Dr Dec Downey - ISTT Chairman

An Engineering Metallurgy graduate from the University of Bath with a Ph.D. in Materials Science, Dec Downey worked in pipe manufacture with the ARC Group (1973-87) and in pipe rehabilitation with Insituform Technologies (1987-2002) before joining Jason Consultants Group as Principal in 2003. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management. He has extensive experience of working in Asia and received the Kurose Prize from the Japan Microtunnelling Association in 1992. Dec is a Continuing Education Instructor for the American Society of Civil Engineers teaching "Pipe and Pipeline Renewal" several times a year. He is a member of the Pipeline Industries Guild Utility Panel

John Hemphill - ISTT Executive Director

John Hemphill served as Executive Director of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), a position he has held since 2000. The NASTT is one of the largest national societies affiliated to the ISTT which, under Hemphill's guidance, has consolidated its position as the leading trenchless technology organization in the region. Hemphill, with an eye on further growth in the civil engineering utilities sector, has expanded the educational services which the NASTT provides and has established the annual North American No-Dig Show as the major trenchless event of the year for the underground utility community of North America. Hemphill has over 35 years' experience in management and policy analysis in the fields of engineering and energy. He was Executive Director of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy where he advocated clean energy solutions at international forums on behalf of a U.S. "not-for-profit" association of businesses. At the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, France, he served as Assistant Director for Energy Policy, where he worked with energy officials of member countries to promote sound energy policies.   Hemphill is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and NASTT. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Civil Engineering in the U.S. from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Maryland, respectively. He resides in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.A.

John Castle - ISTT Executive Secretary

John Castle started his career as a Royal Navy officer, gaining an electrical engineering degree from London University in 1961. He became a Chartered Electrical Engineer in 1969 and specialised in weapon system maintenance and support. He ended his naval service in 1995 dealing with weapon safety issues. He then worked as a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry dealing with product safety and quality assurance before taking up his current appointment with the ISTT in 1998. He is committed to raising the profile of trenchless technology world wide and to tackling the problem posed by the question "How do you publicise a technology which is so successful and therefore totally unnoticed because it is invisible, not disruptive and environmentally sound?"

Kyoko Kondo - ISTT Membership Secretary

Ms. Kyoko Kondo has recently been named Membership Secretary of the ISTT. Her responsibilities include managing the Society’s database and liaison with the ISTT website management team. Ms. Kondo is also a member of the Japan Society for Trenchless Technology (JSTT) staff and has regularly participated in ISTT events as member of the JSTT team, since joining JSTT in 2002.