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Comprised of academic staff and postgraduate researchers with expertise across the full range of geotechnics disciplines

Members of the Geotechnics Section

Geotechnics Academic and Teaching Staff A-Z

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Richard Jardine

Professor of Geomechanics, FREng, MSc, DIC, PhD, FICE, FCGI
Soil mechanics; Constitutive behaviour; Laboratory and field experiments; Instrumentation; Geotechnical design; Soft Ground engineering; Deep foundations; Offshore geotechnics; Geohazards; Cold region geotechnics.

James Lawrence

Reader in Geological Engineering, PhD
Undergraduate Year 1 Coordinator
Upper cretaceous carbonates (Chalk); Geological disposal of radioactive waste; Geomechanics; Structural geology; Petroleum reservoir characterisation; Modelling slope instability; Coastal recession related to the impact of climate change and weathering of rock.

Truong Le

Lecturer, PhD
Soil properties, advanced laboratory testing, soil characterisation, soft and stiff clayey soils, geotechnical instrumentation.
Email Truong

Catherine O'Sullivan

Professor of Particulate Soil Mechanics, PhD, MIEI
Head of Geotechnics Section
Discrete element modelling; Particulate soil mechanics; Micro-computed tomography; Internal erosion; Stress wave propagation; Cyclic soil response; Validation of discrete element models (DEM).
Dave Potts

Dave Potts 

GCG Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, PhD, FREng, CEng, FICE
Application of FEM to geotechnical problems; Geotechnical numerical analysis; Constitutive modelling; Soil-structure interaction.

David Solans Roa

Teaching Fellow in Geotechnics, PhD
Numerical modelling of geotechnical infrastructure under static and seismic loading conditions.
Jamie Standing

Jamie Standing

Professor of Ground Engineering, PhD, CEng, MICE
Chair of the Undergraduate Exam Board
Soil-structure interaction; Tunnelling and deep excavations; Field monitoring; Piles; Model testing; Partly saturated soils and residual soils.

David Taborda

Reader in Geomechanical Modelling,  DIC, PhD 
Department ICT Representative
Computational geomechanics; Constitutive modelling of soils; Soil dynamics; Cyclic soil behaviour; Soil-Structure interaction; Geothermal energy systems; Thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soils; Optimisation algorithms.

Katerina Tsiampousi

Senior Lecturer PhD
Director of the MSc Programme in Civil and Environmental Engineering
THM modelling of geo-materials; Behaviour of partially saturated media in deep nuclear repositories; Reliability and risk of geotechnical structures (excavations, tunnels, slopes, foundations); Behaviour of railway embankments under seasonal changes in suction.

Ken Vinck

Lecturer in Geotechnics, MSc, DIC, PhD
Director of MSc in Soil Mechanics

Advanced laboratory testing and field experiments, Soil and Site characterisation; Offshore geotechnics; Hydraulic fill; Soil improvement; Planetary geotechnics; Carbonate soils.

Lidija Zdravkovic

Professor of Computational Geomechanics, DIC, PhD 
Development and application of FEM in geotechnical engineering; Constitutive modelling; Unsaturated soils; THM modelling of geomaterials; Soil-structure interaction; Laboratory testing of soils.
Geotechnics Academics A-Z
Geotechnics Academics A-Z

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Geotechnics Research Staff A-Z

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Stewart Agar

Research Assistant
Remote sensing and analysis of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)
Email Stewart

Anthony Carpenter

Research Assistant
Structural Analysis with Radar Remote Sensing (StARRS), including the development of machine learning techniques for a ground-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) system. 
Email Anthony

Ritesh Kumar

Marie Curie Research Fellow
Development of design guidelines for Offshore Wind Turbines under extreme operational conditions.
Email Ritesh

Ryan Yin Wai Liu

Research Associate, PhD
Email Ryan

Julia Katharina Möller

Research Associate, PhD
Development of an energy-based constitutive model for sands subjected to cyclic loading
Email Julia

Fernando Patino-Ramirez

Research Associate, PhD
Development of a burrowing robot capable of measuring the mechanical and chemical properties of the surrounding soil
Email Fernando

Agustin Ruiz Lopez

Research Associate, PhD
SIDeTools: surrogate modelling in geotechnical engineering
Email Agustin

