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Geotechnics Academic and Teaching Staff A-Z

Geotechnics Academics A-Z
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	Domniki Asimaki Chair in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering PhD Email: d.asimaki@imperial.ac.uk Teaching: geotechnical earthquake engineering, geotechnical hazards. Research interests: regional ground motion simulations, nonlinear site response, soil-structure interaction, uncertainty quantification, ground motion synthesis and processing using AI.
	Marina Schnaider Bortolotto Teaching Fellow PhD Email: marina.bortolotto@imperial.ac.uk
	Angela Casarella Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering PhD Email: a.casarella@imperial.ac.uk Research interests: micro-mechanics of geomaterials, with a particular emphasis on clay, to better understand particulate matter in order to manipulate and enhance their properties.
	Tiago Gaspar Assistant Professor in Geotechnical Engineering PhD Email: t.gaspar@imperial.ac.uk Teaching: module coordinator for MEng and MSc module 'Geotechnical Hazards' Research interests: experimental geotechnics (physical modelling and element testing); unsaturated soil mechanics; occurrence of geohazards in response to changing climatic conditions; development of sensors and measurement techniques for unsaturated soils testing
	Richard Jardine Professor of Geomechanics FREng, FRS, FICE, FCGI, DIC, PhD Email: r.jardine@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6083 Teaching: MSc programme in Offshore Geotechnics and Geotechnics main field course Research interests: offshore Geotechnics, soft ground engineering, deep foundations, flood defences, constitutive behaviour and cyclic loading
	James Lawrence Reader in Geological Engineering and Undergraduate Year 1 Coordinator PhD Email: j.lawrence@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 0700
	Marcelo J Sanchez Professor in Geotechnical Engineering Email: m.sanchez@imperial.ac.uk
	Catherine O'Sullivan Professor of Particulate Soil Mechanics and Head of Geotechnics Section PhD, MIEI Email: cath.osullivan@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6117 Teaching: Teaches on Computational Methods on MEng programme and Seepage and Consolidation on MSc Geotechnical Engineering programmes Research interests: behaviour of soil at the grain scale, discrete element modelling, polymer support fluids, particle scale modelling of clay
	David Taborda Reader in Geomechanical Modelling, Departmental ICT Representative, and Director of PhD Programme DIC, PhD Email: d.taborda@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 20 7594 6033 Teaching: Coordinates the MEng module in Mathematics Year 1 and the MSc module in Strength and Deformation Research interests: Computational modelling of ground source energy systems, offshore foundations and urban excavations, development of advanced material models for soils, application of data-driven approaches for design optimisation, implementation of the observational method and infrastructure management
	Pishun Tantivangphaisal Assistant Professor PhD Email: pishun.tantivangphaisal20@imperial.ac.uk Teaching: fundamental soil mechanics, applied geotechnical engineering, offshore geotechnics and site characterisation Research interests: soil constitutive modelling, cyclic loading, practical use of numerical methods in geotechnical design, site characterisation and design uncertainty quantification.
	Katerina Tsiampousi Associate Professor and Director of the MSc Programme PhD Email: aikaterini.tsiampousi05@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6020 Teaching: unsaturated soil mechanics Research interests: effect of climate change on geotechnical infrastructure, numerical methodologies for incorporating soil-atmosphere interaction in geotechnical analysis, engineered barriers for preventing flooding in urban areas, and isolating nuclear waste from the living environment.
	Ken Vinck Assistant Professor in Geotechnics, Director and Admissions Tutor for MSc in Geotechnical Engineering MSc, DIC, PhD Email: ken.vinck15@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)207 594 6791 Research interests: advanced laboratory testing, soil and site characterisation and field experiments that contribute to resolving geotechnical problems encountered in the near and offshore industry
	Lidija Zdravkovic Professor of Computational Geomechanics DIC, PhD Email: l.zdravkovic@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6076 Teaching: MEng and MSc modules from Fundamental Soil Mechanics to Advanced Numerical Analysis and Geotechnical Design Research interests: development and application of numerical methods in geotechnical design, renewable energy including wind and geothermal, lifecycle assessment of infrastructure with the changing climate, radioactive waste disposal, experimental protocols and equipment for thermo-hydro-mechanical soil characterisation
Geotechnics Academics A-Z

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Emeritus, honorary and visiting staff

