The International Society for Micropiles (ISM) is a consortium of international representatives involved in the research and development, design, and construction of micropiles. In 1994, a core group of ISM members formed what was then IWM, the International Workshop on Micropiles. The intention of the group was to form an international peer review team for the

FHWA The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

State of Practice Study on Micropiles (1993-1997), which focused on "classic" micropiles, namely drilled and grouted elements of high capacity. The study was undertaken as a contribution to the ongoing French national research project "FOREVER". This international team of practitioners and academicians have since gathered over the years on several occasions to ensure that the study has reflected current standards and practices worldwide. The synergy of this group of individuals, allied with major demands for technology transfer to "newer" markets mainly from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

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, led to the organization of an IWM in

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in September 1997. This first IWM has since led to eight additional workshops which have been held since this initial meeting: Ube, Japan (1999);

Turku, Finland Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; 16 ...

(2000);

Lille, France Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

(2001);

Venice, Italy Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

(2002);

(2003);

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

(2004); Schrobenhausen, Germany (2006); and

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(2007). Next workshop is scheduled for the second quarter of 2009 and will be held in

London, UK London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. Countries sponsoring delegates and providing major contributions to the IWM throughout the years include the

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Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(and other Scandinavian countries),

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, and the

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. The late Dr. Fernando Lizzi of

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, who developed the concept of pali radice (root piles), is regarded fondly as the visionary leader of ISM. He obtained the first micropile patents in 1952, and has used micropiles in the restoration of many important and historic monuments internationally. As the "father of micropiles", his creative vision has allowed the technology to blossom worldwide and has sewn the "roots" for its future and that of ISM.

External links

International Society for MicropilesInternational Micropile Society Meets in GermanyFOREVER The French national project on micropiles
Geotechnical organizations