Plenary & Keynote Speakers
9th International Conference on Geotechnical Research and Engineering (ICGRE 2024)
We are pleased to announce the plenary and keynote speakers for the 9th International Conference on Geotechnical Research and Engineering (ICGRE 2024):
Dr. William Powrie
University of Southampton, UK
Plenary Speaker
William Powrie is Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Southampton. He is known for his research in environmental and transportation geotechnics, and the behaviour of “difficult” soils and soil-like materials. He is Convenor of the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities and leads the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network Infrastructure Centre of Excellence. He is a Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, chair of HS2’s Independent Geotechnical Expert Panel, member of the UK Department for Transport Science Advisory Council, Chair of the RAEng / Lloyd’s Register Foundation Engineering X programme, and Geotechnical Consultant to groundwater specialists WJ.
Topic of Keynote: Resilience, Sustainability and Affordability: The Triple Challenge for Infrastructure
Plenary Abstract
Dr. David Connolly
University of Leeds, UK
Keynote Speaker
David Connolly is Professor of Railway Engineering at the University of Leeds, UK. He holds a MEng degree in civil engineering from the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in railways also from the same institution. He previously worked at Heriot Watt University before joining Leeds in 2017 as an Associate Professor, and became full professor in 2022. His work is focused on railway geotechnics, track dynamics and numerical modelling. He has published over 100 papers, has a h-index of 32 and has won 8 awards for his research. He works closely with the railway industry and is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Permanent Way Institution.
Topic of Keynote: Recent Advances in Railway Geotechnics and Geodynamics
Keynote Abstract
Dr. Mohamed Meguid
McGill University, Canada
Keynote Speaker
Prof. Meguid is the Department Chair at McGill University, Canada, specializing in geomechanics and geotechnical engineering, with a focus on subsurface structures and geosynthetic engineering. His work, driven by sustainable engineering solutions, has significantly advanced these fields. He is a member of the Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design, the Geosynthetics Technical Committee of the ASCE Geo-Institute, a Board Member of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. Dr. Meguid is Associate Editor of Geotextiles and Geomembranes and the Editor-in-Chief of the Geotechnical and Geological Engineering journal.
Prof. Meguid’s contributions in geosynthetics, especially in soil-geosynthetic interactions and their applications in civil engineering, earned him the 2022 Geosynthetics Research Award from the Canadian Geotechnical Society. His research group is also pioneering in AI applications in civil engineering, developing Machine Learning tools for estimating the service life of infrastructure under environmental challenges.
A dedicated educator, Prof. Meguid is recognized for his commitment to empowering students in engineering education, having received the Samuel and Ida Fromson Award for Outstanding Teaching, and being nominated for the Principal’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at McGill University.
Topic of Keynote: Transportation Geo-structures in a Changing Climate: Challenges and Opportunities
Keynote Abstract
Dr. Erol Tutumluer
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Erol Tutumluer is Abel Bliss Professor specializing in Transportation Geotechnics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Dr. Tutumluer has research interests and expertise in characterization of highway/ airfield pavement and railroad track geomaterials, geosynthetics, advanced imaging techniques and applications of artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques to transportation infrastructure, structural health monitoring of transportation facilities using sensors, sustainable use of foundation geomaterials and construction practices for transportation infrastructure, discrete element analysis of ballast, and dynamic response measurement and analyses of track systems. Professor Tutumluer has served as an investigator on over 120 research projects, graduated 25 PhD and 46 MS students, and authored/co-authored over 380 peer reviewed publications from his research projects. Dr. Tutumluer is a Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Transportation Geotechnics Elsevier journal and the immediate past Chair of the ISSMGE Technical Committee 202 on Transportation Geotechnics. As a Council Member (2020-2026) of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), Dr. Tutumluer currently serves as Chair of the Technical Committee on Stabilization. He is an Executive Board Member of the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Transportation Infrastructure Group. Dr. Tutumluer was the 2000 recipient of the TRB’s Fred Burgraff award for Excellence in Transportation Research. He was selected and honored with Yangtze River Scholar Award by China Ministry of Education in 2016. He received Qiushi Distinguished Professor title bestowed upon him by Zhejiang University and delivered the Zeng Guoxi honor lecture in China in 2019. Dr. Tutumluer is the 2020 recipient of the ASCE T&DI James Laurie Prize in recognition of his career accomplishments for promoting Transportation Geotechnics field and the 2021 recipient of ASCE Geo-Institute’s Carl L. Monismith Lecture Award. In 2023, Dr. Tutumluer received an IGS Award in recognition of his significant contributions towards the use of geosynthetics in roadways, railways, and airfields. Dr. Tutumluer is scheduled to deliver ASCE T&DI’s Francis Turner and ISSMGE Proctor Lectures in 2024.
Topic of Keynote: Computer Vision Based Imaging and Characterization of Transportation Geomaterials Keynote Abstract
Registration fee includes the following:
- Publication of 1 accepted paper in the proceedings. Publication of each additional paper requires a €250 EUR registration
- Buffet lunch for each day of the conference
- 2 coffee breaks for each day of the conference
- 1 banquet dinner OR cruise tour
Important information for accompanying person(s): Please be informed that the accompanying person can NOT be a co-author.
Co-authors, regardless if 1 author is attending, must pay the full registration fee.
The accompany person fee is only for spouses and/or children. Please contact us if you are unsure.
Virtual registration fee includes the following:
- Publication of 1 accepted paper in the proceedings. Publication of each additional paper requires a €150 EUR registration
- Access to all the sessions of the conference