Research achievements
LATEST AWARDS
International recognition for UTS railway engineering expert
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna won the 2024 VI José Entrecanales Ibarra Civil Engineering Award in recognition of his groundbreaking research, which has improved the safety, efficiency and sustainability of critical infrastructure projects around the world.
Leading the way with sustainable engineering solutions
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna won the 2024 VI José Entrecanales Ibarra Civil Engineering Award, a prestigious international award that will be presented at a ceremony in Madrid in May, where the Queen of Spain is expected to be Guest of Honour.
President of the Ibarra Foundation, Jose Miguel Atienza Riera, said Professor Indraratna’s contributions to the field of civil engineering “have not only been exemplary but have also set new standards of excellence and innovation.”
“Your work, which stands at the intersection of engineering brilliance and practical application, has significantly advanced our understanding and capabilities within the discipline,” he said.
Professor Indraratna is leading the world in the development of sustainable engineering solutions for railway design. He is the director of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Transport Research Centre, where he leads a team focused on designing smart transportation systems.
Dean of the UTS Faculty of Engineering, Professor Peta Wyeth, congratulated Professor Indraratna on this significant achievement, which follows from his recent Australia Day Honours.
“Congratulations to Buddhima for this wonderful international recognition for his eminent contributions to the field, particularly in the advancement of transportation infrastructure through geotechnical expertise,” said Professor Wyeth. For the first time in Australia, we are developing computer-based models based on machine learning principles to predict the extent and the rate at which track degradation occurs on our heavy-haul networks.
For the first time in Australia, we are developing computer-based models based on machine learning principles to predict the extent and the rate at which track degradation occurs on our heavy-haul networks.
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna
READ THE FULL ARTICLE in UTS Technology and design news
Australia Day honours for Transport Research Centre
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna has been awarded a Member of Order of Australia, AM in the 2024 Australia Day Honours.
Recognition for significant service to civil engineering
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna has been awarded a Member of Order of Australia, AM in the 2024 Australia Day Honours from the Office of the Governor-General “for significant service to Civil Engineering, particularly Ground Improvement and Transportation Geotechnics”. The school congratulates Buddhima on this outstanding achievement for his groundbreaking research in civil engineering.
Buddhima is the Director, Transport Research Centre and a Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering of Civil Engineering at UTS. Buddhima commenced his academic career in 1991 at the University of Wollongong and moved to UTS in 2020. Over his distinguished career he has become a world authority on the application of fundamental and applied geotechnical research to the development of transport infrastructure with special attention to railways with innovations in foundation improvement and large-scale physical modelling. His research interests include soft soil engineering and ground improvement, transportation geomechanics, jointed rock engineering, and dams and embankment engineering. He has consistently led numerous research projects worth millions of dollars and founded the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre, ITTC-Rail as its inaugural Director in 2018.
Buddhima says the honour of the Order of Australia, awarded for his significant service to civil engineering, particularly through infrastructure development, ground improvement and transportation geotechnics, came as a welcome surprise.
“It’s not something I set out to achieve, but I do feel that these awards reflect that the Australian government and people appreciate technological advancements that enhance the lifestyles of our communities, and that makes me happy,” he says.
I hope it makes my research teams past and present very proud as well. I am accepting this award not only for me, but also for all the research students and colleagues who’ve contributed even in little ways over the years for advancing Australia’s transport infrastructure.
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna AM
A consultant to various geotechnical and rail organisations around the world, he is also among the most highly cited researchers internationally. He has published over 1000 papers, including 13 books and about 500 peer-reviewed journal papers, and has delivered over 70 invited keynote papers internationally.
Buddhima is passionate about training young engineers to become masters of railroad design and construction and has mentored over 150 higher degree research students and post-doctoral researchers throughout his career.
2023 Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award - Institution of Civil Engineers (UK)
Congratulations to Dist. Prof. Buddhima Indraratna (UTS), Dr. Yujie Qi (UTS), Dr Ana Heitor (University of Leeds) and Dr S. K. Nava Navaratnarajah (University of Peradeniya) who received the prestigious Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award on 13 October at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) award ceremony in London for their paper published in the journal of Ground Improvement titled “Advances in ground improvement using waste materials for transportation infrastructure”. This award was also shared with two other authors Prof. Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn (UTS) and Dr Miriam Tawk (Lebanese American University) who were not able to attend the ceremony.
Dist. Prof. Buddhima Indraratna, Dr Yujie Qi and other researchers received the prestigious 2023 Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award at Award Ceremony, ICE, UK
This award was selected by the Institution of Civil Engineers, United Kingdom for the best overseas papers with the most outstanding contributions to Civil Engineering from over a couple thousand of papers published in the ICE (UK) Journals in Civil Engineering covering Structural, Transportation, Geotechnical, Construction, Water Resources, Materials and Environmental Engineering.
UTS Director to be awarded AGS Honorary Life Membership
In a surprise announcement in front of a large audience at the recent Australian Geomechanics Society 50th Anniversary, AGS National Chair Doctor David Lacey revealed that Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna is to be awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the Society.
