Keynote Speakers

Dr. Ahmed Fahmy
Senior Geotechnical Engineer at AECOM, NJ, USA
Keynote Speaker

Dr. Ahmed Fahmy is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer at AECOM, NJ. He has extensive practical experience working with several employers in Canada, the United States, and the middle east, including AECOM, 30 Forensic Engineering, Golder Associates Ltd., Geoterre Ltd., Dar Al Handasah Consultants, and Geo-Consultants Group. He has provided engineering support services on a wide variety of large scale projects, and was involved in numerous forensic investigations related to legal and insurance claims.

In addition to his practical experience, Dr. Fahmy served as assistant professor (LDA) and research associate at the University of Western Ontario where he taught graduate and undergraduate level geotechnical engineering design courses. He is also a former assistant professor at Dhofar University.

Dr. Fahmy is an active member of the executive education committee of the Canadian Geotechnical Society and the deep foundations committee of ASTM international. He has received several awards, has several publications, and has served as a reviewer for multiple geotechnical journals and conferences.

Topic of Keynote: Forensic Geotechnical Engineering Challenges
Keynote Abstract

Dr. Fei Jin
Cardiff School of Engineering, Cardiff University, UK
Keynote Speaker

Dr. Fei Jin is a Charted Engineer (CEng) in the UK and joined the School of Engineering at Cardiff University in July 2020. He obtained his PhD degree from University of Cambridge in 2014 working on MgO-bearing cementitious materials. After that he continued to work as a research associate in Cambridge on the technical and commercial development of magnesia-bearing binders for land remediation and energy infrastructure. In 2017, he joined University of Glasgow as an Assistant Professor in its Singapore campus. As an Editorial Board Member for the ICE-Environmental Geotechnics and guest editor for Environmental Pollution, he has reviewed for more than 30 international journals covering material science, geotechnical engineering and environmental engineering. He is the recipient of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal Fredlund Award in 2019 and serves as Scientific Committee Member in a number of international conferences. His research interests include: 1. Sustainable binders and reuse of waste materials; 2. Magnesia cements; 3. Alkali-activated cements; 4. Soil/water remediation.

Topic of Keynote: Long term performance of magnesia-based binders in contaminated soil remediation
Keynote Abstract

Dr. Muntasir Billah
Lakehead University, Canada
Keynote Speaker

Dr. Muntasir Billah, P.Eng., is a tenure track assistant professor in The Department of Civil Engineering at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada. Before joining LU, he worked as a structural (bridge) engineer at Parsons, Vancouver, BC. He received his PhD and MASc in structural engineering from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is the recipient of many awards and scholarships. He was awarded the 2016 UBC Governor General’s Gold Medal—one of Canada’s most prestigious academic awards. He has authored and co-authored 27 journal papers and 42 conference proceedings. He is the secretary of the Engineering Mechanics and Materials (EMM) division of CSCE, member of ACI Committee 341, Earthquake-Resistant Concrete Bridges, Associate Member of American Society of Civil Engineers and Structural Engineers Association of British Columbia. Dr. Billah’s research is focused towards improving our understanding of the behaviour of civil infrastructures under various extreme load conditions. His research is drawn towards the development and application of advanced and novel materials in civil engineering structures and its experimental investigation, advances in numerical and experimental earthquake engineering along with development of advance modeling tools and techniques. His research interests include seismic design and retrofit of buildings and bridges, performance-based seismic design, application of high performance materials (e.g. shape memory alloys), and multi hazard analysis of bridges.

Topic of Keynote: Performance-Based Seismic Design of Bridges: Challenges and Opportunities
Keynote Abstract