Keynote Speakers
Keynote speakers
prof Vassilis P. Marinos
Resume:
Vassilis Marinos is President of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG) for the period 2023 – 2026. He is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Geology and Rock Mechanics at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Division. He was born in 1976 in Athens, Greece. He holds a Doctoral Degree from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), School of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Division, an MSc in Engineering Geology with Distinction from Imperial College and a bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Athens (1st in graduation list). He has published more than 100 papers in international journals, book chapters and international congresses.
His research interests are in the field of the geotechnical classification and behaviour of weak and complex rock masses in tunnelling, landslide hazard and risk analysis, natural gas pipelines, construction of geotechnical database for tunnels and urban environments, rock slope stability and evaluation and analysis of ground movement in mines.
His professional experience involves consulting services for numerous highway projects, tunnelling, rockfall and landslide analysis, geohazards correlated to natural gas pipelines but also engineering geological work in the field such as mapping, geoengineering models, geotechnical classification, geotechnical evaluation of ground investigation programs, geo-data processing, design of engineering structures in rock.
He has been a member of numerous professional and scientific bodies such as ISRM, ISSMGE, ITA, a member of the editorial boards of the scientific journals ‘Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment’ and ‘Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering’ as well as a reviewer for numerous journals, such as ‘Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering’, ‘Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences’, ‘Engineering Geology’, ‘Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering’ and ‘Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology’ and others.
Abstract:
The importance/role of Engineering Geology in a Changing World
Mr John Stiff
Resume:
John Stiff is a Principal Engineering Geologist, Director at SRK and Practice Leader of the Environmental and Geotechnical Engineering business unit of SRK Consulting in Johannesburg. He has 35 years of experience in the fields of engineering geology, geotechnical engineering and tailings and waste management in the civil engineering and mining industries and works primarily in the geotechnical field. His primary experience includes the execution of geotechnical site investigations from inception to completion. He has experience in investigations for mine services and infrastructure, structural foundations, residential development, industrial developments, dams, reservoirs, pipelines, railways, cemeteries, roads, regional engineering geological mapping, risk management, dolomite stability assessment and waste management. He has extensive experience in investigations for geotechnical site characterisation and the development of engineering geological site models. International experience includes geotechnical investigations for mining and infrastructure projects in Namibia, Uganda, Swaziland, Mozambique, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. John holds an Honours degree in Engineering Geology obtained from the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa. He is a member and past Vice President for Africa of the International Association of Engineering and Environmental Geology (IAEG), a fellow and Past President of the South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists and is a professionally registered as a natural scientist in the Geological Sciences field with SACNASP.
Abstract:
Engineering Geological Investigations for Mine Tailings Storage Facilities – Some lessons learned and future challenges
A spate of and increasing trend of tailings dam disasters over the past decade have driven the development of improved industry standards for the site identification, investigation, design, operation and closure of mine tailings storage facilities (TSFs). These standards have demanded a higher level of diligence in all the phases of the development of these structures through their life cycle. Engineering geologists have a critical role to play in the site characterisation of these facilities in developing comprehensive engineering geological models to aid design and safe operation of these facilities from their inception to their closure and return to nature. This address will introduce the challenge TSFs pose, share some lessons learned from recent experience of conforming to the new standards and discuss some challenges that the future holds in this field.
Dr Chukwueloka U. Okeke
Resume:
Chukwueloka Udechukwu Okeke holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He received his MEng and PhD in Engineering Geology from Shimane University, Japan. His extensive interdisciplinary work at Shimane University was sponsored by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant-in-Aid Number 24241061). Chukwueloka is currently an Associate Professor at Anchor University Lagos, Nigeria. His research interests span climate-induced geological hazards, disaster risk reduction, stability of earth dams and landslide dams, soil stabilization, ground improvement, and nature-based solutions. He has participated in many international training programmes and symposia, including the 3rd World Landslide Forum in Beijing (China), the 5th World Landslide Forum in Kyoto (Japan), the Annual General Meeting of the Japan Landslide Society, the Annual Regional Conference of the Geotechnical Society of Japan, and COP27 (Egypt).
Abstract:
The presentation is on the internal erosion and piping mechanisms in earth dams and landslide dams, and the valuable lessons for disaster prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. His presentation summarizes the various stages of dam failure by internal erosion and piping, highlighting how these processes can be monitored via field geophysical investigations, flume experiments and large-scale (outdoor) physical experiments. His research will showcase how the determination of certain premonitory indices and hydraulic parameters (e.g., critical hydraulic gradients and critical seepage velocities) is crucial for the development of early warning systems for dam failure and release of catastrophic outburst floods.
Mr Mark Eggers
Resume:
Mark is a Senior Principal Engineering Geologist at PSM, Australia, with over 38 years of consulting experience. He specializes in engineering geological investigations and the development of geotechnical models for mining and major civil infrastructure projects, with a strong focus on rock engineering problems. His work spans all project phases—including scoping, feasibility, and operational studies—and has been applied to projects across Australia, New Zealand, and various countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. Mark is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and also lectures at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. Over the past two decades, he has held several executive positions within the Australian Geomechanics Society and the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment, contributing significantly to the advancement of the profession both nationally and internationally.
Abstract:
Critical role of engineering geology in open pit slope design Successful design and management of slopes in mining is contingent on understanding the geological factors that influence rock behaviour when under stress – whether from excavation, pore pressure changes, or external forces such as seismic loads. The purpose of this geological approach to rock slope engineering is to enable more accurate and reliable prediction of stability conditions when undertaking slope design across all stages of the mine life cycle, from early scoping and feasibility studies to operations and mine closure.
Central to this approach is the development and application of the Engineering Geological Model (EGM), which serves as a knowledge framework for identifying and evaluating the key geological controls on rock mass behavior and slope performance. The EGM informs geotechnical analysis, design decisions, and risk management strategies, ensuring that geological complexity is appropriately addressed.
This keynote will explore the principles and practical applications of engineering geology in slope design, highlighting common pitfalls such as misidentification of critical failure mechanisms due to overreliance on rock mass classification systems, misuse of resource geological models as a proxy for the rock mass model, and insufficient attention to the structural geological model. Through examples and discussion, the presentation will underscore the importance of “getting the geology right” to achieve safe, efficient, and economically viable slope designs.
Mr Israel h.m. hasheela
Resume:
Israel H.M. Hasheela is a Geoscientist with 20+ years of multidisciplinary experience across government and private sectors. Proven expertise in engineering and environmental geology, geohazard mapping, risk assessment, and project management. A strategic thinker with 8+ years in leadership at Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, involved in research, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory contributions to land use, mining, and environmental planning.
Abstract:
Geology and Engineering/Hydrogeology of Windhoek
The presentation will give an overview of the geology, engineering geology, and hydrology of Windhoek. This would also draw from a few case studies of the work done by the Division of Engineering and Environmental Geology, Geological Survey around Windhoek, in an effort to create baseline data, as well as assessment of geological hazards around the city. Engineering Geological Hazards around the City mainly include fault and slope related ground instabilities, flooding and erosion. Information and knowledge created by the Geological Survey therefore contributes towards landuse development as well as mitigating risks posed by geology in the built environment.
Mr oliver b barker
Resume:
Engineering, Exploration & Environmental Geologist
- Sole Member of Banzi Geotechnics cc (1982 – 2025)
- Specialisation is remediation of mining impacted land for human settlement (1990 – 2025)
- Publishes Mineral Industry maps since 1986 on Coal, Gold and Platinum
- He holds a BSc (Hons) (Geol) (Witwatersrand); MSc. (Witwatersrand)
Registered Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat.) - Hon Member, Association of Engineering Geologists (AEG) (2025)
Fellow, SAIEG/SANIRE/GSSA. - AEG Floyd T Johnson Award 2003
- Awarded the 2010 Gold Medal by SAIEG
- Awarded Honorary Membership of AEG in July 2025
Oliver has authored or co-authored work on a diversity of earth science projects, published on economic, exploration and engineering geology and contributions to Engineering Geology of South Africa. President of SAIEG 2003 to 2004. Chair: South African Section of the AEG (1996 – 2010). Past RD (Sect 11) of AEG. Convenor – Palaeoseismology 2000 Stellenbosch. Married to Petro with four children from his first marriage to Marguerite (passed in 2007). Full member of the AEG since 1976. Associate member 1973. Joined SAIEG 1983.
Abstract:
The Importance of Joining the Dots in Engineering Geology: An Engineering Geologist’s Challenge
This presentation is all about ‘joining the dots’. A piddock cavity in a rock noted on a beach, allowed a geologist to establish the age of the foundation platform at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station 10 years later.
