Conference Chair

Professor-level Senior Engineer Guanghua Yang

Guangdong Research Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower, China

Biography:

Guanghua Yang is Professor-level Senior Engineer, Doctoral Supervisor, and Registered Civil Engineer (geotechnical engineering; water conservancy and hydropower engineering). Currently he serves as Honorary Dean of GRIWH; Head of Guangdong Research Center of Geotechnical Engineering; and Chief Science Advisor of Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province. In 2018, he was selected as an expert in engineering survey and design by the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Guangdong Province. 

Dr. Yang had a long career in geotechnical engineering and he was the speaker of the 24th Huang Wenxi Lecture, the highest-ranking lecture in geotechnical engineering in China. During his scientific career, he has received many awards and honors, including: Six Science and Technology Progress Awards; Two Science and Technology Awards；Recipient of the Special Government Allowance of the State Council, China;  Mao Yisheng Youth Award for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering; National Advanced Worker in Science and Technology;  “5151 Talent” granted by the Ministry of Water Resources, China; Top-100 Talent in South Guangdong; Ding Ying Science and Technology Award;  National Advanced Worker in China’s Water Conservancy Systems.

He is also holding various positions while serving as a part-time supervisor of PhD and MSc students at Wuhan University and South China University of Technology: Associate Editor of Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering; Editorial Board Member of Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering and Rock and Soil Mechanics; Deputy Director of Guangdong Expert Committee on Public Emergencies;Deputy Director of the Geotechnical Mechanics Committee, Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Deputy Director of the Foundation Pit Engineering Committee, the Architectural Society of China; Standing Director of Chinese Institution of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, China Civil Engineering Society; Deputy Director of Special Committee on the Strength and Constitutive Relations of Soils, China Civil Engineering Society; Deputy Director of the Geomechanics Committee, Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society; Chairman of Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics & Engineering;  Chairman of Guangdong Society for Rock Mechanics & Engineering; Deputy Chairman of Guangdong Hydraulic Engineering Society; Deputy Chairman of Guangdong Civil Engineering Society.

Among his pioneering works are the constitutive theory for soils, deep foundation pit excavation, foundation engineering, and slope stability analysis, all of which have contributed to the advancement of related disciplines and the industries.

In addition, he was appointed as the head and participated in hundreds of projects related to engineering design and consultancy, including: the research on deep-water cofferdam of Phase II of the Three Gorges Project; the Islands and Tunnel Project of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge; the Dongshen Water Supply Project; the Construction of Guangzhou Metro; the Feilaixia Hydro-junction.

As a team leader, he is engaged to assist during emergencies or to investigate serious incidents, including the collapse of Guangzhou metro tunnelling on Kangwang Road, the 2018 Foshan Metro collapse, and damaged reservoirs after the Great Sichuan earthquake.