Prof. Vladan Djokic
PhD, Conference Chair
Biography
Studied at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, finished his master’s at the University of Southern California, School of Architecture in Los Angeles, and PhD at the University of Belgrade. Professor at University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture and Dean of the Faculty 2012-2021. Member of Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia since 2012. Since 2017. president of the Serbian Network of Urban Morphology. From 2017-2021. member of the Executive Committee of the European Council of Spatial Planners. Exhibited at 10th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennial, 2006. Editor-In-Chief of the international scientific journal of architecture and urbanism Serbian Architectural Journal since 2009. Rector at University of Belgrade since 2021.
Prof. Dimitris Kaliampakos
PhD, ACUUS President
Biography
Dimitris Kaliampakos is a mining engineer and professor in Environmental Mining and the Director of the Laboratory of Mining and Environmental Technology (L.M.E.T) located at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). He is also a consultant Dean of the School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering and Executive Vice-President of the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park. Prof. Kaliampakos has been involved in the ACUUS conferences since the Torino Conference in 2002. In 2007, he chaired the Organizing Committee of the 11th International Conference, held in Lavrion and was elected Vice President of ACUUS. In 2013, he was elected President of ACUUS. In 2016 he was re-elected President of ACUUS.
Jacques Besner
ACUUS General Manager, Board Member
Biography
Jacques Besner is a consultant in urban underground space planning. With a background in architecture and urban planning, he worked 30 years as a municipal planner at the City of Montréal and was in charge of the Underground City development. He was one of the founding members of ACUUS and its Secretary General from 1997 to 2007. In 1997, he was President of the Organizing Committee of the 7th International Conference of ACUUS in Montreal. He is now acting as the General Manager of the organization.
Sanja Zlatanic
ACUUS Secretary General, Board Member
Biography
Sanja Zlatanic is an internationally recognized tunnel and infrastructure engineering expert with over three decades of leadership on the world’s most complex underground transportation projects. Graduated at the top of her class from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, in 1988, and established herself in the United States as a strong leader in developing tunneling and underground engineering projects and promoting the industry.
Sanja has directed and delivered all phases of major, multi-billion-dollar tunnel projects across the globe bringing unmatched technical expertise in underground risk management, transportation solutions, and the design and construction of complex tunneling systems beneath urban environments. As chair of the HNTB’s national tunnel practice since 2016, Secretary General of the international non-profit non-governmental organization Associated Research Centers for Urban Underground Space (ACUUS), and Vice President of International Tunnel Association (ITA – AITES) she has mentored generations of engineers while fostering innovation, excellence and inclusiveness nationally and internationally. A strong advocate for diversity of viewpoints and technical excellence in engineering, Sanja continues to champion inclusive leadership and collaborative problem-solving as essential to achieving transformative outcomes throughout the transportation and tunneling industry.
Prof. Fang-Le Peng
PhD, ACUUS Board Member
Biography
Dr. Fang-Le Peng, who completed his university and postgraduate education at Tongji University in Shanghai, China, and received his PH.D. from the University of Tokyo, Japan, is currently a full professor and Director of the Underground Space Research Center of Tongji University. He is also the Vice President of ACUUS (2016-present) and the deputy Director of the Underground Space Committee of Chinese Society of Urban Science. He has been engaged in teaching and research in urban underground space planning, geotechnical and underground engineering for a long time, and has published more than 300 academic papers in Chinese, English and Japanese.