Bangkok--20 Jun--Asian Instiute of Technology
Dr. Noppadol Phien-wej of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) has been elected as the new President of the Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society (SEAGS). He was elected for this position at the 19th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 31 May – 3 June 2016.
It was also decided to hold the 50-year anniversary conference of SEAGS at AIT in September 2017. The event is to be hosted by Thai Geotechnical Society in Collaboration with AIT.
Dr. Noppadol is an Associate Professor in Geotechnical and Earth Resources Engineering in AIT's School of Engineering and Technology (SET).
He takes over as SEAGS President from Dr. Ooi Teik Aun, and he shall serve for a three-year term from 2016-2019. Prior to taking over as President, Dr. Noppadol was serving as Honorary Secretary General of SEAGS. Other AIT faculty members who have served as Secretary General of the Society include Dr. John Nelson (1970-1973), Prof. A.S. Balasubramaniam 1972-2000), and Prof. D.T. Bergado (2000-2013). Prof. Balasubramaniam has also served as President from 1985 – 1987.
AIT's association with SEAGS stems back from 1967, when the Society was founded at AIT Bangkok by Dr Za-Chieh Moh, a former AIT faculty member, to cover Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan and other societies in Asia. With a membership of over 200, the Society members are active in soil mechanics and foundation engineering, engineering geology, rock mechanics and geosynthetic engineering.