an opportunity in the next few years that we've never had before. This was reinforced even as this conference was in session when the President announced a $20 billion energy program. We know that rock mechanics is going to play a big part in the recovery of new oil and gas resources, coal, nuclear fuels, sitings for nuclear plants and sitings for construction of hydroelectric plants, particularly pump storage projects. Consequently we're looking at ways to let people know the important role rock mechanics can and must play in the energy program. We have restructured our committee to deal with this problem. In the past, there have been only a small number of people involved in the panels and projects of our committee. We're asking each of you to Join in our effort to make it much stronger, and get better results. At this time I'd like to briefly go over the composition of the U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics for you. The committee membership is composed of 11 members from the 11 national societies which have an interest in rock mechanics. There are five members at large, three members from government, and the past president who serves in an ex officio capacity, for a total of twenty members. We are requesting a change in the constitution, not to increase the total membership, but to have a chance to select a greater number of younger people who are making sound contributions in the field of rock mechanics that have not risen yet to be chairman of their respective committees in their socities. Consequently we're proposing to eliminate the three government slots and use these as slots at large where the committee can place key workers in rock mechanics and bring them in to the work of the committee. We are, of course, going to continue to invite government participation. In a way it really wasn't quite right to have just three members of government because some 10 different federal agencies have sponsored rock mechanics in the past. We are going to invite them to attend our meetings and participate in the work of the committee without actually holding membership. Following the 3rd International Congress on Rock Mechanics, members of USNC/RM and the sponsoring government agencies agreed that the committee should reorient its goals.
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The 16th U.S Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS)
September 22–24, 1975
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Reorganization of the U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics
Paper presented at the The 16th U.S Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS), Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 1975.
Paper Number:
ARMA-75-396
Published:
September 22 1975
Citation
Wallace, George B. "The Reorganization of the U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics." Paper presented at the The 16th U.S Symposium on Rock Mechanics (USRMS), Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 1975.
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