Prof. Yu Zhang
Northeastern University, China
Biography:
Yu Zhang, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Hohai University in 2007, his doctoral degree from Hohai University in 2012, and his doctoral degree from Université de Lille (France) in 2014. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Key Laboratory of Deep Engineering and Smart Technology of Liaoning Province at Northeastern University, focusing on solving underground engineering challenges in the field of clean energy development and storage. He has led projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, including general and youth programs, major national project collaborations, provincial natural science foundations, youth programs, and municipal applied basic research projects. He has published over 80 high-level SCI and EI journal papers as the first or corresponding author, with several recognized as ESI highly cited papers, hot papers, and Top Academic Papers of the 5000 Leaders in Chinese Excellent Science and Technology Journals. He holds 18 authorized invention patents, with a single invention patent achieving industrial transformation worth over a million yuan. He has received the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from Qingdao City, two Third Prizes for Scientific and Technological Progress from Shandong Province, and a Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. He has been recognized as a "High-Caliber Scarce Talent (Intellectual Island Program)" by Qingdao City and received the Excellent Young Science and Technology Talent Award in the field of Mining, Petroleum, and Safety Engineering from Chinese universities. Currently, he serves as a member of the Multi-field Coupling Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, a member of the Low Carbon Energy Rock Mechanics and Engineering Professional Committee, a council member of the Shandong Society of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, and an executive editorial board member of the Journal of Petroleum Science Bulletin.
Prof. Xiaobin Chen
Central South University, China
Biography:
Xiaobin Chen, Professor and Ph.D. supervisor, is the Chair of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering at Central South University. He serves as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Academic Committee of Geotechnical Engineering for China Transportation and is a council member of the Hunan Railway Society. His research focuses on artificial intelligence in geotechnical engineering new materials and high-speed railway engineering.
He has led one project under the National Key R&D Program, one subproject of the National Key R&D Program, three projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, one project under the Hunan Provincial Social Development Support Program, and 37 projects in the railway industry. He has published 243 papers, been granted 36 patents, authored 3 academic monographs, and contributed to 4 industry standards.
His scientific research achievements have been awarded the Second Prize of Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress, the Third Prize of Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Progress, the Guangzhou Science and Technology Progress Award, the Special Prize and two First Prizes from the China Communications and Transportation Association, and the Second Prize of the China Railway Society for Scientific and Technological Progress. His work also supported the Hunan Provincial International Cooperation Award. In teaching, he has received the Second Prize of Higher Education Teaching Achievements in Hunan Province and the First Prize of Teaching Achievements at Central South University.
Prof. Chaofeng Zeng
Hunan University of Science and Technology, China
Chaofeng Zeng, Ph.D., Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor, is a leading talent in scientific and technological innovation in Hunan Province, recognized as one of Hunan’s “Top Three Innovation Talents,” a Hunan Huxiang Youth Talent, a recipient of the Hunan Provincial Excellent Young Scientist Award (Youqing), an outstanding young teacher in Hunan, one of the world’s top 2% scientists, a Chinese Highly Cited Researcher (Top 1%), one of the nation’s top 100 outstanding postdoctoral researchers, and a discipline leader (Xiangjiang Scholar) at Hunan University of Science and Technology. He currently serves as the Director of the Analytical Testing Center, Deputy Director of the State-Owned Assets and Laboratory Management Office, and Leader of the Innovative Team for Intelligent Flood Disaster Prevention and Control in Urban Underground Spaces at Hunan University of Science and Technology. He previously held positions as Deputy Director of the Office of Science and Technology and Director of the Institute of Future Environmental Geotechnical Disaster Mitigation and Remediation at the same university.
He has led three national-level projects and more than ten provincial, ministerial, and industry-university-research collaborative projects. As the first or corresponding author, he has published 29 SCI papers and 53 EI papers in high-level journals in the field, including dozens of top F5000, highly cited, and top-tier journal articles. His papers have been cited over 2,152 times with an H-index of 30. He holds 32 authorized patents and software copyrights, has served as editor-in-chief for four SCI special issues, and has chaired or contributed to seven monographs, collections, textbooks, and standards. His research has earned two second-class provincial science and technology awards and one third-class provincial award. He has delivered more than 20 keynote and invited talks at domestic and international academic conferences.
He also serves as a council member of the Environmental Geotechnical Engineering Branch and Youth Committee member of the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering, a member of the Soft Soil Engineering Committee and Youth Committee of the Chinese Society of Civil Engineering, and a member of the Transparent Geotechnical Technology Innovation Expert Team. He is Associate Editor of Frontiers in Built Environment, guest editor and advisory board member for special issues of Water, a young editorial board member, outstanding young editorial board member, and distinguished contributor for journals including International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, Deep Underground Science and Engineering, Intelligent Geoengineering, Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, and Journal of China University of Mining and Technology. He also serves as a reviewer and outstanding reviewer for over 80 leading domestic and international journals such as Geotechnique, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, Computers and Geotechnics, and Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering. He is a long-term invited expert reviewer for the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, and various provincial and municipal science and technology evaluation committees including those in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, and Hubei.
Prof. Rajesh Rai
Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), India
Biography:
Dr. Rajesh Rai is a mining engineering academic at IIT BHU with over 17 years of teaching and research experience. His research primarily focuses on slope and dump stability, the effects of mining subsidence on plant health, mine embankment stability, and advanced methods such as numerical modeling and artificial intelligence for stability prediction. Dr. Rai has led four research projects and provided consultancy for more than 50 industry projects, addressing real-world challenges in slope stability, soil reinforcement, and ground control. He has supervised multiple Ph.D. and M.Tech theses and is highly published, with over 80 research papers and a notable citation record (h-index: 14, citations: 676). His expertise extends to organizing national workshops, executive training programs, and developing virtual laboratories, reflecting a strong commitment to advancing mining engineering through both academic research and professional engagement.