Keynote Speakers
Ikuo Towhata
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Vice President, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Asia)
President, The Japanese Geotechnical Society
Lecture Topic:
Strategy for mitigation and early warning of rain-induced slope failure
Prof. Ikuo Towhata (Japan) is a world-known geotechnical engineering professor, currently serving the University of Tokyo. Involved actively in international research activities, Prof. Towhata holds a position of Vice President of International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) for Asian Region for a period of four years beginning 2013. Also, on 12 June 2014, he has been elected the President of the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS) for two years.
Prof. Towhata entered the University of Tokyo in 1973 as an undergraduate student and spent almost nine years until he received a Doctor of Engineering degree in 1982. Immediately after graduation, he joined the University of Tokyo the same year as a Research Associate. Since 1994, he has been serving this university as a professor. Besides, he has a year of experience as a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia in 1982-1983, and in 1985, he served Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok for two years as an Assistant Professor.
A member of six national/international scientific/professional societies and honored with many prestigious awards and prizes, Prof. Towhata has a record of authored/co-authored highly valued publication list of about 400 papers in national and international journals and conference proceedings. His research interest and expertise include: 1) deformation characteristics of cohesionless soils, 2) dynamic analysis of earth structures during earthquakes, 3) permanent displacement of ground caused by seismic liquefaction, 4) soil improvement by densification and grouting, 5) stability of seabed in static and dynamic manners, 6) thermal effects on mechanical behavior of clays, 7) microscopic observation of granular behavior of sand subjected to shear, 8) dynamics of landslide and debris flow, 9) mechanical properties of municipal waste ground, 10) seismic performance-based design of geotechnical structures, and 11) mitigation of rainfall-induced slope instability.
As a matter of fact, Prof. Towhata has remained one of the key persons and the motivators towards organizing this international symposium, as a support to promoting the geotechnical engineering activities in developing nations. To honor his involvement with this international event, the organizers have used his great good name as the Honorary Chair of the organizing committee.
Amod Mani Dixit
Executive Director, National Society for Earthquake Technology, Nepal
Lecture Topic:
Earthquake disaster risk management efforts in Nepal
Dr. Amod Mani Dixit (Nepal) is a leading earthquake disaster management professional, involved in this field for the past 20 years. A geologist by academic background, Dr. Dixit has demonstrated to the world, especially to the nations that have tremendously suffered from earthquake disasters or hold a high risk of earthquake disaster in near future that an individual desire can always make a change. He currently leads a non-governmental organization in Nepal, which in these 20 years has demonstrated that a well-managed and dedicated organization is also possible in a resource lacking place like Nepal.
Dr. Dixit was recently awarded a Doctor of Engineering degree by Ehime University of Japan in recognition of his research study in the field of earthquake disaster risk management focusing in Nepal. He has a Bachelor-cum-Master degree from the Leningrad Mining University, Russia (1973), and also has Master of Science degree from Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. His work experience includes about 18 years of government service (Department of Mines and Geology, Nepal), 11 years of parallel consulting service to an engineering consulting firm, and 20 years with National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET), a non-governmental organization established by himself and his team members back in 1993.
Dr. Dixit has an authored/co-authored publication record of about 70 papers including national and international conference proceedings, books and book chapters, and renowned international journals. He and his organization NSET have not only contributed to Nepal and Nepalese community but also have made a great name in the world in the field of earthquake disaster risk management.
Last Updated on Monday, 16 June 2014 03:07
Geohazards 2014
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