Bio
Zhanping Song received his doctoral degree in Geotechnical Engineering from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. He is currently a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, and serves as Director of the Department of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering. He is also Chairman of the Shaanxi Society of Tunnels and Underground Engineering and Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Space. His long-term teaching and research focus on tunnel and underground engineering, geotechnical engineering, disaster prevention and mitigation, and intelligent construction of underground structures. He leads the Shaanxi Innovation Team of New Technologies and Applications for Tunnels and Underground Engineering, which consists of 18 core members. Prof. Song has presided over more than 60 national and provincial-level projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key R&D Program of China. He has published over 600 high-level academic papers and has been authorized more than 100 invention and utility model patents. He has won more than 30 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards. His technologies have been successfully applied in over 100 tunnel and underground engineering projects domestically and in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, generating direct economic benefits of more than 1 billion yuan and greatly promoting the international influence of China’s tunneling technology.

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Mechanized Excavation and Excavators for Civil and Mining Applications

Bio
Saffet Yagiz received his BSc degree in Geological Engineering from Ankara University, Turkey, in 1997; his MSc degree in Geological Engineering from the University of Missouri, USA, in 2000; and his PhD degree in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, USA, in 2006, followed by postdoctoral research at the same institution. In 2007, he joined Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Mining Engineering, School of Mining and Geosciences. His research interests focus on engineering rock mechanics, mechanized tunneling, TBM performance prediction, rock mass characterization, and geotechnical engineering for underground excavation. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal papers, with an H-index of 33 on Google Scholar, and has been consecutively listed in the World's Top 2% Scientists for five consecutive years (2020–2024). He serves as Associate Editor of the top international journal Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, and has held multiple academic positions, including session chair and scientific committee member for international conferences. He is a member of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM) and has received numerous research awards, including the Elsevier Scopus Kazakhstan Excellence in Research Award in 2022.

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Pipe Jacking Technology in Japan: Development, Innovations, and Application Status

Bio
Peng Ma is an Associate Professor and Master’s Supervisor at Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering from Kyushu University (Japan) and completed postdoctoral research at Sun Yat-sen University. He was selected for the Guangdong Overseas Postdoctoral Talent Program and the Shaanxi Sanqin Talents Youth Program. He currently serves as a Committee Member of the Guangdong Youth Committee for Geotechnical Engineering and a Director of the Shaanxi Society of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. His research focuses on trenchless technology for urban underground pipelines, particularly large-cross-section and long-distance rectangular pipe jacking. He has proposed advanced trenchless construction technologies and established design criteria and thrust prediction models for long-distance rectangular pipe jacking. He was invited as a speaker at the 2021 ISTT Educational Webinar. He has presided over one National Natural Science Foundation of China (Youth Project) and two provincial projects. He has published 16 high-level journal papers as the first author and has been awarded 10 invention patents. His awards include the 2020 Young Engineer Award from the Chinese Trenchless Technology Association (presented by Academician Wang Fuming), Second Prize of Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, Third Prize of Henan Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Asian Civil Engineering Excellence Award.