A two and a half day workshop will be held at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland for the purpose of exploring and advancing the use of Thermo-active Geotechnical systems for Near-surface Geothermal Energy as a sustainable geoengineering practice. The workshop is intended for researchers, engineers, equipment/material manufacturers, non-profit organizations, and public agency policy makers working in the field of energy geotechnology. The main motivation for this international workshop is to discuss and identify the technical and non-technical challenges encountered in the implementation of thermo-active geotechnical systems. We intend to develop a list of research and outreach priorities and an overall strategic plan to overcome these identified challenges.

The workshop is by invitation and application only. The international organizing and advisory committee will be responsible for selection of the workshop participants. Interested parties from the United States can send a message to colgun@vt.edu. Interested parties from countries other than the United States can send their inquiries to lyesse.laloui@epfl.ch. More information is available at the workshop website http://www.olgun.cee.vt.edu/workshop/