Underground Infrastructure - May 2023 - 24

CONFERENCEREVIEW
CIGMAT 2023: Infrastructure, Energy,
Geotechnical, Flooding, Sustainability Issues
The 28th " Infrastructure, Energy, Geotechnical, Flooding
and Sustainable Issues Related to Houston and Other Major
Cities, " organized by the Center for Innovative Grouting
Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) and the Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston
on was held on March 3, at the University of Houston Hilton.
More than 300 people and 14 invited speakers attended the
one-day conference and exhibition, with attendees representing
owners, consulting engineers, material supplies, contractors
and academia.
General Session
Welcome remarks by Professor C. Vipulanandan, director
of CIGMAT and Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative
Technology (THC-IT), highlighted the need for such a conference
in highlighting the experiences in major cities with the
rapid growth in the population, new technologies and economic
activities with changing conditions and regulations.
While Houston is the energy capital of the United States
with the largest medical center in the world, there is ever increasing
need for expanding the infrastructures, meeting the
energy demand and integrating the advances in technologies
to meet the population growth and industrial expansion with
the impact of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes,
winter-storms and flooding.
The General Session focused on expanding the highway
transportation infrastructures, innovative solutions for public
works and the energy needs around the world for the next
few decades.
Varuna Singh, deputy district engineer Houston District -
Texas Department of Transportation discussed some of the
major projects that will be completed this year, and several
projects - valued at over several billion dollars in the greater
Houston area - that will start in the next few years. He also
addressed plans for resolving the safety issues associated with
Houston's ranking very high nationally in traffic congestion
problems.
Eliza Paul (left), district engineer for TxDOT-Houston, who delivered
the 17th Mike O'Neill Lecture on " Past Experiences and Management
of Highway Transportation Projects, " and Dr. Vipu.
24 MAY 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
Other topics were related to environmental issues, maintenance
and funding for the Department of Transportation.
Michael Ereti, director of Capital Projects at the city of
Houston Public Works, discussed recent updates on construction
management programs, debris management and
challenges after flooding, and new plans for continuing various
operations with the growing population.
Sid Mebarkia, senior principal engineer for ChevronSubsea
Pipelines, covered the subsea pipeline infrastructures
for the transport of oil, gas and other products across vast
distances beneath the ocean floor. These pipelines are critical
components of the global energy supply chain, enabling
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Underground Infrastructure - May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Infrastructure - May 2023
