Prof. Reşat Ulusay, born in 1952, obtained his BSc and MSc and PhD degrees from the Geological Engineering Departments at Hacettepe University and Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1975 and 1991, respectively, Turkey. His research activities are concentrated particularly on slope stability, open pit design, geotechnical rock mass characterization and classification, geotechnical testing, geotechnics at historical sites, liquefaction and swelling.

Between 1975 and December 1995, he served the Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) Institute of Turkey and was trained on Mining Geotechnology both in UK under the auspices of United Nations and
assigned to establish Rock and Soil Mechanics Division and its laboratories in MTA. From December 1995 to 1 September 2019, when he retired, he worked at Geological Engineering Department at
Hacettepe University. He was assigned full Professor in 2000. He also served at METU as a part-time instructor (1992 – 2015).

He supervised 34 MSc and PhD theses and is the author/co-author of about 300 research papers, some books and two technical dictionaries in Turkish and four chapters in international books on geoengineering. He is also the co-editor/editor of the two ISRM books on ISRM Suggested Methods.

Since 2006 he is the Chairman of the ISRM Commission on Testing Methods (CTM). He presented 8th ISRM Online Lecture. In 2015, he was recognized by ISRM as “Lifetime ISRM Fellow”, honouring his accomplishments in rock mechanics and engineering and his contributions to ISRM and “ISRM Outstanding Commission Award 2015” was conferred to the “ISRM CMT”. He served as the
ISRM President between 2019 and 2023. In 2016, the “Hans Cloos Medal” was conferred to Prof. Ulusay by IAEG for his excellent contributions to engineering geology, and between 2019 and 2021 he
acted as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the IAEG’s journal “BOEG” and the Ex-Officio Member of the IAEG Executive Committee.

With more than 35 years of academic experience to his credit, Dr. Azzam has been recognized as a professor emeritus with RWTH Aachen University since 2017. Prior to this appointment, he was the president of the German National Association of engineering geology from 2009 to 2017, the vice president of the International Association of Engineering Geology (IAEG) from 2015 to 2018, the head of the Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology at RWTH Aachen University from 2002 to 2017, and as professor for RWTH Aachen University from 2002 to 2017. Previously, he served the Department of Engineering Geology and Environmental Geotechnics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg as a professor and department head from 1993 to 2002. Dr. Azzam began his career at RWTH Aachen University as a senior lecturer from 1987 to 1992 and as research assistant from 1980 to 1984.

Before embarking on his professional path, Dr. Azzam pursued an education at RWTH Aachen University, earning a Diploma in Geology in 1978. He would conclude his studies at the same academic establishment in 1984, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy, summa cum laude. Following these accomplishments, Dr. Azzam was presented with an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Shanghai University of Science and Technology. During his academic carrier, he published more than 220 scientific articles and supervised more than 60 PhD students.

Beyond his efforts within the field, Dr. Azzam has contributed to numerous endeavors outside of his professional circles. A consultant-in-field of environmental Geotechnics, and member of the executive on the board of directors for the German Association of Geotechnics and on the board of directors on the Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Brownfields (CiF). Dr. Azzam has also found much success with his written works, having edited “Mitteilungen zur Ingenieugeologie und Hydrogeologie” in 2004, authored “Stofftransportprozesse in natürlichen Dichtungsstoffen unter Berücksichtigung der Verdichtbarkeit sowie des Einflusses strukturverändernder Chemikalien auf die Materialeigenschaften,” and contributed over 200 articles and reviews to professional journals.

In addition to his primary trade, Dr. Azzam remains affiliated with various organizations in relation to his areas of expertise. He has been, besides being on the executive board for the German Association for Geotechnical Engineering, member of the DIN Standards Committee for Building and Civil Engineering, as well as the India Delegate for RWTH Aachen University, an audit member for ASIIN, and a reviewer for the German Research Foundation. He has also been associated with the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability as founder and coordinator. Dr. Azzam has also held the role of adviser for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Greek Ministry of Research and Technology, the Research Council of Norway, the Austrian Foundation for Advancement in Scientific Research, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In light of his exceptional undertakings, Dr. Azzam has accrued several accolades and honors throughout his impressive career. From 1985 to 1987, he was recognized as a Research Fellow with James Cook University. Dr. Azzam has also received an Award for Thousand Talent Foreign Experts from the Government of Shejiang Province in 2015 and from the National Government in the People’s Republic of China in 2017, the Prize of the German Government and Industry in 2009, and the Borchers Medaille from RWTH Aachen University in 1984.

