We are pleased to announce our plenary and keynote speakers for the 12th International Conference on Geotechnical Research and Engineering (ICGRE 2027):
Dr. Jayantha Kodikara
Monash University, Australia – Plenary Speaker
Professor Jayantha Kodikara is the Director of ARC Hub for Smart Next Generation Transport Pavements – SPARC (www.sparchub.org.au) within Monash Civil Engineering. He is also the leader of the Monash Pipeline Research Group. He has published over 500 publications on diverse topics and has graduated over 50 PhD students. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer in Australia and a Fellow of Engineers Australia. His fundamental research has led to the development of the MPK (Monash-Peradeniya-Kodikara) Framework and Model for unsaturated compacted soil modelling, which uncovered a direct link between the traditional compaction curve and advanced unsaturated soil modelling. Seminal contributions in applied research include elucidating the mechanisms underlying buried water pipe failure and deterioration, leading to global paradigm shifts in pipeline asset management. He has received several awards for innovation and industry collaboration, including the National and International Water Association Awards and the B/HERT Award in 2016; the ARRB Impact Award in 2019; and the Monash Vice-Chancellor’s and Dean’s Awards for Innovation and Enterprise in 2013 and 2019, and the Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision Award in 2024.
Dr. Pinnaduwa Kulatilake
University of Arizona, USA – Plenary Speaker
Dr. Pinnaduwa H.S.W. Kulatilake has been a Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, USA since June 2019. He was a recipient of 2024 International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM) Science Achievement Award. At present, he is (a) a Professor of Civil Engineering at the Christian Brothers University, USA, (b) a Consultant as a Research Director to Shandong University of Science & Technology, China, and (c) a Visiting Professor at National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India. Currently, he serves as the Chair of the ISRM Commission on “Estimation of Rock Mass Strength and Deformability” and as the President of the Sri Lankan Rock Mechanics and Engineering Society. His Ph.D. degree is in Civil Engineering with a Geotechnical Engineering specialty from the Ohio State University, USA. From May 2019 for 3 years he served as a Distinguished Professor of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering at a University in China under the Distinguished Foreign Expert 1000 Talent Program funding from the Chinese Government. Prof. Kulatilake has over 47 years of experience in rock mechanics & rock engineering with applications of numerical, probabilistic, and statistical methods to civil, mining, and geoengineering. He has taught 56 short courses covering all 6 continents. He has organized and run 5 international conferences as the Chair. He has published more than 280 papers which have resulted in more than 9525 Google Scholar Citations with an H-index of 58 and an I10-index of 123. He has co-authored a book on “Rock mass stability around underground excavations in a mine” He has edited six conference proceedings and served as the Guest Editor for two special issues in an international journal. He has delivered more than 40 invited keynote lectures and 50 other invited lectures throughout the world. He is a recipient of 14 prestigious awards. He is a registered professional civil engineer and has served for over 20 years as the primary or sole examiner for the geological engineering professional exam conducted by the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration. His research accomplishments resulted in securing invited and elected positions on the editorial boards of several journals. He has been a Visiting Professor/Research Fellow at several top geomechanics institutes in the world.
Dr. Mohamed Shahin
Curtin University, Australia – Plenary Speaker
Professor Mohamed Shahin is a Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Curtin University, Australia. He holds BSc and MSc degrees from Cairo University, Egypt, and a PhD from the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has more than 30 years of academic and industrial experience in Civil and Geotechnical Engineering. He is an Elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Engineers Australia. He is recognized among the top 1% of Highly Cited Researchers in Engineering (Web of Science), the top 2% of World Scientists (Stanford University ranking), the top 0.5% of worldwide scholars (ScholarGPS), and Oceania’s top 100 civil engineering scientists (AD Scientific Index). He has received several honours and awards, including the 2025 Senior Researcher of the Year Award (Curtin University); the 2025 Excellent Regional Contribution Award (International Association for Computer Methods & Advances in Geomechanics); the 2023 Scientist Medal (International Association of Advanced Materials); the 2018 Fredlund Award (Canadian Science Publishing); the 2016 Editor’s Choice Paper Award (Canadian Geotechnical Journal); and the 2013 Prix Quigley Award (Canadian Geotechnical Society).