Geotechnics Research Staff A-Z
Geotechnics Academics A-Z

Geotechnics Research Students A-Z

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Stamatina Alexandropoulou

Started Oct 2021
Modelling the behaviour of compacted bentonite at high temperatures (up to 200°C)
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Potts, D.M.
As part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Nuclear Energy Futures and Nuclear Waste Services (NWS)
Email Stamatina

Clive Appleyard

Started 2019
Pile interceptions of Major Tunnelling projects
Supervised by: Standing, J.R.
Email Clive
Sinead Birks

Sinead Birks

Started Oct 2020
Geological and geomorphological characterisation of West Cumbria
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A; Coleman, C. 
Email Sinead

Marina Schnaider Bortolotto

Started Nov 2019 
Investigation on the thermal behaviour of granular materials
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.Taborda, D.
Email Marina
Anthony Carpenter

Anthony Carpenter

Started Sep 2019
Long-term nuclear decommissioning InSAR monitoring
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A; Ghail, R.C.
Email Anthony

Emilia Castillo Fuentes

Started June 2021
Foundation systems for offshore wind developments in deep waters
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Potts, D.M.
Email Emilia

Han Ming Lai 

Started Oct 2023
Ground water composition in the design of nuclear waste disposal
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Potts, D.M.
Email Han Ming

Hsuan-Yi Li

Started Oct 2022
SAR and multi-spectral integration for unsupervised crop type mapping to predict yield and biomass
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A
Email Hsuan-Yi

Jiaming Liu

Started Oct 2022
Numerical study of tunnel-raft interaction in soft clays
Supervised by: Tsiampousi, A.Taborda, D.
Email Jiaming

Shengjie Ma

Started Mar 2022
Seismic response of structures within interbedded layers of distinct hydro-mechanical features
Supervised by: Kontoe, S.Taborda, D.
Email Shengjie

Alison Provost

Started Nov 2022
TBC
Supervised by: Taborda, D. 
Email Alison
 

Tony Maher

Started Sep 2019
Retardation of radionuclides and contaminants in weathered chalk
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A.; Ghail, R.C.
Email Tony
 Christos Miltiadis

Christos Miltiadis 

Started Mar 2021
Effect of climate change projections on infrastructure assets  
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Tsiampousi, A.Onof, C.
Email Christos
 Tokio Morimoto

Tokio Morimoto

Started Sep 2022
A DEM analysis of thermal effects on micromechanics of packed granular beds
Supervised by: 
Email Tokio

Yohei Nakamichi

Started Oct 2021
Particle-scale simulation of clay using moleculer dynamics
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.; Angioletti-Uberti, S.; Tangney, P. 
Email Yohei

Fabian Ortiz Wall

Started Sep 2023
Modeling foundations for Offshore Wind Turbines subjected to complex loading conditions
Supervised by: Taborda, D.Kontoe, S.
Email Fabian
 

 

Jose Salomon 

Started Apr 2021
Undrained instability in saturated sands: Coupled DEM-CFD Analyses
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.
Email Jose
Tara Sassel

Tara Sassel

Started Oct 2018
Simulating the build-up of soil pressures behind integral bridges
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.
Email Tara
Hassan Abdullatif Sindi

Hassan Abdullatif Sindi

Started Oct 2021
Development of new sustainable geo-materials with a focus on desert soils and construction waste
Supervised by: Carraro, JAH.
Email Hassan

Pishun Tantivangphaisal

Started Mar 2022
Evaluation, development and practical application of constitutive models for sands under cyclic loading
Supervised by: Taborda, D.
Email Pishun

Yongxin Wang

Started Nov 2023
Particle-scale simulation of soil-polymer interaction in sand
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.
Email Yongxin

Ahmad Agus Widodo

Started Nov 2023
Flood embankment deterioration
Supervised by: Le, T.
Email Agus
 

Jamie Wills Sanin

Started Mar 2020
Influence of particle level variability in soil stochastic behaviour
Supervised by: Standing, J.R.O'Sullivan, C.
Email Jamie

Han Yang

Started Oct 2022
Effect of ash cover in infrastructure embankments on their life cycle stability and serviceability
Supervised by: Standing, J.R.Zdravkovic, L.
Email Han

