This year’s North American Tunneling Conference (NAT 2008), sponsored by the Underground Construction Association of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (UCA of SME) will be held in June at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in San Francisco, California.

“It’s a great location. The city has some world-renowned tunneling projects currently in design and under construction,” says Conference Chair, Greg Raines. One of the most notable of these is the Devil’s Slide Tunnel, which will bypass a section of highway along the impressive vistas of the California Coastline. The final day of the conference includes a field trip to the project.

The conference is already expected to be a great success, principally due to the high-quality papers received, the caliber of the authors, and a dedicated event organizing committee.

The presentations have been divided into four tracks: Technology, Design, Project Planning & Implementation, and Case Histories, all running concurrently from Monday through to Wednesday.

“We received over 120 abstracts from an impressive array of technical specialists in the tunneling and underground construction industry,” says Raines. “It always amazes me how dedicated the tunneling community is.”

The final paper count stands at approximately 100, all of which have been peer reviewed by the Program Sub-Committee. The Organizing Committee coordinated all these efforts with support from the staff of SME.

“This arrangement for NAT has advanced our ability to produce a high-quality and industry leading conference with great opportunity for knowledge sharing,” says Raines.

The volunteer Organizing Committee consists of over 20 individuals, who broke up into sub-committees including the Program Committee, Speaker Committee, Student Outreach Committee, and Special Programs Committee.

Some of the highlights to get the conference started include short courses, workshops, and keynote speakers. On the Sunday before the conference Short Courses on Soft Ground Tunneling and an Underground Blasting will be offered, covering a wide spectrum of tunneling technology. “We also have a Disputes Review Board Workshop on Sunday,” says Raines, “the other aspect of tunneling we cannot seem to get by without.”

Monday starts the conference in earnest with the first keynote speaker Bijan Sartipi, from Caltrans (California Department of Transportation), which has both the Devil’s Slide Tunnel, in construction, and the third bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, in design. This year there will also be a second speaker, Maria Ayerdi, from Transbay Transit, which has the San Francisco Transbay Transit Center in design, with an underground station and NATM tunnel through the city, among other features.

There will be ample opportunity to network between technical sessions with three exhibit hall sessions, one on each day. “The exhibit hall is completely sold out, with over 60 exhibitors including suppliers, contractors, engineers, media, and owners, such as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission,” says Raines. “I’m sure there will be plenty of good information to pick up during a round through the exhibit hall. Food and drink will also be provided by the exhibit sponsors, who seemed overly eager to provide lunch for everyone.”

Sunday night starts off the social events, with an easy going ICE Breaker Reception. Breakfasts and luncheons are planned on all three days, with lunch for the Keynote Speakers on Monday; and breakfast for UCA of SME & ITA on Tuesday; and for the International Shaft Drillers Association on Wednesday.

The UCA of SME/ITA breakfast will also include Paper Presentations from the Student Outreach finalists, with paid expenses and monetary awards for the best paper given. “We have pushed hard to bring more students into the mix and came to the conclusion that offering them cash awards to get involved might be a good start,” says Raines. The industry has been keen to support the program also. “We’ve had a fantastic response,” says Student Outreach Committee member, Hannes Lagger. “In the region of 20 sponsors have come forward, from throughout the industry, everybody has contributed!”

The Awards Banquet is on Tuesday night, with special awards being presented by UCA for Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Individual and Outstanding Educator. “This leaves Monday night as the only open time slot,” says Raines, “which of course we always leave open for outside functions; boat rides on the Bay; or for visits to famous San Francisco landmarks.”


NAT 2008 organising committee

Gregory Raines, Conference Chair, MWH Americas
Mark Ramsey, Conference Vice Chair, Kiewit
Program Committee
Marc Kritzer, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Dennis Ofiara, The Robbins Company
Michael Roach, Traylor Bros
Bradford Townsend, Hatch Mott MacDonald
Special Programs Committee
Steven Hunt, CH2M Hill
Michael Smithson, Kenny Construction Co
Michael Vitale, Hatch Mott MacDonald
Student Outreach Committee
Robert Freeman, Cellular Concrete LLC
Jean Habimana, Jacobs Engineering Group
Hannes Lagger, Arup
Colin Lawrence, Hatch Mott MacDonald
Speaker Committee
Larry Eckert, Lachel Felice & Associates
John Hawley, Hatch Mott MacDonald
Raymond Henn, Lyman Henn

NAT 2008 San Francisco – 1 San Francisco – 2 San Francisco – 3