August

ARMA Monthly News

2024

Chief Editor of this Issue: Rudrajit Mitra

Happy New Year!

August 1 marks the turning of a page to a New Year for those of us in the ARMA community. The closeout administrative tasks from the past Symposium, our family’s biggest and most important annual holiday, is complete. The month of July has seen the wheels of ARMA quietly turning in the background to shift the focus to the 2025 Symposium in Santa Fe and its website went live on August 1. Our New Year has officially begun.

But there is so much more happening as we flip our calendars. The early stages of organization of the 2026 symposium are under way. The Organizing Committee for the first SPE-ARMA joint workshop on subsurface storage is beginning to meet regularly, starting this groundbreaking event down the runway ahead of its September 2025 lift off. The Hydraulic Fracturing Technical Committee is crafting the first ever ARMA feature session to be unveiled in February 2025 at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference. The organization of the International Geomechanics Conference is in full swing, with their November 2024 event just around the corner.

This year is also a special New Year for ARMA, as August 1 is the official transition date of the Executive Director from Peter Smeallie to Eric Gustafson. With this change, I again thank Peter for being the central figure in crafting ARMA into what it is today. I am also so excited for the future of ARMA, with Eric and his team bringing their experience, professionalism, and a genuine enthusiasm for their role in forming the coming decades of ARMA’s story.

Story.

Let’s pause on that word for a moment. 

Just like our regular lives, there is so much going on, so many tasks, we can forget to take time to reflect on how the daily tasks and events form our Story. As we consume ourselves with our daily doses of micromechanics, we can forget to do the upscaling that enables us to observe how small-scale processes form the bigger arc of our lives.

Last month I reflected on our 2024 Symposium. The renewed engagement with mining. The introduction of a Storage track and of Showcase Sessions. And most importantly, the culture we have built together where meaningful connections happen all around us whenever we are together. That is a wonderful chapter in our Story.

In this month’s newsletter, we have opportunity for a deeper and more broadly sweeping reflection on our Story. This part of our Story is told as a tribute to Evert Hoek, one of the titans of our field who passed away last month. In writing this tribute, Charles Fairhurst shows how Evert’s Story is also our Story. And not only because so many of us will, even this week, make use of the Hoek and Brown criterion or will run an experiment in a Hoek-type triaxial cell. His Story is one of curiosity, of a desire to translate fundamental rock mechanics to practical applications, of following opportunities, and of investing in those closest to us to build a whole life legacy. It is the best of us.

For me it brings to mind a quote from Australian sports writer, Greg Baum. He was writing in The Age on January 6, 2012 about the Australian Cricket Captain, Michael Clarke, achieving a magnificent 329 not out at the Sydney Cricket Ground (sorry to my many ARMA colleagues who may not have such fond memories of this event because of the team Australia was facing). For those not from cricketing countries, suffice it to say it was one of the greatest batting performances in cricketing history. Achieving it required him to face over 500 balls, each representing an elite cricketer’s attempt to get him out. For 10 ½ hours the other team tried to stop him, but was never able to make him falter. Baum said, “An innings such as this is by definition larger than life, yet consists of a repetition of life-sized acts.”

Throughout ARMA’s Story, we have been built on a repetition of life-sized acts. When these life-sized acts are deliberate, well-thought out, coordinated, cooperative, and done with excellence, they form our Story. It is one that is, by definition, larger than life. As we enter our New Year, may we reflect, refresh, reframe, and then pursue with passion the Story that will be told by our coming year.

Sincerely,

Andrew Bunger, PhD

President, American Rock Mechanics Association

Good day ARMA members, my name is Eric Gustafson, and I am the new ARMA Executive Director and owner of Interactive Management Inc (IMI), headquartered in Westminster CO.

I am thrilled to be joining the ARMA family with my team at IMI. We became an accredited member of the Association Management Company Institute (AMCI) in 2002 and are dedicated to supporting organizations with comprehensive management services, priding ourselves on our commitment to excellence and innovation. IMI has renewed its certification every 7 years without fail. 

Our introduction at this year's Symposium in Golden, CO, was a fantastic experience, and getting to meet so many members of the group was a great experience, and we look forward to continuing for years.  

We also extend our gratitude to Peter Smeallie for his years of dedication and leadership, and we deeply appreciate his assistance during this transition period. I think it is safe to say many of you know Peter and how instrumental he is to the success of ARMA.  

We are looking forward to seeing you in Santa Fe in 2025 for the 59^th US Rock Mechanics/ Geomechanics Symposium in June.

Please reach out if you have any questions or need anything from us at Info@armarocks.org.

We look forward to collaborating with ARMA members and getting to know you better.

