Keynotes
Major Lectures & Plenary Events at 13 ICG
** All keynotes will be held in Room 710 of the Palais des congrès de Montréal (Montreal Convention Centre). These lectures are open only to registered participants. **
8th Giroud Lecture
Jie Han, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor
University of Kansas
Dr. Jie Han has had a tremendous impact on the global field of geosynthetics.
Every four years, the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) awards another Giroud Lecturer, named in honor of the IGS’s first President (1983) Dr. JP Giroud. This lecture serves as the official opening of the ICG technical program.
Dr. Han is a Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas, USA. He has previously worked as a design engineer, a senior engineer, and then a manager of technology development at Tensar International from 1997 to 2001.
His research and practical experience has involved geosynthetics, ground improvement, pile foundations, buried structures, and roadways, and he has so far published 489 journal and conference papers.
He formerly served as President of the ASCE Geo‐Institute and delivered the 2021-2023 Koerner Lecture.
Giroud Lecture Topic: Transforming road infrastructure: innovative geosynthetic solutions for improved sustainability and resilience
Date: September 14, 2026
Time: 8:30 am
Keynote Schedule
Welcome Plenary
Sunday, September 13, 6:00 pm
Giroud Lecture
Dr. Jie Han (University of Kansas, IGS North America)
Monday, September 14, 8:30 am
Rowe Lecture
Dr. Craig Benson (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Tuesday, September 15, 8:30 am
Plenary #3 (TBA)
Wednesday, September 16, 8:30 am
UN-Related Special Plenary
Wednesday, September 16, 1:00 pm
Bathurst Lecture
Pietro Rimoldi (Consulting Engineer)
Thursday, September 17, 8:30 am
2nd Rowe Lecture
Craig Benson, Ph.D., PE, BCGE, BCEE, NAE
Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Emeritus
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Dr. Craig Benson is the Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Rowe Lecture honors Dr. R. Kerry Rowe, P.Eng. (Queen’s University – Kingston & 13 ICG Honorary Co-Chair). The lecturer is selected for the ICG by the IGS TC-Barriers group.
Dr. Benson’s research experience involves laboratory studies, large-scale field experiments, and predictive modeling. Benson has been conducting research related to protection of the environment for nearly four decades, with primary focus on environmental containment of wastes; beneficial use of industrial byproducts; and sustainable infrastructure. He is recognized as a foremost international authority on waste containment systems, and is widely sought after for his expertise in design, operation, and performance assessment of waste disposal facilities. His expertise includes municipal solid waste (MSW), hazardous waste (HW), coal combustion residuals (CCR), mining and mineral processing wastes, low-level radioactive waste (LLW), mixed radioactive waste (MW), uranium mill tailings, and bauxite residuals. Benson leads the Landfill Partnership for the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), which provides research and technical support on environmental restoration for DOE. He has published more than 300 refereed articles based on his research and earned numerous awards, including the Karl Terzaghi Award, Ralph Peck Award, Huber Research Prize, Alfred Noble Prize, Croes Medal (twice), Middlebrooks Award (twice), Collingwood Prize, and Casagrande Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Rowe Lecture Topic: TBA
Date: September 15, 2026
Time: 8:30 am
2nd Bathurst Lecture
Pietro Rimoldi
Consulting Engineer
Engineer Pietro Rimoldi of Italy has been selected to deliver the 2nd Bathurst Lecture
Established to highlight major contributors to reinforcement designs, the Bathurst Lecture honors Dr. Richard Bathurst (Royal Military College of Canada & 13 ICG Honorary Co-Chair). The lecturer is selected for the ICG by the IGS TC-Reinforcement group.
Mr. Rimoldi has designed hundreds of reinforced soil structures all over the world, including some of the tallest reinforced soil structures, and in challenging conditions such as highly seismic areas. He has published nearly 300 works on geosynthetics, including more than 130 papers on soil reinforcement.
Bathurst Lecture Topic: Per aspera ad astra: the development of soil reinforcement through testing, design, and innovation
Date: September 17, 2026
Time: 8:30 am
