Prof. Tatsuya Ishikawa
Biography
Tatsuya Ishikawa is a Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Japan. He received his Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Engineering degrees from Kyoto University. Before joining academia, he worked for about 15 years at East Japan Railway Company, including a seven-year secondment to the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), where he was involved in geotechnical design, maintenance, and safety assessment of railway infrastructures. Since joining Hokkaido University in 2002, he has been conducting research on transportation geotechnics, frost heave phenomena, and geo-disaster prevention in cold and snowy regions.
His research integrates experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches to evaluate the thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of geomaterials subjected to freeze–thaw, rainfall infiltration, and cyclic loading. His recent studies focus on rainfall- and snowmelt-induced slope instability, high-speed rail ballast behavior, and data-driven risk assessment for rainfall-induced landslides. Building on these studies, his group has extended their work toward the integration of rational design and maintenance of transportation infrastructure with disaster prevention and mitigation under changing climate conditions, aiming to establish performance-based frameworks that enhance the durability, safety, and efficiency of transportation systems in cold regions.
Prof. Ishikawa has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal papers, 120 international conference papers, and 11 books, and has delivered over 40 invited and keynote lectures at major international conferences. His recent contributions also include the rational design and maintenance of asphalt pavement structures considering climate change, which support sustainable and resilient infrastructure planning in cold regions.
He currently serves as Chair of Technical Committee 202 (Transportation Geotechnics) of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) for the 2022–2026 term, after serving as its Secretary from 2013 to 2021. He is also Chair of the TC202 Japanese Domestic Committee of the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS), and serves on the editorial boards of several leading journals, including Transportation Geotechnics.
As a leader of post-disaster survey teams following the 2016 Hokkaido heavy rainfall and the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake, Prof. Ishikawa has contributed to improving regional resilience and disaster mitigation. Through collaborative projects funded by JSPS, MLIT, and industry partners such as RTRI and NEXCO, he continues to promote the development of climate-resilient transportation infrastructure and early-warning technologies for geo-disasters.
Selected Links:
- ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tatsuya-Ishikawa-4
- ISSMGE TC202: https://www.issmge.org/committees/technical-committees/applications/transportation-
Transportation Geotechnics toward Sustainable and Resilient High-Speed Railways
The advancement of high-speed railway systems demands innovative geotechnical approaches to ensure safety, durability, and sustainability. Transportation Geotechnics contributes fundamentally to this goal through research on design, construction, performance evaluation, and long-term maintenance of rail and pavement infrastructure. In line with the objectives of ISSMGE Technical Committee TC202, this paper highlights recent developments in key thematic areas: performance-based design of track–subgrade systems, advanced laboratory and in-situ testing, long-term monitoring and data interpretation, numerical modeling for dynamic loading, and sustainable material use. Emerging studies also focus on the automation and digitalization of ballast and subgrade inspections using image analysis, sensors, and AI-based assessment to improve maintenance efficiency. Current challenges include deformation under high-speed and cyclic loading, degradation of aged materials, and environmental effects such as moisture variation. The paper emphasizes how advances in Transportation Geotechnics, through the integration of testing, modeling, and monitoring, can support the realization of sustainable, resilient, and smart high-speed railway infrastructure worldwide.