IGS Chapters - IGS

IGS Chapters

There are 45 IGS Chapters. The North American and the Nordic Chapters cover several countries. In total IGS Chapters represent 50 Countries spanning all regions. Each Chapter has its own membership process and the fees are payable in local currency. Please visit the Chapter’s page to learn more and join!

Interested in starting a new chapter? See the requirements.

Argentinian

The Argentinian Chapter was founded in 2009.

Australasian

The Australasian Chapter was founded in 2002.

Austrian

The Austrian Chapter was founded in 2016.

Belgian

The Belgian Chapter was founded in 2001.

Brazilian

The Brazilian Chapter was founded in 1997.

Chilean

The Chilean Chapter was founded in 2006.

Chinese

The Chinese Chapter was founded in 1990.

Chinese Taipei

The Chinese Taipei Chapter was founded in 1997.

Colombian

The Colombian Chapter was founded in 2012.

Czech

The Czech Chapter was founded in 2003.

Egypt

The Egypt Chapter was founded in 2018.

French

The French Chapter was founded in 1993.

German

The German Chapter was founded in 1993.

Ghana

The Ghana Chapter was founded in 2012.

Greek

The Greek Chapter was founded in 2005.

Guatemala

Established in 2024

Honduras

The Honduras Chapter was founded in 2013.

Indian

The Indian Chapter was founded in 1988.

Indonesian

The Indonesian Chapter was founded in 1992.

Iran

Italian

The Italian Chapter was founded in 1992.

Japanese

The Japanese Chapter was founded in 1985.

Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan Chapter was founded in 2012.

Korean

The Korean Chapter was founded in 1993.

Malaysian

The Malaysian Chapter was founded in 2013.

Mexican

The Mexican Chapter was founded in 2006.

Morocco

The Morocco Chapter was founded in 2014.

Netherlands

The Netherlands Chapter was founded in 1992.

Nordic

The Nordic Chapter was founded in 2021 and is comprised of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark.

North American

The North American Chapter was founded in 1986.

Panama

The Panama Chapter was founded in 2014.

Peruvian

The Peruvian Chapter was founded in 2001.

Philippines

The Philippine Chapter was founded in 2007.

Polish

The Polish Chapter was founded in 2008.

Portuguese

The Portuguese Chapter was founded in 2003

Romanian

The Romanian Chapter was founded in 1996.

Russian

The Russian Chapter was founded in 2008.

Slovakia

The Slovakia Chapter was founded in 2011.

Slovenia

The Slovenian chapter was founded in 2022.

South African

The South African Chapter was founded in 1994

Spanish

The Spanish Chapter was founded in 1999.

Swiss

The Swiss Chapter was founded in 2018.

Thai

The Thai Chapter was founded in 2002.

Turkish

The Turkish Chapter was founded in 2001.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom Chapter was founded in 1987.

Do you want to join us?

Membership in the IGS is a valuable investment for anyone interested in the engineering and geosynthetics industry.

Start an IGS Chapter

Chapters create the opportunity for the IGS membership to reach out, teach, and communicate.

Chapter Chat

Visit our Chapter Chat page.

Ivan P. Damians

(Spain)

Dr. Ivan P. Damians is an Associate Researcher Professor at the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE®). He serves as a Geotechnical Engineer responsible for Research and Development (R&D) of the VSoL System at VSL International Ltd, which is part of the Bouygues Construction Group. Additionally, he works as an Assistant Professor at the School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya·BarcelonaTech (UPC), teaching courses in Soil Mechanics, Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Projects and Constructions, and Life-Cycle Analysis and Sustainability Assessment for both Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Dr. Damians actively participates in various research projects funded by national and international programs, as well as industry-sponsored initiatives. He is a member of technical committees and professional societies including:

CTN-UNE 140/SC 7, developing standards like EN 1997-3 (Eurocode 7) and 104 (Geosynthetics)
TC218 Reinforced Fill Structures and TC307 Sustainability in Geotechnical Engineering of the ISSMGE
International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and the Sociedad Española de Mecánica de Suelos e Ingeniería Geotécnica (SEMSIG)
Current Secretary of TC-Soil Reinforcement at the IGS.

Dr. Damians is the author of several publications and an active reviewer of international journals in the sectors of soil reinforcement, geosynthetics, sustainability, numerical methods, and behavior of clays as a long-term insulation material for nuclear waste disposal facilities. Moreover, he supervises Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD theses in Geosynthetics at CIMNE/UPC·BarcelonaTech.

Links to online profile & publications:
https://www.cimne.com/sgp/dir/Profile.aspx?id=546
https://futur.upc.edu/IvanPuigDamians
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EbP-6ZYAAAAJ&hl=en
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0333-7296

Jabulile Msiza

(South Africa)

Over the past two years, I’ve had the honour of serving on the IGS Council alongside some brilliant fellow members whom I now regard as colleagues. Although all my activity has been rewarding, the following particularly standout – serving as vice chair of the Technical Committee on Barriers and Representing Africa and the Middle East as their Regional Activity Chair, particularly at a time GeoAfrica (Cairo) was held and the first named lecture series was announced.

I’m a Civil Engineer, Professionally registered, and specializing in Waste Engineering as a Consultant of the company Jones & Wagener Engineering and Environmental Consultants (J&W). I’m the Head of Department of a dynamic team of engineers, technologists and draughts persons servicing waste management facilities across South Africa and other African regions; I’m also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of J&W.

With over 18 years’ working experience, I’m passionate about design for environmental protection, particularly for waste management facilities, construction of barrier and capping systems, and promoting the understanding and appropriate use of geosynthetic materials. It is a humbling industry in that while many advancements have happened in the past few years, there’s still much to learn as installed systems are tested with time and various exposure conditions.

I’m a member of the Associations: South African Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE), Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) Board Member, the South African Chapter of the IGS and the Institute of Waste Management of South Africa. I have been an elected council member of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) for the past four years and eager to continue serving in the future.