Isabella (Shihan) Zhang 

Started Feb 2023
Satellite Remote Sensing of Agriculture With Combined Multispectral and InSAR
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A.
Email Shihan
Geotechnics Research Students A-Z
Geotechnics Academics A-Z

Technical, laboratory and administration staff

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  Steve Ackerley

Steve Ackerley

Laboratory Research Officer, Geotechnics section
Room 526, +44 (0)207 594 6082, Email Steve
Prash Hirani

Prash (Prashant) Hirani

Mechanical Technician, Geotechnics
Room 533, +44 (0)207 594 6060, Email Prash
 

Jess O'Toole

MSc Cluster Administrator, Geotechnics section
Room 529, +44 (0)207 594 6077, Email Jess
Professional Services Staff
Finance, HR and Research Admin

Geotechnics Emeritus, Senior Research Investigators, Visitors and Honorary staff

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 Professor Julian Bommer

Professor Julian Bommer

Senior Research Investigator, FREng
Professor Julian Bommer specialises in seismic hazard assessment, for both natural and induced earthquakes, and the definition of inputs to earthquake-resistant design and seismic risk assessments. He works extensively on major engineering projects including nuclear power plants, both for operators and regulatory bodies.
 John Burland

Professor John Burland

Senior Research Investigator, Emeritus Professor of Soil Mechanics
Professor John Burland specialises in problems relating to the interaction between the ground and masonry buildings and has been responsible for the design of many large ground engineering projects. He has served as expert witness for Parliamentary Select Committees and advised on geotechnical aspects of projects, including the Big Ben Clock Tower, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City and the high profile Leaning Tower of Pisa.
 Dick Chandler

Professor Dick Chandler

Emeritus Professor of Geotechnical Engineering
Professor Chandler has a wide interest in geotechnical problems, but especially slope stability, landslides, tailings dams, piled foundations, and foundations in shrinking and swelling clays. He has been involved with numerous investigations in dam collapse projects and landslide problems both in the UK and overseas. 
 Mike de Freitas

Dr Mike de Freitas

Distinguished Research Fellow and Emeritus Reader in Engineering Geology
Dr Michael de Freitas' areas of expertise includes the application of geology at far- and near-field scales to engineering design and construction in soil and rock, at and below ground level, and including the prediction and control of ground water. He advises on industrial and contractual problems both in the UK and overseas for the private and public sectors. He is a member of the Geological Society and other Geological related Societies and served on the research grants committee of NERC. 
 Sarma Sarada

Dr Sarada Sarma

Emeritus Reader in Engineering Seismology
Dr Sarma has focused his research efforts in the fields of geotechnical earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. In 1973 he introduced the first Sarma Method followed by the second more popular Sarma Method in 1979 for analysing stability of slopes both for use in seismic as well as in static conditions. He has served as a consultant on a number of projects for industry and he was invited by the Government of India to advise on the seismological and geotechnical aspects of earthquakes following the disastrous Bhuj Earthquake of India in January 2001.
Emeritus and Senior Research Investigators
Emeritus and Senior Research Investigators

Visiting and honorary staff

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Antonio Carraro  Honorary Lecturer: Fundamental soil mechanics; Advanced laboratory testing of soils; Sustainable geomaterials; Intermediate soils; Offshore sediments.
Wenjie Cui Academic Visitor: 
George Dounias Visiting Professor: Director at EDAFOS SA, specialising in analysis, design and construction supervision of embankment dams, tunnels, deep foundations, landslide stabilisation and road earthworks.
Kelvin Higgins Visiting Professor: A Senior Partner at GCG, he is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and currently the Chairman of the British Geotechnical Association.
Stavroula Kontoe Visiting Reader in Soil Dynamics: Computational geomechanics; Earthquake engineering; Site response; Dynamic behaviour of soils and earth structures.  
Giuseppe Pedone Visiting Academic: Assistant Professor in Geotechnics at the University of Trento (Italy) specialising in slope stability and landslide risk mitigation, finite element modelling, and pile behaviour under lateral loading.
Dr Jun Zhu Visiting Researcher. A research fellow at Beijing University of Technology, specialising in seismic analysis and design of underground structures,site response analysis, topographic effects, and the development of numerical methods
Visiting and honorary staff
Visiting and honorary staff