Keynote:
Glacier instabilities identification and monitoring: Case Studies in the Alps
Dr. Daniele Giordan is a Senior Researcher at the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (IRPI). He leads the GeoHazard Monitoring Group and serves as Chairman of IAEG Commission C35 on Monitoring Methods and Approaches in Engineering Geology Applications. Dr. Giordan’s research focuses on innovative monitoring techniques for landslides and other geohazards. He is a recognized expert in remote sensing and geotechnical instrumentation. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Engineering Geology, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, and Remote Sensing, contributing significantly to scientific advancements in engineering geology.
Keynote:
Role of DMG in Advancing Engineering Geological Sciences in Nepal
Ms. Monika Jha is the first female Director General of the Department of Mines and Geology (DMG) in Nepal. She previously served as the Chief of the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center (NEMRC). A graduate of Tribhuvan University, she specialized in Engineering Geological Techniques in 2006. Her early career includes work as an Engineering Geologist in the private sector and at the Central Department of Geology, TU, Kirtipur. She joined the Government of Nepal in 2010. With over nineteen years of experience, Ms. Jha has developed significant expertise in geo-hazard assessment and disaster risk reduction. She has actively contributed to international collaborative projects between DMG and institutions from France (DASE), USA (Caltech), Thailand (RIMES), Japan (SATREPS), China (CEA), and Germany (G.E.O.S.). Her research focuses on landslides and earthquakes in the Nepal Himalaya. Ms. Jha has also played key roles in professional societies, serving as Vice President (2021–2023) and Treasurer (2015–2017) of the Nepal Geological Society. She currently leads the Editorial Board of DMG as Chief Editor and is a committee member for the Seismic Hazard Map of Nepal, contributing to crucial national-level scientific and policy initiatives.
Keynote:
The evolution of remote sensing for the regional characterization of and response to geohazards and extreme events
Dr. Scott Anderson is a Senior Principal Geotechnical Engineer at BGC Engineering, a former member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering, a Steering Committee member of the National Science Foundation Geotechnical Extreme Event Reconnaissance Association, a former leader of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, and a former professor at the University of Hawaii. He is a recipient of the Burwell award from the Geological Society of America and a Jahns Lecturer for the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists. He’s an active innovator with ASCE and has published more than 100 papers.
Invited Lecture:
Enhancing liquefaction hazard forecasting on regional scale
Dr. George Papathanassiou is working as Associate Professor of Engineering Geology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Geology, while he had been in the past an Assistant Professor of Engineering Geology at the Department of Civil Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace. His expertise includes liquefaction and ground failure, rockfall and landslide analysis, geohazards, earthquake engineering geology, post-event reconnaissance and use of LiDar and UAV for rockfall-landslide hazard and monitoring. He has published more than 90 papers in international journals, book chapters and international conferences. His work was cited in more than 700 published articles.
Keynote:
Erosion and Mass Wasting Processes in Post-Wildfire Mountainous Terrains: Impacts and Challenges
Prof. Dr. Tümay Kadakci Koca is an Associate Professor at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Turkey, teaching Engineering Geology, Rock Mechanics, and Slope Stability and Landslides. She serves as a board member of the Turkish National Group of IAEG and a committee member of the IAEG Young Engineering Geologists group. With over a decade of experience, she has contributed to projects on slope stability, remedial measures in open-pit mining and construction areas, and geohazard assessment. Her current research focuses on the conditioning effect of wildfire on geohazards. She actively mentors young geoscientists through teaching and international collaboration.
Invited Lecture:
Communication and application of engineering geology for community based disaster preparedness
Prof. Dr. Atsuko Nonomura is a Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Design at Kagawa University, specializing in environmental and disaster information analysis, remote sensing, and disaster prevention engineering. She earned her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Mie University and her Bachelor’s from Nara Women’s University. With extensive experience in remote sensing and environmental analysis, she has contributed significantly to understanding urban spatial structures and disaster management. Professor Nonomura is an active member of several professional societies, including the Geographical Information System Association and the Meteorological Society of Japan. She has published numerous research papers in her fields of expertise.
Invited Lecture:
An Emerging Roles of Engineering Geologists in Geotourism including Geopark and Geosite Development: Some Case Studies from Malaysia
Dr. Abd Rasid Jaapar is the CEO of GMTGeos, a multidisciplinary consultancy specializing in geoscience, geomechanics, geomatics, and geospatial services. A Registered Professional Geologist (BOG) and Environmental Specialist (DOE), he is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and holds memberships with IGRSM and IEM. With over 30 years of experience in construction and oil & gas, he has led multimillion-ringgit projects across Asia, Australia, and Europe. He is President of IGM, and past president of GSM and SEGRM. An active academic contributor and advisor, he has published over 100 papers and serves on IAEG Commissions 35 and 38.
Invited Lecture:
An Analog Study for Fracture Basement in Malaysia: Photogrammetry Fracture Mapping
P.Geol Ts. Ir. Dr. Goh Thian Lai is a senior lecturer at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Head of the UKM Rock Mechanics Laboratory. He is a registered professional geologist, technologist, and engineer, with affiliations to BOG, MBOT, BEM, and ACPE. He holds a PhD in engineering geology and rock mechanics from UKM. His expertise includes engineering geology, rock mechanics, and applied geophysics. He is President of SEGRM, affiliated with IAEG and ISRM, and serves as an editor for Sains Malaysiana. He has held roles at Petronas and several international universities, and has published extensively in the field.
Invited Lecture:
Random field modeling of subsurface stratigraphic/parameters and its applications: Using the Taipei Basin as an example
Prof. Dr. Jia-Jyun Dong received his PhD in Civil Engineering from National Chiao Tung University in 1997. He specializes in soil mechanics, rock mechanics, and engineering geology. Before joining National Central University in 2002, he led a geotechnical firm and worked on numerous engineering projects. His research focuses on catastrophic landslides, landslide dams, active faults, and rock mass behavior. He has published over 100 papers, including 79 in SCI journals, with 3,120 citations and an h-index of 28. He has delivered over 20 keynote talks, organized 40+ conferences, and received multiple prestigious awards. Currently, he is co-Editor-in-Chief of Engineering Geology.
Invited Lecture:
Land subsidence and subsurface environmental changes in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, and possible groundwater management for urban sustainability
Prof. Dr. Tomochika Tokunaga is a professor of the Geosphere Environment Systems Laboratory, the Department of Environment Systems, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo. From 1997 to 1998, he was a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, where he conducted both theoretical and experimental analyses on the behavior of anisotropic poro-elastic materials. His interests now include long-term stability of subsurface environments, dynamics of saltwater/freshwater behavior near the coast with respect to both short and long-term climate changes, coupled deformation and fluid flow processes in geological formations, including land subsidence and related geoenvironmental problems.