Volume 5, Issue 4 December 2020

Young Members Column
Adnan Anwar MalikAssistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Saitama University
I started my academic career in 2018 as an assistant professor at the department of civil andenvironmental engineering (Saitama University, Japan). Before that, I had worked as a professional
geotechnical engineer in various engineering firms like National Development Consultants –Pakistan, National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and Ammico Contracting Company –Qatar. My professional experience includes broad geotechnical engineering areas such as field
geotechnical investigations (soil/rock), design of embankment dams, deep and shallow
foundations and deep excavation support systems. In order to expand my knowledge in the fieldof geotechnical engineering, I enhanced my qualifications during my professional experience, andcompleted Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Saitama University –Japan in 2011 and 2015 respectively.
The population of the world is increasing every passing day, and it demands an increase in infrastructure development,
which results in expanding cities not only horizontally but also in elevation. This expansion in urban areas createsenvironmental problems such as air pollution due to construction activity, noise pollution due to heavy machinery,vibrations in the surrounding buildings due to heavy machinery. In addition to this, space constraint is another problem
in urban areas for the construction of new structures. In the field of geotechnical engineering, researchers andprofessional engineers are striving hard to develop innovative construction ways so that space constraints andenvironmental issues can be overcome without affecting the performance of the engineering structures. In this regard,
my research focuses on the performance enhancement of new piling techniques such as press-in and screw pile systems
during pile installation and loading carrying stage in difficult grounds. I feel that the International Press-in Association
provides a great platform to the engineers and researchers from different organizations and institutions to share theirexperiences and findings, which will help to develop innovative technologies for the betterment of the society.

Marc Arthur Go
Master Student, Institute of Civil Engineering
University of the Philippines – Diliman
I am a graduate student, currently taking my master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering underthe Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) at the University of the Philippines – Diliman (UPD). I am alsoa geotechnical evaluator for a geotechnical contracting and soils laboratory testing company. Myfirst encounter with the IPA was during the 4th international seminar on Press-in Technology in thePhilippines, last May 2018. IPA, in partnership with ICE and Philippine Society for Soil Mechanicsand Geotechnical Engineering (PSSMGE), presented the press-in method of pile installation - analternative to the more commonly used diesel and pneumatic pile driving methodology in the localconstruction industry. Designers and contractors are often limited to the traditional installation ofpiles due to the available technologies in the local industry. Having other pile driving options (e.g.
press-in method) makes the construction easier, especially in areas with special restrictions (e.g.
limited working space, vibration limitations, etc.) Recently, I have been recommended and was advised by mentor andPSSMGE President, Prof. Alexis Acacio, to join the IPA editorial board to broaden my knowledge on the geotechnicalengineering practice in the global scene and also to impart some of the practice here in our country.
As a practicing geotechnical evaluator, I am made aware of the problems in geotechnical engineering practice in thePhilippines. One of the challenges in doing evaluation and design is the characterization of soils. Due to cost restraints,
subsurface investigation is often limited and / or scarce to fully characterize the subsurface condition of an area. Thus,
local engineers are compelled to use correlations in determining design geotechnical parameters. Although this practiceis generally accepted, the applicability of these empirical correlations to the local soils are not guaranteed. This problem
led me to my research on the characterization of undrained shear strength of Philippine soils. My research aims to gauge
how well these existing correlations perform in local soils by comparing them to actual laboratory test results. By doing
this research, I hope to provide geotechnical engineers with a better model in obtaining the strength of local soils.
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