The International Symposium on Underground Freight Transportation

by Capsule Pipelines and Other Tube/Tunnel Systems

ISUFT 2008

Thursday through Saturday, March 20-22, 2008, ISUFT 2008 on the Campus of the University of Texas at Arlington

ISUFT focuses on underground freight transport by automated transportation systems or capsules, moving through underground tunnels or pipelines.

The purpose of ISUFT is to present, by organising events like the international symposia, the research progress in developing underground freight and capsule pipeline transportation concepts.

Topics at the international symposia include:

• technological developments
• potential area of application and its characteristics
• transport performance
• costs and benefits
• implementation and construction aspects

The international steering committee welcomes new ideas or research on underground freight transport and/or capsule pipelines. We invite you to join the ISUFT network.

An ISUFT event is a good forum to present your results. It is also an excellent opportunity to promote underground freight transport and capsule pipelines as a sustainable mode of transport in your country.

International Steering Committee of ISUFT 2008

Professor John H. Matthys, Director of  the Construction Research Center (CRC), The University of Texas at Arlington, USA. (Chairman)

Dr. Nur Yazdani, Chair, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, (Co-Chairman)

Dr. Mohammad Najafi, Director, Center for Underground Infrastructure Research and Education (CUIRE), The University of Texas at Arlington, (Co-Chairman)

Dr. Henry Liu, President, Freight Pipeline Company, USA, (Co-Chairman)

Professor Zhilong Chen, Nanjing Engineering Institute, China

Professor Mikhail Lourie, Russian State Oil and Gas University, Russia

Professor Baosong Ma, China University of Geosciences, China

Dr. Roger Miles, Mole Solutions Ltd., London, UK

Professor Anand J. Puppala, Ph.D., P.E., Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, U.S.A.

Professor Qihu Qian, Chinese Academy of Engineering, China

Dr. Stephen S. Roop, Director, Texas A & M University, U.S.A.

Professor Emeritus Dietrich Stein, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany

Professor E. Taniguchi, Kyoto University, Japan

Professor Yuji Tomita, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan

Professor Yutaka Tsuji, Osaka University, Japan

Mr. William (Bill) Vandersteel, Ampower Corp., U.S.A.

Dr. Johan Visser, Research School for Transport, Infrastructure, and Logistics (TRAIL), Delft, University of Technology, Netherlands

Professor Pavel Vlasak, Institute of Hydrodynamics, Academy of Science of Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic

ISUFT 2008 Important Dates

Important dates to mark in your calendar:

June 30, 2007                               Abstract submission deadline

August, 31, 2007                           Notification of acceptance of abstracts

October, 30 2007                          Submission of draft papers

December 1, 2007                        Symposium early registration deadline

January 31, 2008                          Final papers due

February 15, 2008                        Accommodation booking deadline

***Thursday through Saturday, March 20-22, 2008, ISUFT 2008 on the Campus of the University of Texas at Arlington***

Symposium Topics

         Capsule pipelines, especially pneumatic capsule pipelines (PCP)

     Pipeline transport

         Underground freight transport systems

         Underground construction technology

         Trenchless technology

         Modern tunneling technologies

         Design of capsules and vehicles used in underground freight transport

         Cost and economics of underground freight transport systems

         Legal and environmental aspects of underground freight transport

         Safety and security of underground freight transport systems

         Geology and Geotechnical Issues

         Political and institutional issues regarding underground freight transport

         Case studies of major underground freight transport systems in different nations

         Other topics related to underground freight transport

         Field Trips