Assistant Professor Yota Togashi of the Saitama University Graduate School of Science and Engineering was the first Japanese to be selected for the Walter Wittke Prize 2023, which is given to researchers who have made outstanding achievements in the field of rock mechanics.His research on the deformation anisotropy of rock masses was highly evaluated.
According to Saitama University, the Widtke Prize is awarded annually to one researcher who has made outstanding achievements in the field of rock mechanics by the Walter Widtke Foundation, which was established by former professor Walter Widtke of RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
Assistant Professor Togashi published a paper on deformation anisotropy in an academic journal, showing that the strength and elongation at break differ between the longitudinal and transverse directions when a single crystal is deformed.The award ceremony was held in Weinheim, Germany, and Assistant Professor Togashi gave a lecture on his research.
Assistant Professor Togashi completed the Graduate School of Yokohama National University.After working as an engineer at the Kanagawa Prefecture Prefectural Land Development Department and as a researcher at the Railway Technical Research Institute, he is now an assistant professor at the Saitama University Graduate School of Science and Engineering.His areas of expertise are rock mechanics and tunnel engineering.
