…be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. And when you arrive at the Hyatt Regency for the North American Tunneling (NAT) conference, be sure to stop by the registration desk for your badge. Seriously. Without it, you won’t be admitted to the exhibit hall to take in the sights and sounds of the NAT, UCA of SME’s biennial tunneling conference.
When the starry-eyed counterculture focused on the City by the Bay in 1967 for the Summer of Love, love, it was argued, is all you need. Time passed and the reality set in that it takes more than love. Especially if you need to build a tunnel. Love doesn’t hurt, but top-notch designers, tunnel-boring machines and contractors are the way and the light in tunnel construction. NAT gathers the best and brightest of the industry for four days of meetings and exhibitions June 7-11. Truly, to find out what’s hip and happening in North American tunneling, NAT is the place to be.
Last year, NAT’s sister conference, RETC in Toronto, had better than 1,300 attendees and 124 exhibitors. Both conferences have enjoyed increasing attendance over the years and this year promises to be no different. Book flights and arrange rooms early or miss out on the wealth of programs offered.
Events start Sunday, June 8, with daylong workshops on soft ground tunneling technology and blasting. An icebreaker reception that evening promises to warm everyone up for the week ahead.
Monday, June 9, starts with a welcome reception with MWH’s Greg Raines and a keynote address by UCA Chair Brenda Bohlke. Assorted sessions begin thereafter and break for a noon luncheon with guest speaker Dr. Gray Brechin from the Geography Department of the University of California at Berkeley.
Afternoon sessions lead up to the opening reception in the exhibit hall at 5 p.m.
Tuesday begins with the UCA of SME breakfast before morning sessions. Exhibits are open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a noon luncheon in the exhibit hall.
Following afternoon sessions and a reception in the exhibit hall from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Awards Banquet features guest speaker Dr. Robert Cherney, professor of History at San Francisco State University.
The ISTD breakfast starts the day on Wednesday, followed by morning sessions. The exhibit hall wraps up with a luncheon from noon to 2 p.m. Also on Wednesday, a field trip to the Devil’s Slide project site runs from 12:30 to 5 p.m.
Events in the exhibit hall and general sessions and workshops are included with registration, but the breakfast events on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the luncheon on Monday and the awards dinner, require additional tickets. The site visit on Wednesday similarly requires tickets.
All in all, NAT 2008 promises to be full of information and good times. When you go, remember what we said about the flowers in your hair. And that name badge.
Greg Thompson is assistant editor of Tunnel Business Magazine.
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