Dr Samintha Perera is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working as a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne. Her major research focuses on rock-fluid interactions in deep underground reservoirs during various gas storage and extraction processes (e.g. CO₂, H₂, CH₄). Her research led her to win some major nationally and internationally competitive awards, including the Dorothy Hill Medal from the Australian Academy of Science in 2022, the ROCHA Medal from ISRM in 2014, and the Philip Law Medal from the Royal Society of Victoria in 2016. She has been featured among the”top 2% scientists in the world in the Energy field” in the Stanford University Review in 2020-2025, Engineers Australia’s “Create” Magazine in 2022 and Royal Institution of Australia’s “COSMOS” science magazine in 2024. She serves as an Executive Editor for the Journal of Gas Science and Engineering, Associate Editor for the International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, and editor for Minerals, G4, and Deep Resources Engineering. She contributes to developing/modifying Australian Standards for soil and rock testing as a member of the Standards Australia Soil and Rock Testing Committee (CE-009).

Dr. Olivier Buzzi was admitted at the Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS) de Cachan in 1997 and obtained the French National Agrégation of Civil Engineering in 2000. He completed a Master on rock joints (in 2001) and PhD on the hydromechanical behaviour of contacts between geomaterials in the context of nuclear waste storage (completed in 2004) at the University Joseph Fourier, Grenoble.

Moving to Australia in 2005 to take up a post-doctoral position was the first step in Olivier’s career at the University of Newcastle. He began lecturing at the University in 2007, became senior lecturer in 2009, Associate Professor in 2012 and full Professor in 2018.

Olivier’s research interests span from rock mechanics (hydromechanical response of rock joints, rockfall) to soil mechanics (expansive soils, unsaturated soil mechanics, soil microstructure). With a long history of successful industry collaboration and a taste for challenging problems, Olivier combines experimental, theoretical and numerical approaches to propose innovative solutions to complex problems.

Olivier served on the Editorial board of Computers and Geotechnics and Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, as an Associate Editor of Canadian Geotechnical Journal and of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering.

Dr. Sevda Dehkhoda is a Principal Mining and Rock Mechanics Engineer with 20 years of experience in R&D and technical consulting for the global mining and civil industries. She develops advanced frameworks to identify the mechanisms, parameters, and processes that govern the technical and economic outcomes of mining operations. Her current work focuses on using advanced multiphysics numerical simulations to manage complex geotechnical hazards and risks in high-stress, high-deformation, and deep mining environments.

Sevda is committed to translating scientific insights into practical solutions that improve safety, reliability, and environmental performance in resource industry. Her research on selective mining and alternative rock fracturing methods has advanced both practice and technology, earning her the ISRM Rocha Medal Certificate (2014) and the ARMA Future Leader Award (2019). She has also been selected as the 2025 Henry Krumb Lecturer by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) for outstanding technical contributions. 

Sevda served as ISRM Vice President for Australasia (2019–2023) and currently sits on the ISRM Advisory Board and the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences.

Dr. Murat Karakus holds a BSc in Mining Engineering (1991) from Hacettepe University, Turkey, and a PhD in Mining and Minerals Engineering (2000) from the University of Leeds, UK. He is based at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, where he established the Cave Mining Research Centre. His research focuses on the challenges of cave mining, including rockbursts, mud rushes, and rock support in high-temperature rock masses.

He is a Chief Investigator in major research and industry projects, including the ARC Hub on NextGenMin, the ARC Training Centre on sustainable ore extraction technologies using composite materials and smart mining systems with machine learning. In 2023, he was recognised as Australia’s leading researcher in Mining and Mineral Resources. He leads a multidisciplinary research group of academics, postdoctoral fellows, and PhD students, collaborating with the Australian Institute of Machine Learning and leading engineering institutes.

Dr. Karakus has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and is internationally recognised for his contributions to mining geomechanics. He serves on the ISRM Commissions on Rockburst and Deep Mining, the International Committee for Mine Safety Science and Engineering, and is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, and Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering.

Ben Chapman is a Civil Engineer specialising in tunnel and geotechnical engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the University of Western Sydney and a Master of Engineering Science in Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology from the University of New South Wales.

Since graduating, Ben has been an integral part of SMEC Australia’s tunnel group, where he has been involved in the planning, design, and construction of a range of complex public infrastructure projects across Australia as well as internationally in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

Most recently, for the past eight-years, Ben has been seconded to Snowy Hydro Limited, where he is the Tunnels and Geotechnics Discipline Lead for the Snowy 2.0 Owner’s team. Snowy 2.0 is one of the largest renewable projects in the world and the next generation of the iconic Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme.

During the early Snowy 2.0 phases, Ben had a key involvement in the development of the feasibility study, reference design and contract documentation. During the delivery phase, he has led the development and implementation of the Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR) and provided technical oversight through the detailed design development, review and ongoing construction implementation. Notably, Ben has had a key involvement in the management of the project’s geotechnical and tunnelling risk, and the implementation of the observational geotechnical approach for project’s extensive underground structures, such as the large Power Station Complex. He also served as the Owner’s lead for the procurement, design, manufacture and operation of the Project’s four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs).