I am a researcher in geotechnical engineering at the University of Western Australia, working in the broad field of geotechnical asset management. My work focuses on developing safe and cost-effective solutions for the life cycle management of both onshore and offshore infrastructure. 

I investigate the whole-life performance of man-made earthen infrastructure and natural landforms by means of advanced geotechnical laboratory testing, numerical simulations, statistical tools, and the integration of emerging smart sensing technologies. This work is undertaken through close collaboration with academic and industry partners.

The outcomes of my research aim to empower organisations, first responders, policy makers, and governments to make informed decisions and effectively manage geotechnical risks, optimise the life-cycle management of their asset portfolios, enhance disaster preparedness and mitigation strategies and develop predictive maintenance frameworks that account for georisks and climate change impacts.

By focusing on practical geotechnical asset management strategies, my work contributes to reducing operational risks while improving resilience and adaptability to future challenges.

2021 - : Academic management of the UWA Geotechnical Soils Lab

2022 - : Member of the School of Engineering Safety Committee

2023 - : Elected member of the UWA Academic Board

2023 - : Elected member of the UWA Academic Council

2021 - : GENG5502 - Environmental Geotechnics

2023 - : GENG5507 - Risk, Reliability and Safety

Amira P1217: Evaluation of Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) monitoring technologies

Electrokinetic dewatering of fine grain soils/tailings

Soil moisture sensing technologies

Small strain stiffness of soils and mine waste residue

Structural health monitoring of mining infrastructure by means established and emerging monitoring technologies (InSAR, fibre optics, geophones, ground-based radar, piezometers, etc)

Soil-water-structure interaction

Multi-directional degree of loading of offshore infrastructure

Consolidation effects on mining and offshore infrastructure

My design methodologies for predicting the bearing capacity of offshore shallow foundations are included in ISO: 19901-4 “Petroleum and natural gas industries - Specific requirements for offshore structures - Part 4: Geotechnical and foundation design considerations”.

Collaboration with industry partners (a mix of mining industry partners and monitoring technology specialists) to meaningfully evaluate a range of monitoring technologies and their suitability for application to providing advance warning of potential TSFs instabilities. The outcomes of this project provide meaningful insight into appropriately selected instrumentation that measure meaningful parameters. These measurements will act as trigger warnings for detecting the potential onset of failures that may be prevented. 

Co-authored over 70 reports related to soil characterisation used for large scale Oil&Gas developments in the North West Shelf, WA (Prelude, Browse, Gorgon) and other parts around the world.

Provide technical expertise to industry partners on soil and mine waste residue characterisation.

English, Romanian, Italian, French