Professor Charles W. W. Ng is currently the Dean of HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School, CLP Holdings Professor of Sustainability and Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He is also the Vice-President for Gradate Support in our Guangzhou campus. He is the immediate past President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (2017-2022). He is a co-Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Geotechnical Journal.

Professor Ng earned his PhD degree from the University of Bristol, UK in 1993. After carrying out a period of post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge between 1993 and 1995, he returned to Hong Kong and joined HKUST as Assistant Professor in 1995 and rose through the ranks to become Chair Professor in 2011. Professor Ng was elected an Overseas Fellow by Churchill College, the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. According to the Stanford University published the top 2% Scientists Worldwide in September 2024, he is the only Chinese ranked within top five professors, in the category of career-long impact in the sub-fields: Geological & Geomatics Engineering; Civil Engineering.

Professor Ng has supervised more than 80 Ph. D and 70 M. Phil students to graduation from 23 countries and has published over 450 SCI journal articles and 250 conference papers with a total number of citations over 31,000 and H-index of 93. He has delivered more than 90 keynotes and state-of-the-art reports across the six continents. He is the main author of four reference books: (i) A Short Course in Soil-structure Engineering of Deep Foundations, Excavations and Tunnels by Thomas Telford in 2004, and (ii) Advanced Unsaturated Soil Mechanics and Engineering and (iii) Plant-Soil slope Interaction and (iv) Advanced Unsaturated Soil Mechanics: theory and applications by CRC: Taylor & Francis in 2007, 2019 and 2024, respectively.

Professor Ng has received many awards including the 2022 Varnes Medal by the International Consortium on Landslides, 2022 Fredlund Award from the Canadian Geotechnical Society for the most highly cited paper in 5 years, 2018 and 2022 Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Best Geotechnical Paper Awards, the 2017 Telford Premium Prize from the Institution of Civil Engineers. Moreover, he won the Teaching Excellent Appreciation Award for the academic year 2018-19 at HKUST. In the Mainland, he received the prestigious 2022 Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress.  He was also a recipient of the 2020 National Natural Science Award and the 2015 Scientific Technological Advancement Award by the State Council.

Professor Chungsik Yoo is currently Professor of Civil, Architectural Engineering and Landscape Architecture at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Korea. He is the President of International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Professor Yoo obtained his MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1989 and 1993, respectively. After briefly working at Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers in USA as a Geotechnical Engineer, he returned to Korea and joined SKKU as Assistant Professor in 1994. Since then, Professor Yoo is continuing to serve as a professor at SKKU, and has served as Chair Professor of School of Civil and Architectural Engineering from 2014 to 2016 and as Vice Dean of College of Engineering from 2017 to 2018. Professor Yoo has co-authored over 400 technical papers, including SCI journal papers and conference papers, in geotechnical engineering and tunneling based on laboratory testing, numerical modeling, and field testing. He was a recipient of 2010 IGS Award from the International Geosynthetic Society (IGS). Professor Yoo also received many awards from the Korean Civil Engineering Society, Korean Geotechnical Society, Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, and Korean Geosynthetics Society including the Best Scientific and Engineering Paper Award from the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies in 2014. Currently, he is a Co-Editor in Chief of Geotextiles and Geomembranes and an Associate Editor of Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, Soils and Foundations. He is also an Editorial Board Member of Geosynthetics International and Computers and Geotechnics.

Prof. Xia-Ting Feng received his PhD at Northeastern University of Technology (namely Northeastern University since 1992), China in 1992 and then took the position of lecturer, associate professor and professor at the same university. He joined the Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1998 as a Professor of Hundred Talent Program of the CAS and as Deputy Director in Charge and Director in 2001-2005. He has worked as Director of State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 2007-2018. He works at Northeastern University, China as a Vice President since September 2017. In 2019, Prof. Feng was elected as a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

He is President of Federation of International Geo-engineering Societies – FedIGS, President of ISRM Commission on Design Methodology, member of ISRM Commission on Testing Methods, and President of Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CSRME). He is also Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, Associate Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Associate Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (JRMGE), and a member of Editorial Board of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (2010-present). He was the past President of International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) 2011-2015.

His research interests cover rock mechanics for deep rock engineering, intelligent rock mechanics, rock engineering design, and rockbursts. He published more than 170 technical papers and the English book “Rock Engineering Design” and “Rock Engineering Risk” with Professor John Hudson. He has edited five volumes of the book “Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering“ (CRC Press) and the book “Rockburst: ” published by Elsevier.