from ISSMGE Bulletin: Volume 5, Issue 6 (p.53-54)
OBITUARY
Toshio Aboshi (1925-2011)
Professor T. Aboshi passed away on January 20th in 2011 at the age of 86 a few days after tumbling down the stairs at his home. His death has deprived the geotechnical community of the distinguished scholar and engineer who was well known for his life-long dedication to the soft soil engineering particularly associated with large-scale construction of man-made islands for airports.
Professor Aboshi graduated from the University of Tokyo, Department of Aeronautical Engineering, in 1945. That was the year of social confusion and disaster in Japan after the end of the World War II. It was the hardest time to find a job opportunity particularly for the young elites who specialized the aeronautical engineering. After graduating from the university, he spent some period of time in the soil mechanics laboratory at the Civil Engineering Department, University of Tokyo, under the guidance of Professor Takeo Mogami.
Professor Aboshi changed the expertise of his pursuit to civil engineering and embarked on his illustrious career at the Hiroshima University, western part of Japan Mainland. During the period of recovery from the war-wrecked era and extensive development in industries along the coastal area, he was actively involved in the studies of settlements and stability of soft soil ground created by reclamation. In 1950, the Japan’s first ground improvement by sand drain method was carried out in the highway construction project in Okayama prefecture. Professor Aboshi measured the horizontal coefficient of consolidation ch, using a special consolidation test apparatus which he developed. The result that ch=(6-8)cv for natural undisturbed clays were published in the 1st Asian Regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering in 1960. In 1962, he supervised two ground improvement works of reclaimed lands in Hiroshima Prefecture, which were the first cases in the world regarding application of prefabricated vertical drain method. He developed the band drain made of papers, which was named “paper drain” at that time. The machine for the installation of the drain and the method of observation and control were developed by Professor Aboshi. His works triggered the prevalent use of various types of vertical drain methods in the coastal development projects in 1960s-1980s.
Read more from ISSMGE Bulletin: Volume 5, Issue 6 (p.53-54)
Download in PDF format
