Chandrakant S. Desai is a Regents' Professor (Emeritus), Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Mechanics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. He has made original and significant contributions in basic and applied research in material-constitutive modeling, laboratory testing, and computational methods for a wide range of problems in engineering mechanics, civil engineering (Geomechanics, structural dynamics, earthquake engineering), flow through porous media, and mechanical engineering (electronic packaging). One of the main topics of Dr. Desai’s research involves development of the new and innovative disturbed state concept (DSC) for constitutive modeling of materials and interfaces/joints, e.g., soils, rocks, glacial tills, concrete, asphalt, metals, alloys, silicon with impurities, polymers, and lunar. DSC connects mechanics, physics (thermodynamics) and philosophy. In conjunction with nonlinear computer (finite element) methods, it provides a new and alternative procedure for analysis, design, and reliability for challenging and complex problems of modern technology. The DSC is a major and significant contribution that has been adopted for research, teaching, and application in several engineering disciplines. He has authored/edited about 25 books, 20 book chapters, and has been author/coauthor of over 350 technical papers in refereed journals and conferences. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Geomechanics, ASCE. He has received several awards and recognitions, e.g. The Distinguished Member Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); The Nathan M. Newmark Medal, by Engineering Mechanics and Structural Engineering Institutes, ASCE; The Karl Terzaghi Award, by Geo Institute, (ASCE). Professor Yang Xiao is Full Professor of the School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University. He received his Ph.D. degree on College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China. He is a recognized researcher in the area of rockfill dam, railway geotechnics, biotreatment geotechnics, recycled waste and granular flow mechanics. His research focuses on the testing and theoretical modelling of clay, silt, sand, rockfill, ballast, and biocemented soils. He has an H-Index of 29 in Scopus. He has 2570+ citations and 100+ publications. He got many awards, such as 2018 and 2019 Most Cited Chinese Researchers from Elsevier, 2020 World’s Top 2% Scientists (Singleyr), John Carter Award in IACMAG, Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Chinese Society for Rock and Mechanics and Engineering, et al. He is also Associate Editor of International Journal of Geomechanics, ASCE, and Editor Board Member of Acta Geotechnica; Canadian Geotechnical Journal; Soils and Foundations. Musharraf Zaman holds the Aaron Alexander Professorship in Civil Engineering and Alumni Chair Professorship in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He has been serving as the Director of the Southern Plains Transportation Center (SPTC) – a consortium of eight universities in U.S. DOT Region 6 – for more than seven years. He served as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in OU Gallogly College of Engineering for more than eight years. His research interests are in geomechanics, constitutive modeling, soil-structure interaction, laboratory and field testing, pavement materials and systems, and intelligent compaction. At OU, he has received more than $30 Million in external funding, developed two new asphalt laboratories, and supervised more than 80 theses and dissertations to completion. He has published more than 200 journal and 275 peer reviewed conference proceedings papers, and 12 books and book chapters. Several of his papers have won prestigious awards from international societies and organizations. In 2011, he won the prestigious Outstanding Contribution Award, given by IACMAG, for life-long contributions in geomechanics. John Carter is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Newcastle. He is a former Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, NSW, and a former Consultant Director of Advanced Geomechanics Pty Ltd (now Fugro AG Pty Ltd). He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a former Director of the Newcastle Port Corporation. He is currently the President, International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics. John is a geotechnical engineer with more than 40 years of experience in teaching, research and consulting in civil and geotechnical engineering. He is the author of more than 400 technical articles in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences. He has experience as an expert witness in legal cases in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and he has also been an advisor and consultant to industry and government. In December 2019 he was appointed by the Governor of Queensland as a Commissioner of the Paradise Dam Inquiry, which concluded with a report presented to the Queensland government at the end of April 2020. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Royal Society of NSW, the EU Academy of Sciences, Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Building. In January 2006 he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to civil engineering through research into soil and rock mechanics and as an adviser to industry.