Seepage along a road above a tunnel portal should have warned of conditions not interpreted from drilling may be present which resulted in a large collapse to surface.
The collapse of infrastructure in new townships developed over inadequately mapped and understood mining areas is reaching Provincial levels.
In the 1970’s it was argued that if undermined areas were left undisturbed for more than 30 years, the rates of settlement became very small. Fifty years on this argument is not sustained. Artisanal mining has also changed conditions and thus the assumption of stability are no longer safe.
The impact of Artisanal and illegal (unregulated) mining in SA extends from the Eastern Cape to the northern regions of SA and includes, Coal, Gold, Platinum, industrial minerals and Chrome mines.
At a site-specific level, surface stability assessment of a given rock mass depends on careful analysis of the mine plans linked to a range of geotechnical criteria which include: geological mapping, weathering, rock structure and type, depth and width of reefs (individual or cumulative width) and surface manifestation of deformation. Surface geophysics, drilling, downhole wireline logging and rock mass modelling may be required.
Ms mampho maoyi
Resume:
Mampho Maoyi is an engineering geologist by profession and an early-career academic at the University of Pretoria. After completing her MSc (cum laude) in Engineering Geology, she began teaching courses in rock mechanics, engineering geology, and rock engineering within the Department of Geology, University of Pretoria. Alongside her teaching, she supervises honours and master’s students, actively supporting their research development. Currently, Mampho is finalising a doctoral degree in Engineering Geology, with a focus on the vadose zone and fractured rock hydrology. In addition to her academic role, she is a member of the South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists and is professionally registered as a natural scientist in Earth sciences with SACNASP.
Abstract:
Insights from infrared thermography in analysing discontinuity flow behaviour in blasted rock mass
Infrared thermography has emerged as a transformative tool in engineering geology, enabling the detection of hazards such as landslides, rockfalls, and dam seepage by revealing their unique thermal signatures. This presentation will introduce the fundamental principles of infrared thermography, highlighting its high sensitivity and rapid data acquisition, which offer real-time monitoring capabilities. Practical applications in geoscience will be illustrated through recent case studies, demonstrating how this technology significantly enhances hazard detection. The keynote will also address ongoing challenges and outline future
directions.
Prof Salome Waziri
Resume:
Waziri Salome Hephzibah obtained her BSc degree in Geology in the year 1989 from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria, an MTech degree (Hydrogeology) in 2000 and a PhD degree (Engineering Geology) in 2015 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Salome is the first female in Nigeria to have a PhD degree in engineering Geology.
She served the Niger State Government of Nigeria for sixteen (16) as a Hydrogeologist (with the NIGER STATE UNICEF ASSISTED RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION) from 1992 – 2007 when she transferred her services to the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria as a Lecturer II. The promotion of Salome to rank of a professor in 2023 made her the first Female professor of Engineering Geology in West Africa.
Salome is a good mobilizer especially of women, this she brought to bear while serving the Niger State government of Nigeria. As a young lady she mobilized the rural communities in her local government area (Paikoro) who realized the need and began to sponsor the construction of handpump borehole in their communities (and eventually households) without waiting for the State/Federal government. This made Paikoro Local Government of Niger State take the lead in having the highest number of functional handpump boreholes between 1994 and 1996.
Waziri has been teaching and supervising students’ projects/thesis both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Some of the courses thought by Waziri include Introduction to Geology, petrology, Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology, Drilling Technology. Slope stability and Field mapping.
Her area of research centers on foundation characterization for roads as shown in most of her publications.
Waziri received the Fellowship and Distinguished Ambassador Awards by the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) in February, 2025. This was to honor her as a Distinguished Ambassador of the Nigerian mining and Geoscience Society and of the Profession.
Waziri is a committed member of the Nigerian Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (NAEGE) where she had served as the national Treasurer and has been the Vice President North since 2020 till date. She is also the pioneer president, Women in NAEGE and currently the head, department of Geology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria.
Under her leadership of Women in NAEGE, the women have organized series of Webinars as well as creating career awareness to the young scientists at the senior secondary levels across Nigeria.
Abstract:
Variation of groundwater depth and cation concentrations with CBRs of residual soils from three lithologic terrains in North-central Nigeria
