RISUD Research Seminar: Physics-informed and Data-driven Modelling for Geotechnical Site Characterisation

Accurate characterisation of geotechnical soil properties is essential for geo-structure design and project layout optimisation in urban development and large-scale offshore renewable energy projects. Conventional site investigations typically rely on sparse measurements, such as CPT soundings, which alone are often insufficient for developing reliable 2D / 3D ground models over large areas. Physics-informed and data-driven (PIDD) methods are especially well suited to geotechnical site characterisation, where soil variability can be significant, and measurements are affected by testing procedures, and uncertainties associated with data interpretation and transformation. 

This presentation discusses recent advances in the application of PIDD techniques in geotechnical site characterisation, highlighting the opportunities offered by these approaches, discussing challenges and presenting case studies drawn from real-world geotechnical engineering projects.

Biography

Prof. LIU Zhongqiang

Principal Scientist, 
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute;
Adjunct Professor,
Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway

Prof. LIU Zhongqiang is Principal Scientist at Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), and Adjunct Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Oslo, Norway, with expertise in geohazards risk assessment, statistical and machine learning methods and offshore foundation engineering. He is Founding Chair of Technical Committee 309 of ISSMGE: Machine Learning and Big Data in Geotechnics. He is Chair of “Geotechnical Safety Network (GEOSNet)” and Technical Lead of Research Group – Georisk at NGI. Dr Liu is PI/co-PI of several HEU and RCN projects. His research has earned several international recognitions, including Best Paper Award of Journal Georisk in 2015, OTC ASCE Best Paper Award in 2019, GEOSNet Young Researcher Award in 2019, Best Paper Award of JZUSA in 2023, Best Paper Award of Engineering Geology in 2025.