The ALERT Newsletter 2019 summing up the events and highlights within the framework of ALERT activities is available online now. The newsletters of recent years can be found in the archive.
Category Archives: Special Lecture
Abstract of the ALERT Special Lecture 2019
Growth of slip surfaces (life is dangerous)
Alexander M. Puzrin, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Growing slip surfaces are commonly encountered in the mechanisms of many natural geo-hazards, such as earthquakes, landslides, snow avalanches, tsunamis, etc.. The talk will explore the basic mechanics of progressive and catastrophic slip surface growth in a slope using recent advances in experimental, analytical and numerical approaches. Importance of the proper understanding of this phenomenon will be illustrated via the following three novel applications: (i) defining influence zones for terrestrial landslides, (ii) relating geomorphology of submarine landslides to their tsunami generating potential, and (iii) exploring plausibility of a delayed release for earthquake-triggered snow avalanches. In the process, it will be demonstrated how the slip surface growth can negatively affect life of an ordinary citizen.

Alexander M. Puzrin is Professor and Chair of Geotechnical Engineering at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He is engaged in the constitutive modeling of geomaterials and the analysis of progressive and catastrophic failure in soils, with applications to onshore and offshore slope stability problems. His other interests are in development of novel sensor technologies for geotechnical monitoring and in assessment and mitigation of geotechnical eco-hazards. Professor Puzrin has been involved as an expert and consultant in large-scale onshore and offshore geotechnical projects in the UK, the US, Switzerland, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Israel. His research papers received multiple awards from the UK Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He served as the Editor of Géotechnique in 2012–2015.
Abstract of the ALERT Special Lecture 2018
The invited ALERT Special Lecture during the ALERT Workshop 2018 will be presented by Dr. Roland Pellenq, Director of Research at CNRS and MIT Senior Research Scientist. The envisaged title of his talk is: The potential of mean force: the tool to model dense colloidal systems. Find the abstract below. Continue reading
Registration for the ALERT Workshop & School 2017 is open!
The registration for the ALERT Geomaterials Workshop and School 2017 (preliminary programme) is open now! Please read the hints in the registration form! After filling the form and pressing the button “Register”, a window will open with your invoice. Please print the window with the invoice for your records! You will also get an email with the registration data afterwards. In case of the registration of the ALERT members, the corresponding representative of the ALERT institution will receive the registration data too.
Link to the registration form. The registration is closed now!
The deadline for the registration is the September 18th! The accomodation in Aussois will be processed in the order of the registrations (see the hints in the registration form). Please note that the number of rooms in the CNRS “Centre Paul Langevin“ is limited.
See also hints on how to get to Aussois!
Abstract of the ALERT Special Lecture 2017
The invited ALERT Special Lecture during the ALERT Workshop 2017 will be presented by Prof. William G. Gray from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and University of Vermont, Burlington. The envisaged title of his talk is Systematic Description of Multiphase Flow in Porous Media. Find the abstract below. Continue reading
Video of the ALERT Special lecture 2016
The video of Prof. Takashi Matsushima giving the Special lecture at the annual meeting in Aussois 2016 is now available online. The lecture was entitled Planetary Geomechanics.
Photographs from the ALERT Workshop 2016
It is already a nice tradition – David Mašín (Charles University, Prague) has documented with photographs the atmosphere of the ALERT Workshop. Thanks, David!
Registration for the ALERT Workshop & School 2016 is open!
The registration for the ALERT Geomaterials Workshop and School 2016 is open now (the programme of the workshop and school is still preliminary)! (The registration is closed). Please read the hints in the registration form! After filling the form and pressing the button “Register”, a window will open with your invoice. Please print the window with the invoice for your records! You will also get an email with the registration data afterwards. In case of the registration of the ALERT members, the corresponding representative of the ALERT institution will receive the registration data too.
The deadline for the registration is the September 23rd! The accomodation in Aussois will be processed in the order of the registrations (see the hints in the registration form). Please note that the number of rooms in the CNRS “Centre Paul Langevin“ is limited.
See also hints on how to get to Aussois!
Abstract of the ALERT Special Lecture 2016
The invited ALERT Special Lecture during the ALERT Workshop 2016 will be presented by Prof. Takashi Matsushima from University of Tsukuba, Japan. The envisaged title of his talk is Planetary geomechanics. Find the abstract below.
Video of the ALERT Special lecture 2015
The video of Prof. Hans Mühlhaus giving the Special lecture at the annual meeting in Aussois 2015 is now available online. The lecture was entitled Mechanical and hydraulic instabilities in Geomechanics.