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.
Prof. Shuilong Shen
PhD, Member
Biography
Prof. Dr. Shen, is the Chair Professor & Dean of the College of Engineering, Shantou University. Non-EU Fellow, European Academy of Sciences; Member, European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Prof. Dr. Shui-Long Shen received his BSc. and MPhil from Tongji University in 1986 and in 1989. He obtained his Ph.D. from Saga University, Japan, in 1998. His work experiences include Saga University, Japan (lecturer 1998 to 2001). Post-Doctoral Researcher, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan (2001 to 2003). Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) (Professor, 2003-2018; Department Head of DCE-SJTU 2010-2018).
Dr. Shen’s research interests focus on the urban underground infrastructural system, smart maintenance of urban underground facilities, and flooding hazards prevention and mitigation by use of intelligent approaches. Dr. Shen published more than 460 technical papers in Journals and International conferences. Dr. Shen’s H-Index in Google Scholar is 94, in Scopus is 86, in Web of Science is 84.
Editor-in-chief: Smart Construction and Sustainable Cities, Springer Nature; Editorial board member: Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Geotextiles and Geomembranes (Associate Editor), Computers and Geotechnics, Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology (TUST); Frontiers of Structural and Civil Engineering, Acta Geotecnicae; Marine Georesources and Geotechnology.
Prof. Ray Sterling
PhD, Vice-Chair of Scientific Committee
Biography
Dr. Sterling is Professor Emeritus at Louisiana Tech University where he directed the Trenchless Technology Center from 1995 to 2009. Previously, from 1977 to 1995, he was the founding director of the Underground Space Center at the University of Minnesota. He is a Past President of the ACUUS, Past Chairman of the International Society for Trenchless Technology, a Past-Vice-Chair of the ITA Committee on Underground Space and a Past Chairman of the U.S. National Committee on Tunneling Technology. He is a former Editor-in-Chief of the journal Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology.
Michael Mooney
PhD, ACUUS Board Member
Biography
Mike is the Grewcock Chair Professor of Underground Construction & Tunneling at Colorado School of Mines and is an ACUUS Director for the Americas. He leads the Center for Underground as well as the post-graduate degree program in Underground Construction & Tunnel Engineering. Mike teaches a wide variety of tunnel, geotechnical, and structural courses. His research involves pressure balance TBM tunneling, large-diameter liner design, AI and the digital underground, and prediction/control of ground and building deformation. Mike was elected to the US National Academy of Construction in 2024. He is a registered Professional Engineer and a consultant on numerous tunneling projects in the US and internationally.
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. Andreas Benardos
PhD, Member
Biography
Dr. Andreas Benardos is a Professor in the School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. His research is focused on underground space development and mine design, risk assessment, ventilation, feasibility and project cost estimation as well as on applications of artificial neural networks in geo-engineering. He has participated in more than 25 research projects awarded by European, National bodies and private firms and has published more than 90 papers in scientific journals and international conferences. Additionally, he is Assistant General Manager of ACUUS, member of Board of the Greek Tunnelling Society (GTS), while he has also been co-chair of the Scientific Committee of the 2023 ITA – AITES World Tunnel Congress.