Volume 9, Issue 1

March 2024

Event Report

2nd International Conference on Construction Resources forEnvironmentally Sustainable Technologies (CREST 2023)
Hemanta Hazarika
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Kyushu University, Fukuoka, JapanThe 2nd International Conference on Construction Resources for Environmentally Sustainable Technologies (CREST 2023)
was successfully held during November 20-22, 2023, at the Fukuoka International Congress Center, Fukuoka, Japan. Afterthe successful online hosting of CREST 2020 in March 2021, this conference marks the second significant milestone in thisdedicated series focused on advancing and promoting sustainable construction methodologies. A report on CREST 2020
was published in Volume 6 (Issue 2) of this newsletter.
CREST 2023 was organized by Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, in association with University of Cambridge,
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMGE), International Press-in Association (IPA),
Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS), The Japan Landslide Society, ISSMGE
Technical Committee 307 (TC307), ISSMGE Technical Committee 215 (TC215), ISSMGE Asian Regional TechnicalCommittee 1 (AsRTC1), ISSMGE Asian Regional Technical Committee 3 (AsRTC3), and Global Society for Smart GeoSustainnovation (GLOSS). This conference received additional support from various other organizations, including Kyushu
Regional Development Bureau (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan), Fukuoka Prefecture,Fukuoka City, Consulate General of India Osaka-Kobe, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience(NIED), UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Fukuoka, Kyushu Branch of Japanese Geotechnical Society,
The Society of Materials Science Japan (JSMS), Japan Federation of Construction Contractors (JFCC), Japan Civil
Engineering Consultants Association (JCCA), Japan Geotechnical Consultants Association (JGCA), Organization ofGeowaste Technology for a Recycled Based Society, Applied Slope Engineering Association (ASERG) and Local Resilience
Research Institute (LRRI).
The conference kick-started with two pre-conference events, encompassing five parallel workshops and a technical tour.
During the technical tour, the participants could visit few areas of Asakura city, Fukuoka Prefecture, which were hugely
impacted by the torrential rainfall disasters in 2017. The participants could glean invaluable insights on the ongoingrecovery and reconstruction efforts by the local government in these afflicted areas (Photo 1). On the other hand, in thefive parallel workshops, more than 160 participants actively took part. A total of 36 presentations were delivered during
these workshops, including keynote lectures by Prof. Tatsunori Matsumoto (Vice President, IPA) in Workshop 1(Sustainability and Innovation in Geotechnical Engineering) and Prof. Noriyuki Yasufuku (Professor, Kyushu University) inWorkshop 5 (International Youth Exchange on Interdisciplinary Engagement) (Photos 2 & 3).

Photo 1:A glimpse of the technical tour participants

Photo 2: Prof. Matsumoto delivering his lecture in the workshop on“Sustainability and Innovation in Geotechnical Engineering”

During the opening ceremony (Photos 4, 5, 6 & 7), many esteemed dignitaries graced the occasion and delivered speeches
that added distinction to the event. Among these dignitaries were Professor Stuart K. Haigh (University of Cambridge),
Mr. Yoshitaka Morito (Director General, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau), Mr. Ryosuke Shojima (Vice Governor,Fukuoka prefecture), Mr. Nikhilesh Giri (Consul General of India Osaka-Kobe), Dr. Marc Ballouz (President, ISSMGE),
Professor Keh-Jian Shou (Vice-President, ISSMGE Asia), Professor Junichi Koseki (President, Japanese Geotechnical14

