Biot Conferences on Poromechanics are named in honor of Maurice A. Biot (1905-1985), the father of the mechanics of porous solids. The series of Biot conferences dates back to 1998, when the first one was held in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). Since then, the Biot conference is held every 3 to 4 years and has become the main international conference for the experts in the mechanics of porous solids. Previous editions of the Biot conference have been held in places with historical significance for the poromechanics community, such as: Université Catholique de Louvain (1st Biot conference in 1998) and Columbia University (4th Biot conference in 2009) where Maurice A. Biot worked, or the Vienna University of Technology (5th Biot conference in 2013) where Terzaghi derived the theory of consolidation. Other editions have been held at times of historical significance, such as the Biot centennial (3rd Biot conference in the University of Oklahoma in 2005).
The 6th Biot conference on poromechanics will be held at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and IFSTTAR, in Champs-sur-Marne, just outside of Paris, France, from July 9 to July 13, 2017. This will be the second time that a Biot conference is hold in France, after the 2nd Biot conference at Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble) in 2002.
This 6th edition will be held as a tribute to Olivier Coussy (1953-2010). Olivier is the first recipient of the ASCE Biot medal. He left a legacy which, on top of numerous articles, is made of books that became references for our scientific community, in particular: “Poromechanics” (2004, Wiley) and “Mechanics and Physics of Porous Solids” (2010, Wiley). In the tradition of the previous editions held in places of historical significance, this edition is jointly organized by IFSTTAR (formerly known as Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées, where Olivier worked for most of his career) and by Ecole des Ponts ParisTech (where Olivier was Professor).
