GEOCON2013 -The 9th International Conference of Geotechnical & Transportation Engineering (Geotropika) and The 1st International Conference on Construction and Building Engineering (Iconbuild) has been successfully conducted on 28-30 October 2013 at Persada Johor International Convention Centre.

The conference brought together leading researchers, engineers and scientist from related field of interest from around the world. The Geotropika-Iconbuild conference aims to establish scientific link at international level for sharing and disseminating valuable information on activities in Civil Engineering researches in developing countries. There were 137 technical papers received from eleven countries and presented during GEOCON2013.

With the theme of ‘Sustainability in Construction and Transportation for Better Future’ for GEOCON2013, it covers the built environment, which serves as a dynamic interface through which the human society and the ecosystem interact and influence each other. Understanding this interdependence is key to understanding sustainability as it applies to construction, geotechnical and transportation engineering. Thus, the technical sessions of GEOCON2013 are of construction, geotechnical, highway and transportation engineering fields.

There were 5 keynote speakers who had delivered their speech in the conference.

  1. Professor Gordon Airey, Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre, University of Nottingham UK – ‘Green Technology and Sustainability in Highway Engineering’ Ensuring Sustainability Moisture Damage Performance of Asphalt Paving Materials.
  2. Professor Dr Muhd. Zaimi Abd Majid, Dean of Construction Research Alliance, UTM – Innovative and Sustainable Construction Technology
  3. Mr. Shahar Effendi Abdullah Azizi, State Director Department of Mineral and Geosciences Malaysia, Johor – Controlled Blasting in Urban Development Areas
  4. Professor Dr Niki Lukviarman, Rector Universitas Bung Hatta, Indonesia – Towards Sustainable Engineering Education: The Role of Bung Hatta University
  5. Associate Professor Dr Othman Che Puan, UTM – Sustainable Transportation Systems in Malaysia: Issues and Possible Strategies