The ALERT Geomaterials community is deeply saddened to share that our colleague and friend, Professor Juan Pestana, passed away on September 16, 2025, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Juan was a brilliant professor, an inspiring teacher, and a warm presence who left a lasting impact on our field and on all who knew him.
Please see the attached note for more details about his life, achievements, and the legacy he leaves behind from his colleagues and friends at Berkeley.

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

Dear Colleagues,

We are glad to share an update on RootS25 – the 3rd International Workshop on Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Interaction, which will be held at the Politecnico di Bari from 6 to 8 November 2025.
The call for abstracts has closed with more than 60 contributions submitted by researchers worldwide, confirming the strong international and interdisciplinary interest in the event. This ensures a rich program of oral and poster presentations, fostering discussion and collaboration across communities.
We also warmly invite you to attend the special lecture by Prof. Lidija Zdravkovic (Imperial College London), entitled “Geotechnical Engineering for a Sustainable Society” (5 November, Aula Magna “Domus Sapientiae” at the Politecnico di Bari). Attendance is free to all.
We look forward to welcoming you to Bari.
For any questions, please contact us at workshop.roots25@gmail.com

Best regards,
On behalf of the RootS’s Scientific Committee

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the International Conference on Advances and Innovations in Soft Soil Engineering – Soft Soils 2026. The conference will be hosted at TU Delft from 24-26 August 2026 and is supported by the TC 214 Soft Soils of the ISSMGE and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers (KIVI).

You can find additional information on the website https://softsoils2026.dryfta.com and on the LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/company/soft-soils-2026.

The call for abstracts is open! We invite you to submit an abstract for the conference and forward the announcement to anyone potentially interested. On the conference website, you can find the “Call for Abstracts” page with all the instructions and access to the submission page. The submission deadline is 30 September 2025!

We look forward to receiving your contributions!

Kind regards,

Stefano Muraro, Cristina Jommi, Yoichi Watabe, Minna Karstunen,Suched Likitlersuang

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

This interdisciplinary program, especially directed to young scientists (PhD / Post-Docs), offers an unparalleled opportunity to explore the fascinating world of mechanics and structural engineering for architected materials and metamaterials. Join us for the latest advancements in heterogeneous materials, homogenization methods, and their applications in structural design.
More information can be found to the link :
https://www.ms2master.com/summer-school-2025
We are looking forward to welcoming you in Nantes next October!

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

The session will be focused on special and emerging topics regarding the soil-root mechanical and hydromechanical interactions, with applications in different kinds of civil and geotechnical engineering (like tree stability assessment, slopes and landfills analysis, etc.), by considering experimental 1g and centrifuge modelling, as well as real scale testing/monitoring.

The session will be organized by Andrea Galli (Politecnico di Milano), Anthony Leung (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
and Enrique Romero (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya UPC / CIMNE)

Abstract submission on ISSMGE Conference Review Platform
https://www.issmge.org/publications/review-platform/conferences/icpmg2026
(Deadline: 31-07-2025, 23:59:59 UTC)

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

Starting from 2025, this traditional course taught by Milan Jirasek will be split in two parts that can be attended independently.

The first part (Sep 4-6) provides an overview of modeling approaches used in the mechanics of inelastic materials and structures, in particular in plasticity and damage mechanics, with brief comments on fracture mechanics.

The second part (Sep 8-10) focuses on the objective description of highly localized deformation modes such as cracks or shear bands, using regularized models (e.g., nonlocal, gradient-enriched, phase-field, micromorphic).

The course is intended for graduate students at the doctoral level, but it can be equally useful to motivated master students, post-doctoral researchers, or senior researchers who are not specialists in this field.

For further details see https://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/~milan/course2025.html

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

Dear all,

We are pleased to inform you that the deadline for abstract submission for the 3rd International Workshop RootS25 – Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Interaction has been extended to 20 July 2025.
We encourage all interested participants to take advantage of this opportunity to join us at the Politecnico di Bari from 6th to 8th November 2025.
All details regarding the workshop, including the updated deadline and submission guidelines, are available in the Bulletin (attached) and on the Call for Contribution page at www.roots-25.com.
For any questions, feel free to contact us at workshop.roots25@gmail.com, and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @workshop.roots25 for updates.
We look forward to receiving your abstracts and to welcoming you in Bari!

On behalf of the Scientific Committee of RootS25

For further information, see the attached [PDF].

THMC behaviour of bentonite and bentonite mixture:
From the experimental investigation to the numerical modelling.

OVERVIEW

We are happy to invite you to the ANCHORS training course, which will be held in Liege between 27 August and 29 August 2025.

This school is organized within the framework of EURAD2 – European Joint programme on Radioactive waste management (grant agreement No 101166718) – whose one of its objectives is to develop, maintain and consolidate the scientific and technical basis of radioactive waste management. This doctoral school focuses on the ANCHORS Work Package of the EURAD2 Joint Programme.

The main objective of the WP ANCHORS is to increase the optimisation potential of bentonite barrier systems: buffer, backfill and seals, and the Safety Case resilience. The activities of the WP are twofold:

1) qualifying the Hydro-Mechanical (HM) behaviour of various kinds of bentonite types and mixtures through laboratory experimental programme focused on heterogeneity, chemical effects and friction at different scales

2) improving the numerical tools that are necessary to carry out performance assessment of bentonite barriers in a Thermo Hydro Mechanical Chemical (Gas) (THMC(G)) repository environment.

Geomechanics plays a significant role in the understanding of the relevant thermo-hydro²-chemio-mechanical couplings taking place around the disposal. The objectives of the school is therefore to provide the state-of-the-art on basic concepts related to the THMC(G) couplings, the experimental investigation of complex hydro-mechanical behaviour of various bentonite types and mixtures, and the numerical modelling of the multiphysical phenomena.

For further information, see attached PDF.