A team of students from the Department of Construction Systems Engineering at Kookmin University achieved outstanding results at an international conference on artificial intelligence in geotechnical engineering.
 
At the student research competition held during the 4th International Workshop on the Future of Machine Learning in Geotechnics (4FOMLIG SEOUL) (Fourth Workshop on the Future of Machine Learning in Geotechnics, 4FOMLIG SEOUL), held in Seoul from August 26 to 28, the Kookmin University team—comprising Park Seong-mo, a master’s student, and Jo Eun-ji from the Department of Construction Systems Engineering (advised by Professor Kim Hyunki)—received the Honorable Mention Award, equivalent to third place.
 
This student research competition was sponsored by KAJIMA Corporation and SHIMIZU Corporation, leading Japanese construction companies, and featured a variety of research ideas and analytical techniques utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning in the field of geotechnical engineering.
 
The Kookmin University team conducted research on developing a machine learning model to quantitatively evaluate the characteristics of expansive soils. Using AI tools, they extracted and organized data related to expansive soils from previously published papers and reports, built a database from this information, and then utilized it for training and validating the machine learning model.
 
The research team proposed a model capable of quantitatively evaluating soil expansivity based solely on standard soil investigation results and received high praise, particularly for their analytical method that combined unsupervised and supervised learning techniques.

Park Seong-mo, the team leader, shared his thoughts on winning the award: “When I first began preparing for the competition, the very idea of presenting my research in front of renowned professors and researchers from abroad was a major challenge, and having to present in English was also a significant burden.” He added, “However, we worked hard to produce the best possible results within the given time, and through that process, I learned a great deal and found it deeply rewarding.”
 
Through this award, the Department of Construction Systems Engineering at Kookmin University has once again demonstrated its students’ research capabilities and international competitiveness in the field of research that integrates geotechnical engineering and artificial intelligence.

Awards Ceremony for the Student Research Competition at the International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering and AI. From left: KK Phoon, President of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD); Park Seong-mo, a master’s student at Kookmin University; Jo Eun-ji, a junior at Kookmin University; and Kim Hyunki, the supervising professor of the Kookmin University team.