Lidija Zdravković is Professor of Computational Geomechanics at Imperial College London, where she has been an academic staff member since 1996, and a full professor since 2013. She is a former Head of the Geotechnics Section (2014-2024) in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Her research integrates laboratory and field ground characterisation with advanced numerical modelling, to aid the geotechnical design with robust predictive computational tools. Example applications include lifecycle assessment of earthfill infrastructure, soil-atmosphere interaction and climate change impact, offshore foundations, urban underground construction, energy geo-structures and nuclear waste disposal.

She has consulted on several major infrastructure projects and is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, UK. She is the UK elected member on the ISSMGE Technical Committee (TC) 103 for Numerical Analysis, and a corresponding member on TC 221 for Tailings and Mine Wastes.

Lidija has led and co-supervised over 40 research projects and published over 250 technical papers and two books on finite element analysis in geotechnical engineering. Her research has received multiple prizes from the British Geotechnical Association (BGA), the Institution of Civil Engineers, and the Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED). In 2019 she was distinguished with the Imperial College President’s Medal for Excellence in Education and in 2015 and 2026 for Outstanding Research Team. She delivered the prestigious Rankine Lecture in March 2024 and has been the Géotechnique Editor-in-Chief since 2024.

Title of lecture: Time-based hydro-mechanical modelling of tunnelling in weathered granite