2021 AGS Victorian Symposium

Scott currently leads the Engineering Team at Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), as the Director, Engineering. His role oversees all engineering and technical aspects of the projects within the MRPV portfolio, with the aim of managing and mitigating technical risks.

Scott has worked in both the government and private sectors with a focus on Bridge Design and Design Management. Project Highlights include the West Gate Bridge Strengthening Project, leading the Design team for the M80 Ring Road Upgrade – Sunshine Ave to Calder Fwy, which included the EJ Whitten Bridge widening, and the Ballarat Rail Upgrade Project. Scott is currently a member of the Victorian Division Committee for Engineers Australia, and a non-Executive Director of We Ride Australia. Scott also has a strong research background, having obtained a PhD in 2004 in the area of structural dynamics and computational methodologies.

Jinsong Huang is a professor at the Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, the University of Newcastle. His research interests include risk assessment in geotechnical engineering and computational geomechanics. He has published over 100 journal papers on the risk assessment of slope stability and landslides, the modelling of spatial variability, stress integration techniques for elastoplastic models, the contact dynamics of granular media, the analysis of hydraulic fracturing and the predictive maintenance of railway tracks. He received a Regional Contribution Award from the International Association of Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics at its international conference in Kyoto in 2014 and the GEOSNet Award from the Geotechnical Safety Network in 2017. He will serve as the conference chair of the 8th International Symposium on Geotechnical Safety and Risk to be held at the University of Newcastle in December 2022.

Dr. Julian Seidel has 42 years professional experience as a geotechnical engineer specialising in deep foundations, with particular expertise in pile dynamics and rock socketed piles. Julian graduated dux of Civil Engineering at Monash University in 1979, and 15 years later completed his PhD thesis “The analysis and design of pile shafts in weak rock” at Monash University under Chris Haberfield and Ian Johnston.

Julian has been employed over this time with GHD, Golder Associates, VicRoads, Pile Dynamics in the USA, Wagstaff Piling and Monash University. In 1999, he commenced his own consultancy Foundation QA, which later morphed into FSG. In 2020, Julian left FSG to continue his expert consulting activities under the Foundation QA brand in south east Asia on major infrastructure, legal disputes and insurance claims.

Google Scholar lists 70 of Julian’s journal and conference papers, with over 1000 citations. He continues to pursue his personal research interests and to reinvigorate his publishing activities which have been put aside for many years.

Chris has over 24 years experience as a geotechnical engineer working across a wide range of infrastructure and commercial developments projects. He has worked on numerous major projects around the globe and has been involved in all stages of project works ranging from investigations, detailed design for construction and high-level project coordination. Chris has extensive experience covering the design of various types of deep and shallow foundations, ground improvement, advanced soil modelling, retaining walls and slope stabilisation works for both static and seismic loadings. Chris’ recent areas of focus have been in ground movement damage assessments, dynamic rockfall modelling and integration of digital technology into geotechnical engineering workflows. Chris is currently work for Suburban Rail Loop Authority as the projects Principal Geotechnical Engineer.