Fostering Innovation & Knowledge Sharing in Geotechnical Engineering.

Passing the Torch  

A message from outgoing Vice President for Europe, Professor Lyesse Laloui

Four years ago, I took on the role of Vice President for Europe with a simple ambition: to make this regional community feel like exactly that - a community. Not a mailing list, not a bureaucratic tier between national societies and Geneva, but a genuine space for shared purpose.

What followed exceeded my expectations.  Five European National Assemblies, eight newsletters, a new generation of young engineers championed through EYGEC, closer ties with national societies from Lisbon to Bucharest to Skopje and, I hope, a platform - this one - that national societies can point to with some pride.

I leave this role knowing the work is far from finished. The geotechnical challenges facing Europe - climate adaptation, energy transition, urban resilience - are growing in scale and urgency. The community that responds to them must be equally ambitious.

I am therefore delighted to pass the role of Vice President for Europe to Professor Loretta Batali. As Professor at the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest and President of the Romanian Society for Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering, Loretta brings deep roots in the European community, a distinguished record in Eurocode 7, and - from what I have seen at our shared events - the energy and conviction this role demands. The region is in excellent hands.

It has been a privilege. 

Lyesse Laloui, June 2026