Dr. Evert Hoek passed away on July 6, 2024 at his home in Vancouver, Canada, after a brief illness. He was born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1933. His parents were farmers. He attended Cape Town University to study Mechanical Engineering. While at university, he met his first wife, Theo. Their son, Peter and daughter Dorothy (Fairholm) were born in South Africa.  The family subsequently emigrated to England in 1966 when he took up his position in Rock Mechanics at the Royal School of Mines. In 1975, the family moved again, this time permanently, to Canada. Their initial home was Vancouver, while Evert was with Golder Associates (1975- 1987). From 1987-1993, the family moved to Toronto, returning to Vancouver where Evert became a private consultant. Theo passed away in 2013. Evert married Bonnie in 2014. He retired in 2018.

Throughout, Evert was a devoted husband and father and in their own words, his family ‘adored’ him. A private celebration of Evert’s life is planned by Bonnie and the family.  

On behalf of the rock engineering community worldwide, we grieve with you. As many have observed, We have lost a Giant in Rock Engineering – but are the better for having known him.         

I first met Evert at the CSIR in 1965. He had been at CSIR since 1958 and was pursuing research on stress analysis using photo-elasticity. Around 1964, the South African Chamber of Mines, alarmed at the heavy death toll due to rockbursts in the deep (ca 3km) gold mines and the Coalbrook coal mining disaster in 1960, in which some 437 miners lost their lives, decided to establish two mining research laboratories in 1964 – one  to address rockbursts, led by Dr. Neville Cook, a mechanical engineer/geophysicist; the other to improve coal mining technology led by Dr. Miklos Salamon, a mining engineer. CSIR decided to participate in both activities. Evert turned his attention from stress analysis and mechanical engineering to rock mechanics. He became part of the interdisciplinary team. He impressed me by his experimental skills, and ability to contribute to both topics. In retrospect, I am reminded of the word, ‘ingenuity’ -

"the skill of thinking, and performing, or using things in new ways, especially to solve problems" (Cambridge Dictionary) [This  has been suggested as the origin of the term Engineer (ingénieur - Fr)]. So began Evert’s career in rock mechanics /rock engineering. The paper "Cook, N.G.W., Hoek, E., Pretorius, J.P.G., Ortlepp, W.D. and Salamon, M.D.G. (1966.) Rock mechanics applied to the study of rockbursts." J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. 66, pp.436-528, describes one important contribution by this group to excavation design in the rockburst-prone mines of the Witwatersrand.

Though he made contributions to discussion of the basic mechanics of rock fracture in compression, he was always interested in developing procedures to assist the engineer faced with practical situations in the field. Nowhere was this more evident in Evert’s development, in collaboration with Ted Brown, his successor at the Royal School of Mines, of the Hoek-Brown – GSI criterion of in-situ rock strength. Throughout his years as an international consultant, he helped bring innumerable projects to a successful conclusion, -but he considered his primary role to be an 'educator'. His lectures were examples of clarity, tailored to each audience - and always within his allotted time. Thanks to Dr John Curran, Evert’s colleague at the University of Toronto, founder of Rocscience (and now ARMA Fellow), the world of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering has Hoek’s Corner with an extensive library of Everts papers and Video Lectures, available freely to all interested in these fields. Evert’s impact can be judged by the international recognition accorded to him.

I recommended that readers  take the time to listen to Dr. Hoek’s Final Lecture, presented  at the First Rocscience  International Conference  April 20-21, 2021, The lecture entitled – "Developments in Rock Engineering from 1958 to 2020” and can be found here.

Dr Hoek’s closing words were addressed to the younger colleagues who are just entering our field. I have copied them below and recommend that our younger colleagues in ARMA pay close attention to them. 

“I would like to close with a few comments for those of you in the audience who are new in the field of rock engineering or who are considering it as a possible component of a future career. As you may have gathered from the early slides in my presentation, I had no intention of working with rock masses as my principal engineering material. However, having stumbled into this field by accident, I found it to be fascinating, challenging and rewarding, and I have absolutely no regrets having spent 60 years in this field. In fact, because of the unpredictability of rock masses, I found every problem to be uniquely challenging. The other advantage that I had was that the problems I faced from the very beginning of my involvement in rock engineering were real rather than theoretical. Experience, common sense and engineering intuition are just as important as formal knowledge of the fundamental principles of rock mechanics.

This leads me to recommend that if you have considered entering this field or you have already graduated with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, take a break, and get out in the field for a few years before continuing your formal education. An alternative is to enroll in a co-op program if offered by your university, in which you work part-time with an engineering company or consulting organization during your degree course. You will never regret the time taken to gain this experience that you get from this time out.  Thank you for your attention."  

