Program

Keynote Lectures

Masaki Kitazume

Principal, Kitazume Geotechnics
Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Masaki Kitazume Graduated from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1979, and obtained Master of Engineering from Tokyo Institute Technology in 1981. Then, he joined the Port and Harbour Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, and worked for the Institute for 30 years. In the Institutes, he had been in charge of the head of the Soil Stabilization laboratory for many years and had worked the interaction of improved ground and soft ground in order to establish design code of ground improvement techniques. In 1994, he got a Doctor of Engineering from Tokyo Institute Technology on the stability design of Deep Mixing improved ground. In 2011, he was invited to professor of Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology. He retired from the university and is principal of Kitazume Geotechnics in 2022.
He was involved in many land reclamation and ground improvement projects including Tokyo/Haneda International Airport construction project, Kansai International Airport construction project and Central Japan International Airport construction projects. He was also invited to many overseas Deep Mixing and land reclamation projects.
He has published many papers, mainly on the geotechnical aspects of soil stabilization, ground improvement and centrifuge model testing. He also published five books from Balkema Publishers and Taylor & Francis, on Deep Mixing Method, Sand Compaction Pile Method and Pneumatic Flow Mixing Method.
He was awarded the Geotechnical Engineering Development award from the Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation engineering in 1992, the Minister of Transport Award in 2000, Continuing International Contribution Awards, Japan Society of Civil Engineers in 2006, Geotechnical Engineering Research Achievements Award, the Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation engineering in 2018, and Telford Premium Prize, ICE Awards in 2019.

Brian Freilich

Senior Engineer, Keller North America
PhD, PE

Brian Freilich is a Senior Design Engineer with Keller based in Houston, Texas. He works with project teams across North America to develop designs that efficiently utilize numerous ground improvement and geostructural solutions to satisfy project specifications in challenging soil conditions. A significant part of this role involves value engineering existing solutions to reduce costs and lower embodied carbon. Brian is also the chairperson of the Keller North America Soil Mixing Product Team, working with an internal team of experienced soil mixing practitioners to help develop innovative ideas, distribute best-practices, and provide guidance and support for soil mixing operations across the world. He also frequently presents at conferences and meetings regarding the many applications and benefits of ground improvement, with a focus on the design and quality aspects of soil mixing in the very soft and organic clay soils encountered around the US Gulf Coast. Brian earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering (2004), M.S. in Engineering (2006) and Ph.D. (2009) from the University of Texas at Austin. When not at work, Brian likes to cook, run, and travel, and spend time with his wife, Lera, and son, Sebastian.