Em.Prof. Dr. ir. William Van Impe received his MSc and PhD degree in civil engineering at the Ghent University in Belgium where he has been professor of Geotechnics since 1982 and full professor since 1991. He has been also a full professor at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He has a more than 35 years long career in geotechnics.

He is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences. He was elected Vice-President for Europe of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) in 1994, World President of ISSMGE in 2001 and the President of the umbrella society of the 3 geo-engineering sister societies FedIGS (Federation of the International Geo-Engineering Societies) in 2008. His main field of experience is deep foundations, ground improvement and soil parameter analysis, currently dealing mostly with crushable soils.

Prof. Van Impe is an emeritus professor since March 2011 but remains active as a consultant and as manager of AGE bvba.