Updated: May 13, 2026

Our research group was honored to welcome three distinguished guests — Professor Hongwei Huang from Tongji University, Professor Zhongqiang Liu from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), and Professor Jianye Ching from National Taiwan University — for a research review and academic exchange.

Professor Hongwei Huang is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geotechnical Engineering at Tongji University. His research encompasses tunnel and underground engineering, with a particular focus on the resilience of underground infrastructure, risk assessment and disaster analysis, long-term structural behavior and maintenance, structural health monitoring, and the application of artificial intelligence in geotechnical engineering. He is also the PhD supervisor of our group leader, Professor Zhen-Yu Yin.

Professor Zhongqiang Liu is a Principal Engineer and Principal Researcher at NGI, where his work spans geohazard risk assessment, geotechnical uncertainty quantification, spatial variability of soils, Bayesian updating methods, and machine learning applications in geotechnics. He is also the founding Chair of ISSMGE Technical Committee 309 on Machine Learning and Big Data in Geotechnics.

Professor Jianye Ching is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at National Taiwan University. His research focuses on geotechnical risk and reliability, spatial variability and random fields, probabilistic soil properties, probabilistic site characterization, and reliability-based design codes.

During the visit, our guests reviewed the group's ongoing research, provided valuable and constructive feedback, and engaged in in-depth discussions with group members on current challenges and future directions in geotechnical and underground engineering. We are sincerely grateful for their time, expertise, and thoughtful insights, and look forward to continued collaboration and academic exchange.