Numerical Research

Numerical researchers

Numerical Research

PhD students enjoying geotechnical finite element analysis

PhD and researchers Autumn 2017

PhD students

PhD students and researchers in geotechnics: Autumn 2017

laboratory research

Laboratory research

PhD students working in the Bishop lab

PhD students are engaged across all of the main research activities in the Geotechnics Section and enjoy many other oppotunities during their time here.  Our PhD alumni are spread across the world working in both industry and academia.

For  information on current research vacancies, please contact either Dr Stavroula Kontoe or Sue Feller. For more information about the PhD programme, please visit the  For more information about the PhD programme, please visit the Department's postgraduate research pages. This page includes details of fees, what to put into an application, and how to apply. 

View potential PhD supervisors

Geotechnics Academic and Teaching Staff A-Z

Photo Details

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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View current researchers and their research topics

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

View completed PhD research titles

Geotechnics 2008-2009

2009

Name Title and supervisor
Abela, J Blinding struts in cut & cover excavations
Supervised by: Professor D. Potts/Dr R. Vollum/Professor B. A. Izzuddin
Aldama Bustos, G An exploratory study of parameter sensitivity, representation of results and extensions of PSHA: Case Study - United Arab Emirates
Supervised by: Professor J. Bommer
 Barreto Gonzalez, D Numerical and experimental investigation into the behaviour of granular materials under generalised stress states.
Supervised by: Dr C. O'Sullivan/Dr L. Zdravkovic
Cavarretta, I The Influence of Particle Characteristics on the Engineering Behaviour of Granular Materials
Supervised by: Professor M. Coop; Dr C. O'Sullivan
Zolghadr Zadeh Jahromi, H Nonlinear Soil-Structure Interaction 
Supervised by: Professor B. A. Izzuddin; Dr L. Zdravkovic

2008

Name Title and supervisor
Bodas Freitas, T M Numerical Modelling of the Time Dependent Behaviour of Clays
Supervised by: Professor D. Potts
Zabidi, H Studies of karst in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Supervised by: Dr M. de Freitas

Pre-2008 Information about completed PhD research prior to 2009 may be available from the section but is only available to registered members of the Department. Please contact Sue Feller.

Geotechnics 2020-2024

2023

Name Title and supervisor
Koronides, Marios Numerical and field investigation of dynamic soil-structure interaction at full-scale
Supervised by: Kontoe, S.Zdravkovic, L.
Morimoto, Tokio Particle-scale numerical study on thermal behaviour of granular materials
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.
Solans Roa, David Seismic performance of tailings sand dams
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.
Wang, Zixiao An Investigation of ongoing displacements of active faults in the Gobi Desert using persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar technique to support the permanent disposal of high-level waste in Beishan, China
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A
Wen, Kai Dynamic and monotonic axial loading responses of piles driven for offshore wind turbines
Supervised by: Kontoe, S.Jardine, R.
Xue, Shawn  Ground response to tunnelling with an emphasis on arching mechanisms 
Supervised by: Standing, J.R.
Xue, Shuai Transient ground response during and after tunnelling
Supervised by: Carraro, JAH.

2022

Name Title and supervisor
Adesina, Peter The effects of particle shape and sample grading on the behaviour of granular materials
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.
Bandera, Sara Fundamental analysis of the influence of structure on clay behaviour
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.; Angioletti-Uberti, S.; Tangney, P. 
Chen, Sihua Thermo-hydro-mechanical characterisation of London clay
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Carraro, JAH.
Dominguez Quintans, Camelia Static and cyclic characterisation of sandy and silty soils deposited underwater
Supervised by: Carraro, JAH.Zdravkovic, L.
Edgar, Justyna Addressing infrastructure challenges posed by the Harwich Formation through understanding its geological origins
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A; Ghail, R.C.
Elhusain, Luai Experimental study of collapse mechanisms in gravelly soils
Supervised by: Standing, J.R.
Guo, Benjamin Wei Li Reuse and sustainability of flood defences
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Tsiampousi, A.Onof, C.
Liu, Deyun The influence of particle size distribution on measures of states for granular materials and implications for small strain stiffness
Supervised by: O'Sullivan, C.Carraro, JAH.
Liu, Ryan Yin Wai Numerical modelling of complex thermo-hydro-mechanical interactions in thermo-active pile foundations
Supervised by: Taborda, D.
Mider, Malgorzata Understanding geological evolution of chalk cliffs and coastal processes using InSAR
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A.; Ghail, R.C.
Moeller, Julia Seismic response of monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines in liquefiable deposits
Supervised by: Kontoe, S.Taborda, D.
Quinteros Araujo, Vicente Santiago On the initial fabric and triaxial behaviour of an undisturbed and reconstituted fluvial sand
Supervised by: Carraro, JAHJardine, R.
Ruiz Lopez, Agustin Development of advanced numerical models for grey cast iron tunnel linings
Supervised by: Tsiampousi, A.Standing, J.R.
Zhou, Ding Numerical analysis of Double-O-Tube shield tunnelling
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.