	Julian Bommer Senior Research Investigator
	John Burland Emeritus Professor of Soil Mechanics and Senior Research Investigator Interests: problems relating to the interaction between the ground and masonry buildings
	Antonio Carraro Honorary Lecturer Email: antonio.carraro@imperial.ac.uk Interests: fabric-sensitive soil mechanics and sustainable, resilient and equitable infrastructure materials
	Dick Chandler Emeritus Professor of Geotechnical Engineering Interests: slope stability, landslides, tailings dams, piled foundations, and foundations in shrinking and swelling clays
	Tim Chapman Visiting Professor for Infrastructure Delivery BE MSc DIC CEng FICE FIEI FREng Email: chapman.tim@bcg.com Interests: How infrastructure systems sustain life and urgently upgrading them to achieve low-carbon construction, climate resilience, and nature-friendly solutions that restore biodiversity—all while delivering the right infrastructure faster, more efficiently, and affordably.
	George Dounias Visiting Professor Interests: analysis, design and construction supervision of embankment dams, tunnels, deep foundations, landslide stabilisation and road earthworks
	Kelvin Higgins Visiting Professor Email: k.higgins@imperial.ac.uk
	Truong Le Honorary Lecturer/Assistant Professor PhD Email: truong.le@imperial.ac.uk Interests: experimental geotechnics, bayesian analysis, uncertainty quantification, data science, machine learning in Geotechnics
	Fernando Patino-Ramirez Honorary Lecturer Email: l.patino-ramirez@imperial.ac.uk Interests: development of a burrowing robot capable of measuring the mechanical and chemical properties of the surrounding soil
	David Potts Emeritus Professor in Geotechnical Engineering and Senior Research Investigator PhD, FREng, CEng, FICE Email: d.potts@imperial.ac.uk Interests: development of numerical methods and the related finite element software for application in general geotechnical engineering
	Andrew Ridley Visiting Professor of Geotechnical Monitoring BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD Email: andrew.ridley@geo-observations.com Interests: Managing Director and owner of Geotechnical Observations Ltd, a specialist instrumentation and monitoring company, with over 40 years in the geotechnical sector. Currently Chair of the British Geotechnical Association and the UK representative on ISO/TC182/WG2, developing international standards for geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring.
	Sarada Sarma Emeritus Reader in Engineering Seismology Email: s.sarma@imperial.ac.uk Interests: engineering seismology, seismic design of earth dams and embankments, foundations and retaining walls; internationally known for slope analysis methods (Sarma Methods) and expert on eeismic hazard analysis of engineering sites.
	Jamie Standing Emeritus Professor of Ground Engineering PhD, CEng, MICE Email: j.standing@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44(0)20 7594 6072 Interests: tunnelling-induced ground movements and the effects of tunnelling on the urban environment.

Geotechnics research staff A-Z

Geotechnics Academics A-Z
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	Stewart Agar Research Assistant PhD Email: s.agar16@imperial.ac.uk Research interests: remote Sensing and analysis of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR); currently working in collaboration with EDF Energy on development of a highly automated system for InSAR monitoring of nuclear decommissioning assets
	Dariel Hernandez-Delfin Marie Curie-Energy for Future (MSCA E4F) Individual Fellow Email: d.hernandez-delfin@imperial.ac.uk Research interests: development of a virtual particle-scale laboratory for geotechnical investigation of pile loading; Discrete Element Method (DEM), soil mechanics, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), constitutive modelling, granular matter.
	Maryam Sadat Maddah Sadatieh Research Assistant Email: m.maddah-sadatieh22@imperial.ac.uk Research interests: unsaturated soil mechanics and Soil-Plant-Atmosphere modelling to assess and predict slope behaviour.
	Julia Katharina Möller Research Associate PhD Email: julia.moller16@imperial.ac.uk
	Francesca Palmieri Research Associate PhD Email: f.palmieri@imperial.ac.uk Research interests: degradation of clays during monotonic and cyclic loading conditions.
	Agustin Ruiz Lopez Research Associate PhD Email: a.ruiz-lopez17@imperial.ac.uk
	Si Suo Research Associate PhD Email: s.suo@imperial.ac.uk
	Hao Wang Research Associate PhD Email: h.wang1@imperial.ac.uk Research interests: experimental investigation and numerical modelling of unsaturated soil/rock.
Geotechnics Research Staff A-Z

Geotechnics technical and administrative staff

	Steve Ackerley Laboratory Research Officer Email: s.ackerley@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)207 594 6082
	Luke Hayward Geotechnics Technology and Laboratory Manager Email: luke.hayward@imperial.ac.uk
	John Mitchell Mechanical Workshop and Laboratory Technician Email: john.mitchell@imperial.ac.uk
	Duncan Perry Electronics and Electro-Mechanical Technician Email: d.perry@imperial.ac.uk
	Jess O'Toole Section Administrator Email: j.otoole@imperial.ac.uk Tel: +44(0)207 594 6077

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You can also see a list of our current PhD Researchers on the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering website.

