2. PI

Taeseo Ku, PhD, Assistant Professor

Address:Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
National University of Singapore
1 Engineering Drive 2, E1A 07-03
Singapore 117576

Tel:(65)6516 2159

Email:ceekt@nus.edu.sg
Office:E1-07-12

Dr. Ku is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore. Prior to joining NUS, Dr Ku was a senior researcher at Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI). He was also a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology where he received his PhD degree. He was a member of GT in-situ testing group in GeoSystems Division and worked on projects for the US Department of Energy and ConeTec Investigations, Inc. He earned a M.S. in GeoEngineering from University of California-Berkeley and his B.S. from Yonsei University in South Korea.

His research interests are on the related areas of in-situ geotechnics and geophysical site investigations. He has conducted comprehensive geocharacterization studies with both analytical geotechnical solutions and empirical approaches based on advanced data analysis techniques. Especially, a focused research area centers on the measurement, evaluation, and application of seismic waves (e.g., shear wave velocity and the related small-strain stiffness in soils), with a particular interest in advanced geotechnical and geophysical site characterization (i.e., innovative wave-based geo-characterization). Based on the research activities, Dr Ku has published in the major geotechnical journals such as Canadian Geotechnical Journal (with honor, Editor’s Choice), ASCE Journal of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal, and Engineering Geology, etc.

Qualifications

Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, U.S., 2012
M.S., University of California-Berkeley, U.S., 2008
B.S., Yonsei University, Korea, 2004

Career History

Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore (2013 – present)
Senior Researcher, Korea Railroad Research Institute (2013)
Postdoctoral researcher, Georgia Institute of Technology (2012-2013)
Researcher, Korea Institute of Construction Technology (2008)
Civil Engineer, Samsung Engineering & Construction (2003-2005)

Honors & Professional Contributions

Honors/Awards

Canadian Geotechnical Journal – Editor’s Choice 2013 (April)
Best Poster Award – GeoShanghai International Conference 2018, China
Outstanding Reviewer Recognition (awarded 2017) – Engineering Geology
Outstanding Reviewer Recognition (awarded 2017) – Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
Outstanding Reviewer Recognition (awarded 2018) – Computers and Geotechnics
Outstanding Reviewer Recognition (awarded 2017) – Cement and Concrete Research
DOE Travel Grant, ASCE GeoCongress 2012 & AEG Annual Meeting 2010
Yonsei University Scholarship, 1997,2001-2003

Institutional & Professional Service

Nominated Member, TC 101 (Laboratory Stress Strength Testing of Geomaterials), Intl. Society for Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical Engrg (ISSMGE)
Nominated Member, TC 102 (Ground Property Characterization from In-Situ Tests), ISSMGE
Committee, ASTM D18 on Soil and Rock
Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Member, ASTM International
Member, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)
Member, Geotechnical Society of Singapore (GeoSS)

Editorial Service

Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Associate Editor, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
Co-Editor, Advances in Soft Ground Engineering (ICSGE 2015)
Co-Editor, Case Histories & Soil Properties (ICCS2019)

Conference Program Committee

Scientific Committee, 7th International Symposium on Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials (IS-Glasgow 2019)
Organizing Committee (Technical Chair), ICCS 2019 (International Conference on Case Histories & Soil Properties)
Technical Committee, Geophysical Aspect of Smart Cities Workshop, SEG/EAGE workshop (10-12 DEC 2019)
Best Poster selection Committee, GeoShanghai International Conference 2018
Intl. Technical Committee, 5th Int Conf on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization (ISC’5-2016)
Editorial Committee, Sixth International Symposium on Deformation Characteristics of Soils, IS-Buenos Aires 2015
Organizing Committee (Technical Chair), ICSGE 2015 (Intl. Conf. on Soft Ground Engineering)
Organizing Committee, Underground Singapore 2016
Organizing Committee, Underground Singapore 2014

Conference Session Chairing

Session Chair, Fiber-based Distributed Acoustic Sensing II, SEG/EAGE Geophysical Aspect of Smart Cities Workshop, Singapore
Session Chair, Session – Other Topics, International Conference on Case Histories & Soil Properties (ICCS2019), Singapore
Session Chair, Solid Earth Sciences – Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, AOGS 16th Annual Meeting (AOGS2019), Asia Oceania Geosciences Society
Session Chair, GSP6- Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering-1, GeoShanghai International Conference 2018
Session Chair, Geotechnical Aspects of Dykes and Levees and Shore Protection, 19th International Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE 2017)
Session Chair, Liquefaction, The 6th Young Geotechnical Engineers’ Conference, iYGEC6
Session Chair, Foundations, The 6th Young Geotechnical Engineers’ Conference, iYGEC6
Session Chair, Ground Improvement, International Conference on Soft Ground Engineering (ICSGE 2015)
Session Chair, Geotechnical Engineering IX, 31st KKHTCNN Symposium on Civil Engineering, Kyoto
Session Chair, Session 21 – Geotech VII, 30th KKHTCNN Symposium on Civil Engineering, Taiwan
Session Chair, Civil Engineering (CS-4), 26th KKHTCNN Symposium on Civil Engineering, Singapore

Other Professional Activities

Reviewer (Journal) – Geotechnique :: Canadian Geotechnical Journal :: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE :: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE :: Engineering Geology :: Computers and Geotechnics :: Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM :: Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering :: Soils and Foundations :: Acta Geotechnica :: ICE – Ground Improvement :: Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering :: Geomechanics and Geoengineering :: Geomechanics and Engineering :: Geotechnique letter :: SEAGS-AGSSEA Journal :: Geophysics, SEG :: Journal of Applied Geophysics :: Near Surface Geophysics, EAGE :: Applied Physics Letters (APL) :: Cement and Concrete Research :: Construction and Building Materials :: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering :: Energies :: Sensors :: Ocean Engineering :: Greenhouse Gases- Science and Technology :: Journal of Testing and Evaluation, ASTM :: Journal of GeoEngineering :: KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering
Reviewer, 5th Int Conf on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization (ISC’5)
Reviewer, 8th Int Conf on Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Pavement (MAIREPAV8)
Reviewer, The Annual International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference (ISOPE-2015)
Reviewer, The Annual International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference (ISOPE-2017)
Reviewer, ASCE GeoCongress 2012
Technical Expert/Assessor (Lab Accreditation/Inspection Body Accreditation) by Singapore Accreditation Council (2015-2017)
Assessor, Georgia Tech Research and Innovation Conference (GTRIC 2013)

Teaching Areas

Soil Mechanics
Geotechnical Engineering
Pile Foundations
Geotechnical Investigation and Monitoring
Analytical and Numerical Methods in Foundation Engineering
Final Year Integrated Design Project

Research Interests

Geotechnical Site Characterization
In-Situ Testing & Near Surface Geophysics
Seismic Wave-based Geocharacterization
Ground Improvement – Cement-stabilized Soil/Geomaterials
Underground Construction
Dynamic Soil Behavior