2021

Name Title and supervisor
Kirkham, Andrew  Development of a new temperature-controlled oedometer
Supervised by: Tsiampousi, A.Potts, D.M.
Morgan, Tom Major faulting in London: Relating tectonic-scale processes to site-scale engineering geology
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A.; Ghail, R.C.
Scoular, Jennifer Using InSAR to identify potential geotechnical hazards for Tideway East and other tunnelling projects in London
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: Lawrence, J.A
Vinck, Ken Advanced geotechnical characterisation to support driven pile design at chalk sites
As part of the CDT in Sustainable Civil Engineering
Supervised by: Jardine, R.

2020

Name Title and supervisor
Ghiadistri, Giulia Marianna  Numerical study of bentonite buffers homogenisation upon re-saturation
Supervised by: Zdravkovic, L.Potts, D.M.Tsiampousi, A.
Nguyen, Hoang Micromechanics of shear wave propagation and non-linear stiffness of granular materials
Supervised by: O’Sullivan C.
Sailer, Eleonora Numerical modelling of thermo-active retaining walls
Supervised by: Taborda, D.Zdravkovic, L.
Salim, Hendarto Assessing local and global displacements from tunnelling and water extraction in Jakarta
Supervised by:  Standing, J.R.

Geotechnics 2008-2009

2009

NameTitle and supervisor
Abela, J Blinding struts in cut & cover excavations
Supervised by: Professor D. Potts/Dr R. Vollum/Professor B. A. Izzuddin
Aldama Bustos, G An exploratory study of parameter sensitivity, representation of results and extensions of PSHA: Case Study - United Arab Emirates
Supervised by: Professor J. Bommer
 Barreto Gonzalez, D Numerical and experimental investigation into the behaviour of granular materials under generalised stress states.
Supervised by: Dr C. O'Sullivan/Dr L. Zdravkovic
Cavarretta, I The Influence of Particle Characteristics on the Engineering Behaviour of Granular Materials
Supervised by: Professor M. Coop; Dr C. O'Sullivan
Zolghadr Zadeh Jahromi, H Nonlinear Soil-Structure Interaction 
Supervised by: Professor B. A. Izzuddin; Dr L. Zdravkovic

2008

NameTitle and supervisor
Bodas Freitas, T M Numerical Modelling of the Time Dependent Behaviour of Clays
Supervised by: Professor D. Potts
Zabidi, H Studies of karst in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Supervised by: Dr M. de Freitas

Pre-2008 Information about completed PhD research prior to 2009 may be available from the section but is only available to registered members of the Department. Please contact Sue Feller.

Our academic standing

Accreditation

MEng Accredited CEng (Full)

Our degrees are accredited as fully satisfying the educational base for a Chartered Engineer (CEng). 
See www.jbm.org.uk for further information.

League table rankings

National Student Survey

  • Overall Satisfaction, 90.2 (2022), 89.9 (2021); 78.1 (2020); 88% (2019)

QS World Universities rankings

  • Subject Ranking. Civil Engineering = 6th (2022); 6th (2021); 5th (2020); 6th (2019)
  • Overall, Imperial was voted 7th best university in the world in the 2022 rankings.

Guardian University Guide (UK)

  • Subject Ranking. Engineering: Civil = 3rd (2022); 4th (2021); 1st (2020); 1st (2019)
  • Overall, Imperial was ranked 7th in this year's Guardian university guide. 

The Times Higher Education world ranking

  • Subject Ranking. Engineering and Technology = 14th (2021); 11th (2020); 12th (2019)
  • Overall, Imperial was ranked 11th best university in this year's rankings.

The Sunday Times Good University Guide (UK)

  • Subject Ranking. Civil Engineering = 1st (2022); 4th (2021); 4th (2020); 3rd (2019); 1st (2018)

Complete University Guide

  • Subject Ranking. Civil Engineering = 2nd (2023), 8th (2022); 7th (2021); 6th (2020); 2nd (2019); 1st (2018)
  • Overall, Imperial ranked 5th best university in this year's rankings. 

View the ranking across the Faculty of Engineering

Research assessments

  • REF 2021. 75% of our research was considered 4* (highest rating), and the remaining 25% at 3* (unit of assessment: engineering).
  • REF 2014. 47% of our research assessed to be 4* (highest rating), 48% assessed to be 3* and 5% assessed as 2*  (unit of assessment: civil and construction engineering).
  • RAE 2008. 40% of our research assessed to be 4* (highest rating), 55% assessed to be 3* and 3% assessed as 2* (unit of assessment: civil engineering).