Nominations are invited to become the next Kelvin Legge Lecturer in the prestigious speaker series recognizing excellence in geosynthetics.

The IGS Africa-Middle East Regional Activities Committee (AMERAC), which supports the organizing committee of GeoAfrica conferences, is seeking candidates for the accolade, established in honor of and named after Kelvin Legge, one of the industry's most impactful practitioners.

Nominees from all IGS members and Chapters are welcome, but also from non-IGS members and even people based outside Africa and the Middle East. However, all candidates should demonstrate the pursuit of excellence in geosynthetics, and be someone who has contributed to the wider development of the geosynthetics discipline either directly or indirectly in Africa-Middle East.

The successful nominee will be invited to deliver a 60-minute presentation at the opening session of GeoAfrica5 in March 2027 and provide a paper in late 2026 in support of the lecture which will be published alongside conference proceedings.

Read Full Criteria Considerations: Kelvin Legge Call for Nominations - GeoAfrica5

The deadline for nominations is June 19, 2026. Submissions will be reviewed by the IGS AMERAC Selection Task Force with a decision presented to the IGS Officers for final approval in July 2026. The successful candidate will be notified by the end of that month.

You can submit nominations via email in the form of a one-page written submission to IGS AMERAC Chair Hamza Mridakh at igssec@geosyntheticssociety.org.

Established by the IGS in 2022, the Kelvin Legge Lecture recognizes an individual whose work has resulted in significant advances in concepts or technologies that have had a meaningful impact on the practice of geosynthetics engineering in the Africa–Middle East region.

The lecture serves as both a recognition of distinguished achievement and an opportunity to share influential ideas, innovations, and experiences that continue to shape geosynthetics engineering and practice across the region and worldwide. The inagural Legge Lecture was given by Peter Legg at GeoAfrica4 in Cairo, Egypt in 2023.

GeoAfrica5 will be held from March 1-5, 2027 in Gauteng, South Africa. Watch this space for updates.