The 2013 Geo-Congress will build upon the success of previous Geo-Congresses by meeting the technical and professional needs of the geo-profession. The broad theme of the 2013 Geo-Congress is the “Stability and Performance of Slopes and Embankments,” a theme that encompasses all aspects of the geo-profession.

In 1966, G.E. Bertram, W.G. Holtz, T.W. Lambe, H.B. Seed, J.K. Mitchell, and R.J. Woodward organized a historic “Geo-Congress” on the stability and performance of slopes and embankments. This Congress brought together some of the most prominent geoengineers of the time – Whitman, Peck, Casagrande, Wilson, and Sherard, just to name a few – to discuss the state-of-the-practice, state-of-the-art, and future directions in slope stability analysis, dam and levee design, and the evaluation of natural slopes. Roughly 25 years later in 1992, the Embankments, Dams, and Slopes (EDS) committee of the ASCE Geotechnical Engineering Division sponsored a second landmark Geo-Congress – Stability and Performance of Slopes and Embankments II (A 25-year Perspective). The list of speakers included preeminent engineers such as Morgenstern, Lambe, Duncan, Marcuson, Sowers, Ladd, Mitchell, and too many others to list.

The EDS committee of the Geo-Institute of ASCE is now sponsoring a third Geo-Congress with the theme of Stability and Performance of Slopes and Embankments. The Geo-Congress will feature the Seed, Peck, and Terzaghi Lectures, as well as panel, plenary, and poster sessions on a broad range of geotechnical topics, largely under the umbrella of slopes and embankments. We trust that at this Geo-Congress the profession will present the highest quality research, case histories of great importance, and advancements that will improve the geo-profession.