Second Richard Bathurst Lecturer Revealed

A lecture series honoring groundbreaking practitioners in soil reinforcement geosynthetics has named Pietro Rimoldi as its next speaker.

The Richard Bathurst Lecture was established to be delivered at the IGS Technical Committee on Soil Reinforcement (TC-R) session at every International Conference on Geosynthetics (ICG). Mr Rimoldi will give the second such lecture at the 13th ICG in Montreal, Canada, in 2026.

Mr Rimoldi, vice-chair of the IGS TC-R and member of IGS Italy, has an extensive background in soil reinforcement geosynthetics and development, including advancing research, design and performance test methods over many years.

His nomination also highlighted his involvement in designing hundreds of reinforced soil structures all over the world, including some of the tallest reinforced soil structures, and in challenging conditions such as highly seismic areas.

He has also published almost 300 works on geosynthetics, including more than 130 papers on soil reinforcement, as well as being a leading light in the TC-R, contributing to the educational activities of the IGS by delivering presentations, keynote lectures, workshops, and IGS Educate the Educators programs on this important topic.

Mr Rimoldi said: "I feel really honoured for being nominated and finally selected, it represents for me the acknowledgement of 40 years of work on soil reinforcement.

"This is very important for me because I have worked for 15 years as Technical Director of an important geosynthetics manufacturer and for the last 25 years I have been a professional engineer, specialising in Geosynthetics Engineering; therefore I spent all my career in the geosynthetics industry."

Inspired by his "360-degree experience" in soil reinforcement, Mr Rimoldi's Bathurst Lecture is titled 'Per aspera ad astra: the development of soil reinforcement through testing, design, and innovation.'

He added: "I feel very excited to go through the past, present and future of soil reinforcement, and I'm already collecting all materials that I will need to draft the paper and deliver the 2^nd Bathurst Lecture."

Ivan Puig Damians said: "As the current Chair of the TC-R, it is a great honor to have participated in the conceptualization and award process of the Richard Bathurst Lecture. The second edition of this award has been deservedly given to Pietro. I'm very much looking forward to his presentation in Montreal!"