 | Prof. Ahmad Safuan A RashidUniversiti Teknologi Malaysia He began his academic career in March 2005 and currently serves as a faculty member at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He has led or participated in 77 research projects, totaling MYR 5,525,701, with 32 of these projects led by him. He also led or assisted in 30 consultancy works worth MYR 2,318,101.56, and holds one utility innovation patent. His publication record includes 153 journal papers (101 ISI indexed, 52 Scopus indexed, and 3 non indexed refereed journals), accumulating an impact factor of 244.275. He has also authored 20 technical proceedings papers and 3 book chapters. Additionally, he serves as a reviewer for more than 50 journals, such as the Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering, the International Journal of GEOMATE, and the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal. As a project leader, he has secured 32 research grants totaling nearly RM 2.5 million from various national and university funding schemes, and he has also been a team member of an international networking grant with a Japanese professor. Thirty of these grants have been completed on time with outstanding financial management. Speech Title: From Prediction to Prevention: Integrating Rainfall Thresholds into Live Slope Monitoring |
 | Prof. Mukhtiar Ali SoomroChina Univesrisy of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou Professor Mukhtiar Ali Soomro is a geotechnical engineer and researcher with nearly two decades of academic, research, and professional experience in civil and geotechnical engineering. He is currently a Full Professor in the School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering at China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Xuzhou, China. He obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where his doctoral research focused on the interaction between advancing twin tunnels and existing pile group foundations. His research primarily focuses on soil-structure interaction and the response of existing infrastructure to underground construction, with particular emphasis on tunnel-pile interaction, twin and stacked tunnelling, pile foundations, piled rafts, deep excavations, and ground deformation. A major component of his research involves the integration of three-dimensional centrifuge modelling and advanced numerical simulations to investigate complex geotechnical mechanisms that are difficult to capture through conventional approaches. His work has systematically examined tunnelling-induced settlement, lateral displacement, pile-cap tilting, bending moments, load redistribution, negative skin friction, dragload, tensile forces, and the effects of tunnel depth and construction sequence on pile foundations. His research has also extended to laterally loaded and battered pile groups, fault-induced ground deformation, piled embankments, ground improvement, and emerging machine-learning applications in geotechnical engineering. He has authored and co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal publications and has supervised PhD and Master's students in diverse areas of geotechnical engineering. Speech Title: Mechanisms of Twin Tunnelling-Pile Foundation Interaction: From Centrifuge Experiments to Numerical Insights |