The Argentinean Geotechnical Engineering Society (SAIG) is pleased to present the proceedings of the 15th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (XV PCSMGE), held in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from 15th to 18th November 2015.

From the first Pan-American Conference in Mexico in 1959, Pan-American Conferences have been held every four years in different countries in the Americas: Brazil in 1963, Venezuela in 1967, Puerto Rico in 1971, Argentina in 1975, Peru in 1979, Canada in 1983, Colombia in 1987, Chile 1991, Mexico in 1995, Brazil in 1999, the USA in 2003, Venezuela in 2007, and Canada in 2011.

This time, PCSMGE XV – Buenos Aires 2015 has coincided with another three important events for geo-professionals: the 8th South American Conference on Rock Mechanics, the 6th International Symposium of Deformation Characteristics of Soils and the XXII Argentinean Congress of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (CAMSIG XXII).

This meeting has brought together international experts, researchers, academics, professionals and geo-engineering companies in a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss current and future practices in the areas of soil mechanics, rock mechanics, and their applications in civil, mining and environmental engineering.

The Proceedings are divided into nine technical sessions covering the modern trends and classical topics of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. They collect the articles accepted for publication after anonymous peer-review. Four hundred and forty five articles were submitted, and after the peer-review process, 405 were accepted for publication. The articles cover significant advances in the areas of Transportation Geotechnics, In-situ testing, Geo-engineering for Energy and Sustainability, Numerical Modeling in Geotechnics, Foundations & Ground improvement, Unsaturated Soil Behavior, Embankments, Dams and Tailings, Excavations and Tunnels, and GeoRisks. The proceedings are complemented by the book “Geotechnical Synergy in Buenos Aires 2015” which includes the Casagrande Lecture, the Mercer Lecture, 3 plenary lectures, 9 keynote lectures and 6 panelists' contributions, authored by eminent researchers and professionals in the field and covering a wide spectrum of issues from fundamentals to applications in geotechnics. This collection of papers will surely represent an essential reference for academics, researchers and practitioners.

The Conference was organized under the auspices of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and the International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM). On behalf of the Organizing Committee, the editors would like to express their gratitude for the contribution of the members of the National and International Advisory Committee and all the sponsors and institutions who generously contributed to and supported the success of the Buenos Aires Conferences 2015.

Finally, we would like to extend our thanks to all the authors who submitted papers to the conference and to the reviewers who invested significant effort and dedicated some of their valuable time to enhancing the quality of these contributions. We would also like to acknowledge the work and the support of the Session Chairs.

We hope that these Proceedings will strengthen the unity between academics, researchers and geo-practitioners from the Americas that was evident at the Conference, and we trust that it will be considered an essential reference volume in the field of our profession.

Diego Manzanal

Alejo O. Sfriso

Buenos Aires, 15–18 November 2015