Recognition for outstanding contribution to Geotechnics
The Director of the UTS Transport Research Centre, Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna, is to be awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS). The honour recognises Distinguished Professor Indraratna’s outstanding contributions to Geotechnics through cutting-edge research and his service to the Australian Geomechanics Society over many years.
AGS National Chair Doctor David Lacey made the surprise announcement at the recent 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Australian Geomechanics Society. Organised by the AGS Sydney Chapter the event was hosted at the UTS Ariel Function Centre with a large gathering of nearly 150 participants.
Only 17 Honorary Life Memberships have been bestowed by the AGS from its 4,000 plus members. Previous recipients include such distinguished academics and practitioners as Professor Harry Poulos, Emeritus Professor John Carter, Professor Ted Brown, Professor Mark Jaksa, Professor Mark Randolph, and Professor Ian Johnston. Distinguished Professor Indraratna is the first UTS academic to be recognised in this way.
The formal induction ceremony of this coveted recognition will be held during the forthcoming Australia New Zealand Geomechanics Conference.
AGS NSW Research Award 2022
The 2022 AGS NSW Research Award Competition was held on Wednesday 13th July.
On behalf of the School of CEE, our hearty Congratulations to Mr Joseph Arivalagan (the 1st prize recipient) and Ms Chathuri Arachchige (the runner up prize recipient) for winning the 2022 AGS NSW Research Award competition awards. The Prize Money to be shared between the two is $2000.
Winner: Mr Joseph Arivalagan
Title: Use of Geo-composites and vertical drains for alleviating internal instability of fine-grained soils.
Supervisors: Prof Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn and D/Prof Buddhima Indraratna
Runner up: Ms Chathuri Arachchige
Title: Innovation RIBS: Rubber Intermixed Ballast Stratum for enhanced longevity of heavy haul railways.
Supervisors: Dr Yujie Qi, D/Prof Buddhima Indraratna and A/Prof Vinod (UOW).
It is a rare occurrence for the winner and runner up to be from the same University, and this reflects the judges from Academia and Industry praised the novelty of the research and the usefulness of their tangible outcomes to Industry. The finalists were selected from nominations from NSW Universities, where the assessments were based on both written submissions and oral presentations.
The judging panel of 5 (3 from academia and 2 Industry experts) considered the candidates based on the technical content, originality, industry relevance, clarity of written submission and verbal communication of their research.
Our warmest congratulations again to Joseph and Chathuri, and I believe they will be blessed with more accolades in the future.
2022 Bright Spark Lecturer Awards
TRC PhD students receive the 2022 Bright Spark Lecturer Awards from ISSMGE. The award was created for promising young Geotechnical Engineers and Academics to have a chance to deliver keynote and invited lectures at these conferences.
National Workshop on Transportation Geomechanics and Ground Improvement in Sydney, Australia
Dr Rakesh Malisetty
Research Fellow, Transportation Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia.
Bright Spark Lecture
Role of train speed in track design and its effects on ballast performance
16th International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering, Pakistan
Dr. Subhani Medawela
Research Fellow, Transportation Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia
Bright Spark Lecture
Permeable reactive barriers for remediating acidic groundwater in pyritic terrain
Dr. Shay Haq
Transportation Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia
Bright Spark Lecture
Particle scale modelling of internal instability
3rd International Conference in Geotechnical Engineering (ICGEColombo-2020) in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dr Chathuri Arachchige
Transport Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Bright Spark Lecture Title
Use of Rubber Intermixed Ballast Stratum (RIBS) for Enhanced Longevity of Rail Infrastructure
AGS NSW Research Award 2021
Dr. Rakesh Sai Malisetty, Postdoctoral Research Associate from TRC at UTS won the AGS NSW 2021 Research Award in July 2021. The Research Award is an annually held competition by Australian Geomechanics Society - Sydney Chapter which provides a platform for young researchers to exhibit their PhD research to a wider research community and industry. Rakesh has presented his PhD research highlighting the “Performance-based critical speed design of ballasted railway tracks considering the effects of moving train loads on ballast degradation”.