As someone who had spent about three and a half years working underground by the time I completed my Ph.D. I fully agree with the value of underground in developing a  practical  awareness of how a rock mass may respond to excavation, both immediately and over time. This is an invaluable complement to understanding gained in your formal studies and in surface laboratories. 

Rock Mechanics Short Course, University of Minnesota (ca. 1966) (annual event in 1960’s). Faculty (left to right): A. M. Starfield, R.E. Goodman, C. Fairhurst, P. Hackett, N. J. Price*, N.G.W. Cook*, J. C. Jaeger*, E. Hoek*

(* deceased)

Visit to Site of 1960 Malpasset Dam Failure (downstream; remains of dam top left) (ca 1970). Left to right: E. Hoek*, H. Kutter, P. Londe*, C. Fairhurst

(* deceased)

Evert (right) and Charles (left) at the 47th ARMA Symposium, San Francisco (2013) (Courtesy: Peter Smeallie)

International Geomechanics Conference: the Role of Geomechanics in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

Hosted by PETRONAS and co-organized by nine professional societies ARMA, DGS, SEG, SPE, AAPG, SPWLA, CSRME, EAGE, and SRMEG, IGS 2024 will continue to foster interdisciplinary connections, and drive transformative advancements in #geomechanics research, practice, and education. Technical Program Chair - Tan Chee Phuat of Malaysia and Ausama Giwelli of Australia invite you to exchange your geomechanics knowledge and experience on Nov 18 -20 in Kuala Lumpur. Abstract topics include:

🔸 CO2 Sequestration and Utilization

🔸 Subsurface Hydrogen and Energy Storage

🔸 Fundamental Geomechanics

🔸 Petroleum Geomechanics

🔸 Geomechanics for Geothermal & New Energies Systems

🔸 Geotechnics and Environment

🔸 Mining Rock Mechanics

5th ICITG - International Conference on Information Technology in Geo-engineering

The Joint Committee 2 (JCT2) on Representation of Geo-engineering Data of FedIGS cordially invites you to the 5th International Conference on Information Technology in Geo-engineering (5th ICITG).

The conference will take place from 5-8 August 2024 at the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado, USA.

Click here for more details.

American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2024

The annual meeting of AGU will be held in Washington, D.C. between 9-13 December, 2024. The theme of this conference is “What’s Next for Science.” 

There will be a special sessions titled "Mining-induced seismicity: challenges in monitoring, modeling, managing, and related risks"

Click here for more details.

2025 SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition

This conference will be at the forefront of hydraulic fracturing innovation. This eagerly anticipated event will convene industry pioneers from around the world to explore groundbreaking developments and best practices in hydraulic fracturing.

The conference will take place between 4-6 February 2025 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center at The Woodlands, Texas, USA.

There will be a special ARMA session in this conference. We cordially invite you to attend HFTC as well as the special ARMA session.

GeoProc 2025

The 8th International Conference on Coupled THMC Processes: Geomechanics for Energy and Environmental Applications will be held in Nicosia, Cyprus between 20-23 October 2025. The conference will address the role of multi-scale, coupled THMC processes in geo energy extraction and storage and protection of subsurface environment.

Click here for more details.

The road to zero: The fifty-year effort to eliminate roof fall fatalities from US underground coal mines

In a recent article, Mark (2024) discusses that sixty years ago, underground coal mining was the most dangerous job in the U.S., with roof falls causing around 100 miner deaths annually. By 2016, however, there were no fatalities from roof falls, marking the first such year. In the subsequent six years, three miners lost their lives due to roof falls.

The paper explores how this historic achievement was accomplished, detailing the developments that have occurred over the years.

This paper was also presented at The Best of Ground Control session held at the 2024 SME Annual Conference & Expo on February 26, 2024. This is a standing session at the annual SME conference in the Coal & Energy Division. The six technical papers presented in this session were selected from the 42nd International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (ICGCM 2023). The session was well attended and much discussion was generated from the exceptional presentations. 

Mark, C. The Road to Zero: The 50-Year Effort to Eliminate Roof Fall Fatalities from US Underground Coal Mines. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 41, 727–741 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-024-00956-w

Please tell us what you think should be featured here next month using news@armarocks.org. Thank you!

Student Council - ARMA

We cannot be prouder of the Student Council at the American Rock Mechanics Association, which represents 28 university chapters worldwide. 

We heartily thank the graduating officers, Akash Chaurasia, Jineon Kim, and Zhiyuan (Thomas) Li, for their exemplary service. We also extend our gratitude to all the faculty and students who continue to brighten the future of geomechanics. 

Congratulations to all the winning teams and individuals of ARMA's annual student competitions. Well done and bravos

1. Student Design Contest (top teams)

• University of Toronto;
• UPN "Veteran" Yogyakarta;
• Chengdu University of Technology ;
• Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

2. Graduate Research Contest (top individuals)

• Aishwarya Srinivasan of ARMA TAMU Student Section;
• Mohamed Sarhan of American Rock Mechanics Association - UH Student Chapter;
• Mehrdad Imani of ARMA Colorado School of Mines; 
• Junsu Leem of Seoul National University;
• Chinemerem E. Obi of ARMA TAMU Student Section.

In order to facilitate a greater interest in rock mechanics within the student population, ASCE's GeoInstitute has funded a Special Projects proposal (submitted by Prof. Mary MacLaughlin, Montana Tech) to develop a Rock Mechanics Student Competition which will potentially premiere at Geo-Congress 2026 in Salt Lake City, UT.

The funding is providing student support for planning the competition, between now and the end of September.

Right now, it is in the preliminary stages of designing the competition and would value input from students, faculty, industry professionals, organizers of a variety of other student competitions, and others. 

An initial survey has been developed with questions that are intended to provide initial input on what makes rock mechanics unique and ideas on what might work for a competition. Click here to complete the survey. It is expected that responding to this survey will only take a few minutes of your time.

ARMA Future Leaders Program



Dear ARMA Members, Student Chapters, and other affiliates,

Future Leaders aim to launch collaborations on various research, practice, and educational projects among different or similar organizations (universities, companies, and government).

To know more about this ARMA group’s work and exchange ideas, join us online every other Friday from 9:00 to 10:00 AM US Mountain Time for an excellent lecture on emerging topics.

Below is the online meeting info for the FL Lecture:

https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/99355457319

Special Issue of Geosciences Journal

A special issue on "Earth Stresses and Subsurface Geoengineering" will be published in the Geosciences journal. This issue will be edited by Maurice Dusseault (ARMA Fellow) and Ali Yaghoubi, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.

This Special Issue aims to explore the multifaceted relationship between earth stress and subsurface geoengineering, thus providing a platform for researchers to present innovative research, methodologies, and specific case studies. 

In this special issue, the editors would welcome original research articles and reviews which focus on a broad range of research areas, including (but not limited to) the following: characterization of tectonic stresses, fault reactivation and seismic hazard assessment, energy resource extraction, induced seismicity, energy storage, borehole engineering, geomechanics and geothermal energy, geomechanics in carbon storage, geomechanical modeling of subsurface stress distribution, and case studies, to name a few.

Please send an abstract (250 words) immediately to ali.yaghoubi@uwaterloo.ca or mauriced@uwaterloo.ca if you wish to submit an article. 

• Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Saline Aquifers – Building confidence by forecasting and monitoring. Instructor: Prof Philip S. Ringrose. Time: 14–15 August 2024
• Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Saline Aquifers – Building confidence by forecasting and monitoring. Instructor: Prof Philip S. Ringrose. Time: 21–22 August 2024
• Physics and Data Driven Seismic Data Analysis: A Narrative of two Approaches. Instructor: Prof Mrinal K. Sen. Time: 25 August 2024

University of Utah

The University of Utah's geotechnical engineering program is pleased to announce three open Ph.D. positions starting fall of 2024. These positions will delve into various research areas through a combination of experimental and computational studies:

• Multi-physics and multi-scale behavior of granular materials and jointed rocks
• Wave propagation in heterogeneous geomaterials
• Non-destructive evaluation of fractures

We invite MS graduates in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Geophysics who meet the following qualifications and reside in the United States to reach out to Dr. Shahrzad Roshankhah at Shahrzad.roshankhah@utah.edu or Dr. Kami Mohammadi at kami.mohammadi@utah.edu.

Required qualifications:

• Strong quantitative background (BS and MS Technical GPA>3.5),
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills,
• Strong in programming and Finite Element Analysis, or image analysis and operating laboratory transducers.

Equally crucial, we are actively seeking individuals who embody qualities such as curiosity, enthusiasm, diligence, ethics, tenacity, and professionalism to contribute to the vibrant and collaborative environment of our research teams.

Open Pit Mining Geotechnical Engineer

Here is a new on-site role and an opportunity to learn from a great team what it takes to be a valuable, technical practitioner for maintaining safe highwalls while optimizing slope angles.

Northeastern Nevada has year-round activities and abundant 4-season outdoor adventures for your balanced lifestyle.

Apply now! https://lnkd.in/ge8BdG9w

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