The Third International Conference on Site Characterization (ISC'3) was held in Taipei, Taiwan from April 1—4, 2008. ISC' 3 is a continuation of a long list of successful conferences on various aspects of site characterization. The most recent events of the series can be traced back to ISC-98 (Atlanta, USA) and ISC'2 (Portal, Portugal). The idea of ISC was initiated by the technical committee on Ground Property Characterization by In-Situ Tests (TC-16) of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).
A rather diverse group of practitioners and researchers from all over the world have gathered in the conference to exchange their experiences in all aspects of geotechnical site characterization practice and research. Novel ideas in the use and developments of sampling as well as in situ testing tools such as SPT, CPT, PMT and DMT continued to be the core of the conference. Papers presented at ISC' 3 revealed some of the remarkable developments in geophysical testing and imaging techniques that enable nondestructive profiling of underground conditions. A rise in the use of risk management and statistical analysis in geotechnical site characterization has also been noticed. Taiwan and some parts of Asia are prone to natural hazards such as earthquakes and typhoons. As a consequence, many papers submitted from this region deals with these concerns as they relate to site characterization.
The conference proceedings have been arranged under seven themes including: Case histories in field applications; Characterization of unusual/unsaturated geomaterials; Developments of new equipment & methods; Geophysical testing & imaging techniques; Interpretation/analysis of test data; Pavement geomechanics; and Sampling disturbance. A total of 207 papers that include 13 keynote/theme lectures were presented at the conference.