Editor’s choice paper
The paper on “Laboratory study on subgrade fluidization under undrained cyclic triaxial loading” by Prof. Buddhima Indraratna and his colleagues from Transport Research Centre has been picked as Editor’s Choice in Canadian Geotechnical Journal for the year 2020. The full paper can be found through: dx.doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2019-0350
Books of Prof. Indraratna:
Indraratna, B., Salim, W., & Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2011). Advanced Rail Geotechnology - Ballasted Track (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b10861 | 
Indraratna, B., & Ngo, T. (2018). Ballast Railroad Design: SMART-UOW Approach (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429504242 | 
Indraratna, B., Heitor, A., & Vinod, J.S. (2020). Geotechnical Problems and Solutions: A Practical Perspective (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351037341 |
SUMMARY
Honours and awards
Research-related
- 2019: Bright Sparks Award Lecture Award International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, (Marlisio Cecilio Junior, PhD student)
- 2018 Bright Sparks Award Lecture Award International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, (Dr Yujie Qi)
- 2018 Eureka Prize for Excellence of Data Science, (A/Prof Yang Wang)
- 2017 Outstanding Contribution Medal by International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geometrics (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2017 Outstanding contribution to Ground Improvement, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 4th Louis Menard Honour Lecture (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2017 Medal for “Excellent Contributions: Regional” ground improvement technology and soft clay engineering International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanic (Prof Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn)
- 2016 SIDRA Solutions Postgraduate Award (Dr Kasun Wijayaratna)
- 2016: Outstanding Professional Contributions in the Field of Transportation Geotechnics, Ralph Proctor Honour Lecture, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2014 C.S. Desai Medal, International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2013 UTS Teaching and Learning Citation Award (Prof Jianchun Li)
- 2012 Eurasian National University Medal for Contributions to Ground Improvement (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2012 Robert M. Quigley Honourable Mention awards; Canadian Geotechnical Society (Prof Buddhima Indraratna and Prof Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn)
- 2012 UTS Research and Innovation 1st prize, Uniquest Trailblazer Award (Prof Jianchun Li)
- 2011 Outstanding contribution to geomechanics through academic and practice; Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2011 Distinguished contributions to Australian Transport Industry, Engineers Australia Transport Medal (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2011 UTS Learning and Teach Citation- Civil Engineering (A/Prof Behzad Fatahi)
Industry-related
- 2019 Industrial and Primary Industries Markets, Victoria Merit Certificate, Australian IT Industry Association iAwards, (Prof Yang Wang)
- 2018 Charles Bubb Award, Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (Engineers Australia) (A/Prof Behzad Fatahi)
- 2015 Individual Award for Outstanding Services to Railway Engineering (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA) and Engineers Australia, received at the NSW Parliament House (Prof Buddhima Indraratna)
- 2016 Young Professionals Award, Australian Geomechanics Society (Dr Thanh Nguyen)
- 2015 Thomas Telford Premium Medal for Ground Improvement, Institution of Civil Engineers, UK ( Prof Buddhima Indraratna and Dr Sanjay Nimbalkar).
- 2013 Prestigious RTSA Postgraduate Thesis Award by Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA)（Dr Trung Ngo）
- 2013 National ICT Australia –Impact Wealth Creation Award (A/Prof Yang Wang)
- 2012 D H Trollope Medal, Australian Geomechanics Society for contributions to geotechnical research (Prof Rujikiatkamjorn)
Patents and contributions to Australian Standards
- 2012 Australian Provisional Patent, “Adaptive Magnetorheological Elastomer Base Isolation System”, ( Prof Jianchun Li)
- Australian standards for the placement densities and size gradation of rail ballast (AS 2758.7), (Prof Buddhima Indraratna).
- Geotechnical site investigation (AS 1726) (Prof Buddhima Indraratna).
- Prefabricated Vertical Drains (AS8700) (Prof Buddhima Indraratna).
Frontier technologies (ARC Discovery projects)
- Synthetic energy absorbing composite for track performance. ARC-Discovery (2018-2021); Total: $252,000 (Leading CI-Prof Indraratna, CI-Prof Rujikiatkamjorn)
- Evaluation of densification and degradation of ballast under cyclic train loading. (2013-2015) ARC-Discovery Total: $342,000 (Leading CI-Prof Indraratna; CI-Prof Rujikiatkamjorn)
- Laboratory and Theoretical Investigation of Soft Clay Behaviour under Cyclic Loading Stabilised by Prefabricated Vertical Drain (2010-2012) ARC-Discovery Total: $360,000 (Leading CI-Prof Indraratna; CI-Prof Rujikiatkamjorn)
- Investigation of chemical clogging in a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) (2010-2012) ARC-Discovery Total: $310,000 (Leading CI-Prof Indraratna)
- Assessment and Prediction of particle Breakage under Cyclic Loading (2005-2008). ARC-Discovery, with INPG (Institute National Polytechnique de Grenoble), France. Total: $180,000 (Leading CI-Prof Indraratna)
- Laboratory and Theoretical Investigation of Soft Clay Behaviour under Cyclic Loading Stabilised by Prefabricated Vertical Drains (2010-2012), ARC-Discovery, $366,000, (Leading CI-Prof Rujikiatkamjorn)
- Study of a Stiffness Softening Magnetorheological Elastomer for Adaptive Base Isolation (2015-2017). ARC-Discovery Total: 266,300 (CI-Prof Jianchun Li)
- Development of Robust Control Systems for Magneto-Rheological Fluid-Based Smart Structures (2004-2007). ARC-Discovery Total: 178,300 (CI-Prof Jianchun Li)
- Improving external validity of stated choice experiments (2018-2020) ARC-Discovery $462,480 (CI-Prof John Rose)
- Accounting for preference separability in stated choice experiments (2016-2019) ARC-Discovery $360,000 (Leading CI-Prof John Rose)
- Community preferences for organ donation and allocation in Australia (2009-2011) ARC-Discovery $240,000 (CI-Prof John Rose)
- Valuation of Service Reliability and Crowding under Risk and Uncertainty: Neglected Drivers of Demand for Public Transport (2012-2014) ARC-Discovery $210,000 (CI-Prof John Rose)