Organizing Committee Chair
Prof. Qi Zhao
Associate Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Prof. Qi Zhao is an Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. degree at the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. dissertation was awarded the Leopold Müller Award by the Austrian Society for Geomechanics and the Dr. N.G.W. Cook Ph.D. Dissertation Award by the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA). He is an ARMA Future leader (class 2021). His research interests cover several aspects of geomechanics and geophysics, including the analysis of lunar regolith and generation of physical and digital twins; in situ 4D rock physics experiments under X-ray micro-CT; the application of machine learning to rock mechanics and geophysics problems; and the shear behavior of rock discontinuities.
Organizing Committee Chair
Prof. Yu Huang
Professor, Tongji University
Prof. Huang Yu is a professor at the College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, and holds prestigious titles including Distinguished Professor of the Chang Jiang Scholars Program and Distinguished Young Scholar of the National Science Fund. His research focuses on the mechanisms and prevention of geological disasters, evidenced by over 160 SCI-indexed papers and five English monographs. He contributes to the academic community as an editorial board member for leading journals such as Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Research (ICE), and as a Founding Editor-in-Chief of Geohazards & Remediation. His work has been honored with numerous awards, including the First Prize of the Shanghai Natural Science Award, the First Prize of the Ministry of Education Scientific and Technological Progress Award, the Science Achievement Award from the International Consortium on Geo-disaster Reduction (ICGdR), and the Engineering Geology Outstanding Editorial Board Member Award.
Organizing Committee Co-Chair
Prof. Fawu Wang
Professor, Tongji University
Prof. Fawu Wang is chairholder of UNESCO Chair on Geoenvironmental Disaster Reduction, professor on geo-disaster reduction in School of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, China and Emeritus Professor of Shimane University. He has been working on challenging problems in landslides, such as the mechanism of rapid and long runout landslides, the transformation mechanism from landsliding to flow-sliding, motion prediction of landslides, motion behavior of submarine landslides, and landslides triggered by earthquakes, heavy rainfall, and water impoundment. His primary research interests are to clarify the common mechanisms of landslides initiated by different triggers, and to find a way to predict the occurrence and motion of landslides, for the purpose of landslide disaster mitigation. Besides the teaching and research activities, he is also working as the President of the International Consortium on Geo-disaster Reduction since 2020, and the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Geoenvironmental Disasters since 2014.
Organizing Committee Co-Chair
Prof. Jianhua Yin
Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Prof. Jianhua Yin joined Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1995, and was promoted to Chair Professor of Soil Mechanics in 2014. He has a good track record in research and has played a leading role in development of advanced soil testing equipment, innovative fiber optical sensors, establishing a large-scale multi-purpose physical modeling facility for studying geo-hazards, organization of regional and international conferences. His research interests include (i) testing study of properties and behaviour of soils, (ii) elastic visco-plastic modeling, (iii) soft soil improvement, (iv) soil nails and slope analysis, (v) development and applications fiber optical sensors, (vi) soil-structure interface, and (vii) development of advanced/special lab testing apparatus. He serves as a Vice-President of International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG), a Co-Editor of International Journal of Geomechanics (ASCE), and a Co-Editor of Geomechanics and Geoengineering (UK). He has received the honours of the prestigious “JOHN BOOKER Medal” in 2008, “Chandra S. Desai Excellence Award” in 2011, and “Outstanding Contributions Medal” in 2017 from all IACMAG. He delivered the high-status 2011 “Huang Wenxi Lecture” in Chinese Mainland.