Brian Tan is a third generation Civil Engineer from UP Diliman. His grandfather is Antonio G. Tan (BSCE ’37) and his father is David Y. Yan (BSCE ‘73 scl. He graduated magna cum laude in 2001 and was awarded the QK Calderon Award for Civil Engineering and the JV Angeles Award for Water Resources Engineering.
After graduation, he pursued his master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a specialization in Geotechnical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was fortunate to have been awarded the MIT Presidential Fellowship and the Arnold K. Schoettler Fellowship, both funding his education in MIT. His master’s thesis research focused on the “Characterization of Gas Hydrates from Caucasia Ridge,” which was sponsored by the Ocean Drilling Program.
In 2004, he returned to the Philippines to manage the family construction firm, Anta Construction Corporation. Anta Construction is the leading slipform construction company in the Philippines and has been in the industry since 1965. Since his return, Brian has spearheaded the construction of the Eagle Cement plant in Bulacan and the expansion of the Northern Cement plant in Pangasinan, the Rebisco Flour Mill in Cavite and the URC Davao plant.
While managing the construction firm, Brian also went into geotechnical consulting work under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Salvador F. Reyes. In his fourteen years of practice, he has worked with all of the major real estate development companies and leading architectural and engineering design firms. It is through these collaborations that he had the opportunity to work on various projects ranging from high-rise residential condominiums, to sprawling commercial development, large industrial complexes and private and government infrastructure projects. Major projects that he has worked on include the North-South Commuter Rail project, LRT 1 South Extension, Shangri-la BGC, Discovery Primea, North Harbor Berth 6 Reclamation, NAIA 3 Investigation, Phividec Power Plant, and the One Ayala Project.
Brian has earned a reputation for being an honest, reliable, and conscientious Geotechnical Engineer who consistently considers the needs and demands of the client, as well as the welfare of the end-user and the general public. One of his greatest strengths is the ability to find innovative and practical solutions that satisfy both safety requirements and the financial limitations of the client. Over the years, he has continued to raise the quality of the studies that he prepares, all while considering the proper balance between cost and safety. He constantly updates his knowledge of the field by reading foreign journals and case studies and applying these to local projects where applicable. His interactions with foreign consultants have allowed him to raise the level of local Geotechnical knowledge to international standards. Furthermore, his wealth of local experience has allowed foreign consultants to have a better understanding of local conditions, thereby minimizing the level of conservatism that foreign consultants have to consider. It is these traits that have made him one of the most sought-after consultants in the Philippines today.
As a way of giving back to his alma mater, Brian and his family have sponsored the SF Reyes Award for Geotechnical Engineering, the Antonio G. Tan Professorial Chair for Civil Engineering, and the David Y. Tan room at the Institute of Civil Engineering. It is his hope that the Civil Engineering profession, particularly the field of Geotechnical Engineering, garners greater recognition and status by the general public. It is likewise his dream that his work will encourage aspiring young engineers to take up the challenge of continuously raising the level of the Geotechnical Engineering practice in the Philippines.