Dr. Ballouz has been engaged in ISSMGE in various leadership positions for more than 6 years.
He was first engaged as Vice Chair of the first Innovation and Development Committee that was established by President Jean-Louis Briaud. During his tenure there, he played an active role in the establishment of the webinars of the ISSMGE as well as successful initiatives such as the Lexicon and the ISSMGE website.
Two years later, he was asked by the President to lead the Public Relations Committee, which was subsequently named Public Image Committee. As Chair of the PRC/PIC he took on a number of initiatives to strengthen the image of the geo-profession, including the establishment of the “whatisgeotech.org” website and the “what is geotechnical engineering” video that has already 46,000+ views on youtube. The Whatisgeotech.org website was also the source of a FORBES article that attracted a lot of attention to geotechnical engineering.
In 2013, the new President of ISSMGE, Roger Frank, appointed him Board member of the ISSMGE. He has since played an active role through this leadership position, including supporting the Innovation and Development Committee, the Public Image Committee and has the oversight and promotion of the ISSMGE webinars.
Through all his roles in ISSMGE, he has tried to support initiatives that can strengthen the future of the geo-profession, support younger members, and improve the integration of research and practice in the geo-profession.