Dr Stewart A Agar

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Dr Stewart A AgarResearch Associate
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Affiliations
- Earth Observation Network
- Geotechnics
Professor Domniki Asimaki

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Professor Domniki AsimakiChair in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics
Professor Julian Bommer

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Professor Julian BommerSenior Research Investigator
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Affiliations
- Energy Futures Lab Affiliate
- Geotechnics
Dr Angela Casarella

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Dr Angela CasarellaAssistant Professor in Geotechnical Engineering
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics
Dr Tiago A V Gaspar

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Dr Tiago A V GasparAssistant Professor in Geotechnical Engineering
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics
Mr Luke A Hayward

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Mr Luke A HaywardGeotechnics Technology and Laboratory Manager
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics
Dr Dariel Hernandez Delfin

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Dr Dariel Hernandez DelfinMSCA E4F Individual Fellow
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics
Dr James A Lawrence

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Dr James A LawrenceReader in Geological Engineering
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Ms Maryam Sadat Maddah Sadatieh

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Ms Maryam Sadat Maddah SadatiehResearch Assistant
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics
Mr John E Mitchell

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Mr John E MitchellMechanical Workshop and Laboratory Technician
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Affiliations
- Geotechnics

Geotechnics Research Students A-Z

Geotechnics Research Students A-Z

Kabiru Adebayo Micromechanics of Clay Started: Nov 2024 Supervisor(s):O'Sullivan, C.; Vinck, K. Email Kabiru	Stamatina Alexandropoulou Modelling the behaviour of the compacted bentonite at high temperatures for application in nuclear waste disposal concepts Started: Oct 2021 Supervisor(s): Zdravkovic, L.; Potts, D.M. Email Stamatina	Clive Appleyard Pile interceptions of major tunnelling projects Started: TBD Supervisor(s): Standing, J.R. Email Clive
Sinead Birks Geological characterisation of West Cumbria Started: Oct 2020 Supervisor(s): Lawrence, J.A; Coleman, C. Email Sinead	Emilia Castillo Fuentes Foundations for offshore wind turbines Started: Jun 2021 Supervisor(s): dravkovic, L.; Potts, D.M. Email Emilia	Adhyatma Khare Investigating the thermal behaviour of clays Started: Sep 2024 Supervisor(s): Le, T.; Zdravkovic, L. Email Adhyatma
Han Ming Lai Ground water composition and nuclear waste disposal Started: Oct 2023 Supervisor(s): Zdravkovic, L.; Potts, D.M. Email Han Ming	Hsuan-Yi Li Crop type mapping to predict yield and biomass Started: Oct 2022 Supervisor(s): Lawrence, J.A Email Hsuan-Yi	Jiaming Liu Tunnel-raft interaction in soft clays Started: Oct 2022 Supervisor(s): Tsiampousi, A.; Taborda, D.; Ruiz-Lopez, D. Email Jiaming
Shengjie Ma Seismic response of structures Started: Mar 2022 Supervisor(s): Kontoe, S.; Taborda, D. Email Shengjie	Maryam Sadat Maddah Sadatieh Soil-plant-atmosphere interaction Started: Oct 2022 Supervisor(s): Tsiampousi, A.; Paschalis, A. Email Maryam	Ethelbert Mezie Engineered barriers for landslides mitigation Started: Feb 2024 Supervisor(s): Tsiampousi, A.; Vinck, K. Email Ethelbert
Christos Miltiadis Climate change projections; infrastructure assets Started: Mar 2021 Supervisor(s): Zdravkovic, L.; Tsiampousi, A.; Onof, C. Email Christos	Fabian Ortiz Wall Modelling foundations for offshore wind turbines subjected to complex loading conditions Started: Sep 2023 Supervisor(s): Taborda, D.; Kontoe, S. Email Fabian	Alison Provost Thermal performance of thermo-active piles Started: Nov 2022 Supervisor(s): Taborda, D. Email Alison
Jose Salomon Undrained instability in saturated sands Started: Apr 2021 Supervisor(s): O'Sullivan, C. Email Jose	Javier Sanchez Fernandez Efficient design of ground source energy systems Started: Oct 2022 Supervisor(s): Taborda, D. Email Javier	Hassan Abdullatif Sindi New sustainable geo-materials; construction waste Started: Oct 2021 Supervisor(s): Lawrence, J. Email Hassan
Pishun Tantivangphaisal Modelling the long-term cyclic response of soils Started: Mar 2022 Supervisor(s): Taborda, D. Email Pishun	Yongxin Wang Particle-scale simulation of soil-polymer interaction in sand Started: Nov 2023 Supervisor(s): O'Sullivan, C.; Blunt, M.; Suo, S. Email Yongxin	Ahmad Agus Widodo Lidar utilisation for detecting asset deterioration Started: Nov 2023 Supervisor(s): Le, T.; Mason, P.J. Email Agus
Han Yang Life cycle behaviour of ash cover in infrastructure embankments Started: Oct 2022 Supervisor(s): Standing, J.R.; Zdravkovic, L.; Onof, C. Email Han	Ningxin Yang Using machine learning to benefit our geotechnical practices Started: May 2023 Supervisor(s): Le, T.; Zdravkovic, L. Email Ningxin	Yunxiang Yang Surrogate modelling application in geotechnical engineering Started: Sep 2023 Supervisor(s): Taborda, D.; Tsiampousi, A.; Angeloudis, P; Ruiz López, A. Email Yunxiang
Isabella (Shihan) Zhang Satellite remote sensing of agriculture Started: Feb 2023 Supervisor(s): Lawrence, J.A. Email Shihan