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Society), Professor Osamu Kusakabe (Executive Director, IPA and Honorary Chairperson of CREST 2023), and Professor
Tatsuro Ishibashi (President, Kyushu University). The ceremony concluded with a welcome address by Professor Hemanta
Hazarika (Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, CREST 2023).
During this conference, we had the privilege of presenting 2 distinguished plenary lectures, along with 16 engaging
keynote addresses, 12 insightful theme lectures, and 6 young researchers special lectures. All the sessions showcased
notable contributions from diverse interdisciplinary fields. In addition, a total of 175 papers were presented across 15parallel sessions and 2 poster sessions.
The two-day main events drew an average participation of 320 people per day from 24 countries. Furthermore, thetechnical exhibition featured participation from 42 domestic and international corporations, attracting an average of 150
visitors daily (Photo 8). A noteworthy contribution of CREST 2023 is our steadfast commitment to nurturing young
researchers. This commitment is exemplified by the announcement of 2 best oral presentation awards and 6 outstanding
poster presentation awards. In addition, ISSMGE's prestigious Bright Spark Lecture awards were presented to 3 youngresearchers (Photo 9). These awards were specifically designed for presenters under the age of 35. In addition, 2 best
papers were selected from 175 general papers. All the awards were presented during the closing ceremony.

Photo 3: Workshop on “International Youth Exchange on
Interdisciplinary Engagement” at Inamori Center, Kyushu University

Photo 4: Dignitaries in the opening ceremony (from left to right:
Prof. Junichi Koseki, Prof. Keh-Jian Shou, Prof. Stuart Haigh, Prof.
Tatsuro Ishibashi, Mr. Yoshitaka Morito, Mr. Ryosuke Shojima, Mr.
Nikhilesh Giri) with conference chairperson Prof. Hemanta HazarikaPhoto 5: Prof. Stuart Haigh delivering his remarks

Photo 6: Prof. Osamu Kusakabe delivering his remarks Online

Photo 7: Chairperson of CREST 2023 delivering his welcome remarks

Photo 8:A glimpse of the technical exhibition

In the closing ceremony, Professor Kazuya Yasuhara (Honorary Chairperson, CREST 2023), Professor Gopal Santana Phani15

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March 2024

Madabhushi (Co-chairperson, CREST 2023), and Professor Keh-Jian Shou (Vice-President, ISSMGE Asia) delivered theirremarks, imparting a distinguished touch to the event. The main conference reached its finale with a vote of thanksdelivered by Professor Hemanta Hazarika.
We also take immense pleasure in announcing that Springer Nature will publish four volumes of the conference
proceedings, encompassing the general papers presented at this event. Additionally, a dedicated volume, also to be
published by Springer, will showcase the keynote addresses and special lectures from the conference. Furthermore,
selected papers from the conference will be featured in special issues of esteemed journals, including Soils andFoundations (Japanese Geotechnical Society), Journal of Forensic Engineering (Institute of Civil Engineers, UK), IndianGeotechnical Journal (Indian Geotechnical Society), and Journal of Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure.
In the years ahead, we envision that the dissemination of cutting-edge information and technology facilitated by thisconference will enable us to make meaningful contributions to the establishment of a resilient society and the sustainable
management of construction resources through innovative practices.
As the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee for CREST 2023, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Osamu
Kusakabe, Executive Director of IPA, for his invaluable advice and unwavering encouragement since the inception of CREST
2023. Professor Tatsunori Matsumoto, Vice President of IPA, has been a steadfast supporter, actively engaging withsponsors to ensure the success of CREST 2023. I extend my sincere appreciation to him for his remarkable contributions.
Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude for the outstanding contributions of the young members of IPA, notably
Ms. Nanase Ogawa and Dr. Siavash Manafi K. Pasha (Photo 10), who played crucial roles in overseeing the overallmanagement of the conference.
In conclusion, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation to every member of the organizing committee, steeringcommittee, technical committee, and various other sub-committees of CREST 2023 for their steadfast support. The
persistent dedication and invaluable contributions of the dynamic team (Photo 11) have played a crucial role intransforming the organization of this event from a concept into a reality, a fact for which, as the organizing chairperson, I
am truly grateful.

Photo 9: ISSMGE’s Bright Spark Lecture awardees

Photo 10: Session Chair handing over the certificate of appreciation
to the theme speaker

Photo 11: CREST 2023 core team members

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