Biography

Professor Tan Siew Ann graduated from Auckland University with First Class Honours BEng in 1977 as the top engineering graduate of the school, from National University of Singapore with MEng in 1982 and from University of California, Berkeley with MSc and PhD in 1985. His MEng thesis research topic is in the Geotechnical area on the excess pore pressure behaviour of marine clay, whereas his PhD dissertation topic is a simplified method for the wave equation analysis of pile driving. He has been a staff member of the Department of Civil Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) since May 1980. Professor Tan served as a field engineer officer and an intelligence officer in the SAF as part of his national service duty prior to joining NUS.

Professor Tan has taught courses in Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering, with post-graduate courses in Groundwater and Slope Engineering. He has published over 90 technical papers covering topics such as Applied Geosynthetics, Soft Clays, Land Reclamation, and Highway Materials Testing and Evaluation. Currently, he is focusing his efforts on Geosynthetics, Land Reclamation and Porous Roads Engineering.

He is a registered professional engineer and has been involved in several consulting jobs in Singapore including the Semakau Offshore Landfill Geotechnical Study, Pavement Evaluation for the SAFTI Military Institute Parade Square, Second Link Reclamation Geotechnical Impact Study, and the Kranji New Racecourse Track Stabilisation problems. He is also a member of the Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) Working Group on Code of Safety for Mobile Cranes. Professor Tan is a committed Christian, and serves as Chairman of the Board of Elders for Bethesda Hall (Ang Mo Kio) Church.

Qualifications

• BEng (1st Class), Auckland University, New Zealand, 1977
• MEng, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 1982
• MSc, University of California, Berkeley, USA, 1982
• PhD, University of California, Berkeley, USA, 1985
• PEng, Professional Engineers Board, Singapore, 1994

Honours & Awards

• Gold Medal as the Top Engineering Graduate at Auckland University, 1977
• IES Merit Prize for Innovation Award on Layered Clay-Sand Reclamation, 1990
• Katahira Prize for Best Technical Paper on Road Engineering at 8th REAAA, 1995
• Silver award for SAC-SINGLAS Laboratory Technical Assessor, 1998
• Editorial Board Member of "Geotextiles and Geomembranes, International Journal of Geosynthetic Society", since 1997
• Patent on "Laboratory Drainage Test Apparatus for Porous Road Mixes" filed in Singapore on 23/01/96
• Patent on "Field Permeability Apparatus for Porous Road Mixes" filed in Singapore on 15/04/98

Professional Activities

• Member of Institution of Engineers Singapore
• Member American Society of Civil Engineers
• Member International Geosynthetic Society

Teaching areas

• Engineering Graphics and Computing
• Foundation Engineering
• Groundwater Engineering
• Seepage and Consolidation of Soils
• Slope Engineering
• Applied Geosynthetics

Research Interest

• Geosynthetics
• Land Reclamation
• Highway Materials with focus on Porous Asphalt Road Mixes

Selected Publications

1. Tan SA, SL Lee, GP Karunaratne, and V Choa, Design of drains and surcharge in reclamation. Soils and Foundations, 27(4) 1987, 88-98 (Japan)
2. Tan SA, TS Tan, LC Ting, KY Yong, GP Karunaratne, and SL Lee, Determination of consolidation properties of very soft clay. ASTM Geotechnical Testing, 11(4) 1988, 233-240 (USA)
3. Tan SA, A simple automatic falling head permeameter. Soils and Foundations, 29(1) 1989, 87-90 (Japan)
4. Tan SA and TF Fwa. Influence of voids on density measurements of granular materials using gamma radiation techniques. ASTM Geotechnical Testing, 14(3) 1991, 257-265 (USA)
5. Tan SA, KM Liang, KY Yong, and SL Lee. Drainage efficiency of sand layer in layered clay-sand reclamation. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 118(2) 1992, 209-228 (USA)
6. Tan SA, Ultimate settlement by hyperbolic plot for clays with vertical drains. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 119(5) 1993, 950-956 (USA)
7. Tan SA, GP Karunaratne, and N Muhammad, Measurement of interface friction between jute geotextile and clay slurry. Geotextiles & Geomembranes, 12(4) 1993, 363-375 (UK)
8. Tan SA, N Muhammad, and GP Karunaratne, Forming thin sand seam on clay slurry with the aid of a jute geotextile. Geotextiles & Geomembranes, 13(3) 1994, 147-163 (UK)
9. Tan SA, Validation of hyperbolic method for settlement in clays with vertical drains. Soils and Foundations, 35(1) 1995, 101-113 (Japan)
10. Tan SA, TF Fwa, and CT Chuai. A new apparatus for measuring drainage properties of porous asphalt mixes. ASTM Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 25(4) 1997, 370-377 (USA)