Keynote speakers
The following are the keynote speakers of the ECPMG 2024:
Physical modelling of offshore infrastructure
Britta Bienen
University of Western Australia
Britta Bienen is a Professor of offshore geotechnical engineering at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on foundations and anchoring solutions for offshore wind turbines, underpinned by centrifuge and numerical modelling to develop practical prediction methods. The Australian Academy of Science 2020 John Booker medal recipient has been actively involved in the development of international guidelines (ISO, InSafeJIP, J-REG JIP) and currently serves on the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts.
Physical modelling equipment and measuring techniques
Mattieu Blanc
Université Gustave Eiffel
After his PhD thesis in 2011, dr. Mattieu Blanc joined the Gustave Eiffel University (formerly known as IFSTTAR or LCPC) in the Physical Modelling in Geotechnics team. His current research explores themes concerned mainly on soil-structure interactions under complex loading. Recent applications are orientated towards renewable energy as energy piles, monopile and anchors for offshore wind turbines. The ongoing challenge for each of these topics is to observe and understand the phenomena, and also to obtain appropriate experimental data to be compared to numerical models.
Being a co-author of over 20 journal papers and 40 communications in conferences, Matthieu received in 2018 the Jean Kérisel prize rewarding young geotechnical engineer/researcher served by the French Soil Mechanics Society.
Physical modelling of flood defence infrastructure
Cor Zwanenburg
Deltares & TU Delft
Dr. Cor Zwanenburg is an expert in the field of soft soil engineering. Focus has been on soft soil problems related to embankments and landfills, like stability, settlement, consolidation and creep. Fields of special interest are parameter assessment by laboratory testing or field measurements and their relation to calculation techniques. During 2001-2005, he wrote his PhD thesis at TUDelft on consolidation behaviour of peat.
In recent years Cor Zwanenburg has been involved in both research and consultancy projects. In research Cor has an interest in experimental work, including several full-scale field experiments, centrifuge testing and laboratory testing. In consultancy projects Cor has been involved in several second opinions regarding stability or settlement related problems. Since 2019 he is part time assistant professor at TUDelft. At this moment he holds the chair of ISSMGE TC201, geotechnical aspects of dikes and levees.