Latest honours and awards
AGS NSW Research Award 2026
AUGUST 2026
The 2026 AGS NSW Research Award Competition was held on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
Winner: Mr Haydn Hunt
Title: Adoption of Waste Materials in Energy-Absorbing Track Substructure Layers – A Data Analytics Perspective.
Supervisors: Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna, Dr Yujie Qi, and Professor Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn.
Runner-up: Ms Thien Huynh
Title: Biopolymer-Based Ground Improvement for Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering: Experimental and DEM Insights into Multiscale Soil Behaviour.
Supervisors: Dr Thanh Nguyen, Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna.
2026 Bright Spark Lecturer Awards
AUGUST 2026
Awarded by the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), the Bright Spark Lecture Award is a prestigious international honour that recognises and promotes outstanding young geotechnical engineers in both academia and industry. Awardees have the opportunity to deliver keynote and invited lectures at these conferences.
4th International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna Delivers Prestigious C.S. Desai Memorial Lecture at IACMAG 2026
JULY 2026
In a major milestone for the international engineering community, Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna, Director of the Transport Research Centre (TRC) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), has delivered the highly prestigious C.S. Desai Memorial Lecture at the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG).
Professor Indraratna’s lecture, titled "Advances in Transport Geotechnics – Soil Fluidisation and Track Instability, Net-zero and Circular Economy Perspectives," addressed the critical challenges facing modern heavy-haul rail and transit networks.
During the lecture, Professor Indraratna showcased the TRC's revolutionary research and field trials in pioneering eco-friendly transport corridors.
Key highlights of the address included:
- Mitigating Track Instability: Advanced methods to predict and prevent soil fluidisation and track degradation under heavy, repetitive transit loads.
- The Circular Economy in Action: Seamlessly integrating industrial waste materials—such as coal wash, steel slag, and recycled rubber tyres—into high-speed rail substructures to eliminate the need for quarried aggregates.
- Net-Zero Pathways: Offering a practical roadmap for the international transport industry to significantly slash carbon emissions through smart, sustainable geotechnics.
A legacy of global leadership
Being selected to deliver the C.S. Desai Memorial Lecture is one of the highest honors in geomechanics. It underscores Professor Indraratna’s lifetime of groundbreaking contributions to transport infrastructure and cements the UTS Transport Research Centre’s status as a premier global hub for cutting-edge civil engineering.
The insights shared during this prestigious lecture are already paving the way for international transit networks to build smarter, greener, and more climate-resilient infrastructure.
TRC researchers receive prestigious international awards at IACMAG 2025
DECEMBER 2025
The Transport Research Centre (TRC) at the University of Technology Sydney has achieved a spectacular sweep at the 2025 International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) awards. Demonstrating world-class research excellence in sustainable transportation infrastructure, advanced geomechanics, and railway engineering, TRC scholars secured top honors across regional contribution, early-career, and research paper categories.
The remarkable accolades awarded to the TRC team at IACMAG 2025 are listed below.
Regional Contributions Medal for Australasia
Dr Yujie Qi was honoured with the Excellent Regional Contributions Award. This prestigious medal recognises her outstanding dedication and impactful contributions to sustainable geotechnics, waste material recycling, and unbound granular material dynamics across the Australasia region.
John Carter Young Professional Award
Dr Jing Chen received this highly competitive award. Formally designed to honor exceptional scientists within five years of completing their PhD, this accolade underscores Dr Chen's immense academic potential and highlights TRC’s success in nurturing top-tier next-generation talent.
Best Paper Awards
Dr Rakesh Malisetty, Dr Piyush Punetha, and Dr Binhua Xu each clinched an Excellent Paper Award. Their breakthrough research in advanced constitutive modeling of multiphase geomaterials, non-linear large deformation computational methods, and the long-term dynamic stability of transport corridors received widespread acclaim from the international scientific community.
2025 Bright Spark Lecturer Awards
OCTOBER 2025
The Bright Spark Lecture Award is a prestigious international honour granted by the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) to recognise and promote outstanding young geotechnical engineers in both academia and industry. The awardees have a chance to deliver keynote and invited lectures at these conferences.
1st Geotech Asia International Conference (Geotech Asia 2025), Goa, India
17th International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering (17 ICGE) and 8th International Symposium on Geohazards (8ISG), Lahore, Pakistan
2025 Luminary Award
NOVEMBER 2025
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna was honoured as a recipient of the 2025 Luminary Award at Lankan Fest '25, celebrating his outstanding lifetime achievements and contributions as a renowned academic and engineer within the Australian-Sri Lankan community.
A world-renowned engineer, researcher and academic, Distinguished Professor Indraratna has brought global recognition to Sri Lankan excellence in science and innovation. His pioneering work in civil and geotechnical engineering has shaped sustainable development across continents. Through his achievements and mentorship, he has inspired countless students and professionals, proving that Sri Lankan intellect and innovation can transform the world.
John Carter Young Professional Award
NOVEMBER 2024
Dr Yujie Qi received the John Carter Young Professional Award (also known as the John Carter Young Engineer Award) in November 2024 at the 5th International Conference on Transportation Geotechnics (ICTG).
Dr Qi was recognised for her outstanding contributions and great work toward the sustainability of transportation geotechnics. The International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) administers the John Carter Award for junior researchers within five years of their PhD graduation.
Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year Award
SEPTEMBER 2024
The UTS Faculty of Engineering and IT has taken out five awards at the 2024 NSW Engineers Australia Awards, including the Civil College Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year (National Award) for Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna. The award recognises his groundbreaking contributions to civil-geotechnical engineering.
As Director of the Transport Research Centre at UTS, Professor Indraratna has made significant advances in soft soil engineering and ground improvement techniques, benefiting infrastructure projects around the world. His extensive publication record and mentorship of over 150 postgraduate students demonstrate his profound impact on both academia and industry.
International recognition for UTS railway engineering expert
MARCH 2024
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna has 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.
Australia Day honours for Transport Research Centre
FEBRUARY 2024
Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna has been awarded a Member of the 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.
2023 Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award – Institution of Civil Engineers (UK)
OCTOBER 2023
Congratulations to Distinguished Professor 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 2023 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 Professor Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn (UTS) and Dr Miriam Tawk (Lebanese American University) who were not able to attend the ceremony.
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.
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
16th International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering, Pakistan
3rd International Conference in Geotechnical Engineering (ICGEColombo-2020) in Colombo, Sri Lanka
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 Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna
