Women in Engineering Geology (WEG)
The International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG) is committed to increasing the involvement and inclusion of women in the activities and opportunities of the Association. This is part of a wider drive to build diversity in the organisation, and to give equal opportunity to all of our members.
The Women in Engineering Geology Group (WEG), representing the interests of Women in the field of Engineering Geology, is open to participation by any member of the Association. It is administered by a Women in Engineering Geology Committee (WEGC).
WEG’s Terms of Reference
Purpose
To enhance the future of the IAEG through improved gender equity in engineering
geology and increasing involvement and inclusion of women in the activities and
opportunities of the Association.
Vision
- International/ regional conferences with more women (of all ages) chairing and delivering keynotes and with broad geographic representation
- >30% female participation in engineering geology courses and conferences
- An organisation and industry in which women are counted in.
Tactics
- At least four online meetings of WEG a year
- WEG keynotes and session chairs (at least 1 female: 2 male) as a condition of IAEG
conference sponsorship - A WEG led session/ meeting/ activity is included as a condition of IAEG conference
sponsorship - Ensure there are female applicants considered for our awards and leadership roles
- Workshops addressing issues such as inclusivity, ethics, advocacy for equality, safety,
how to be a good ally (tools/ techniques for all IAEG members) - Support campaigns in universities to better target women
- Role model what women in engineering geology can be – share stories
- Gather data to understand female membership and participation in Engineering Geology
- Counter sexism on construction sites – establish a list of female friendly companies
- Provide a list of internship opportunities across the world with details and dates
- Share what we are doing to influence FEDIGS
Ann Williams (WEG Chair)
Ann is a technical specialist in the fields of engineering geology and hydrogeology based in Auckland, New Zealand. As a consultant she has scoped directed and reviewed projects across New Zealand and in Australia, Pacific and South-East Asia, from concept design through investigation, modelling, consenting, to construction. As a manager of some 630 people, a Board Member of Engineering New Zealand, past Chair and Life member of the New Zealand Geotechnical Society Inc., and past Vice President of the IAEG, Ann has significant first-hand experience of the opportunities for women in the discipline. Ann was the recipient of the 2022 NZGS Geomechanics Lecture Award. Ann was the first female and/or first Engineering Geologist to take on most of these roles or recognition awards. She is somewhat dismayed at the number of firsts still to be had for women in Engineering Geology in 2024.
Anika Braun (Germany)
Anjila Malla (Nepal/ Japan)
Anjila Babu Malla holds an MSc in Engineering Geology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and an MSc in Earth and Geoenvironmental Science from Shimane University, Japan. She is currently an Engineering Geologist at Geotech Solutions International (GSI), contributing to both national and international projects. Presently on study leave, Anjila is pursuing her Ph.D. at Shimane University, where her research focuses on land subsidence mechanisms in marine and lake sediments. She has led geotechnical labs at GSI, working on projects related to landslides, expressways, and land subsidence. Additionally, she has played a key role in developing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plans for several local governments in Eastern Nepal. Currently, Anjila is the Coordinator of the Women in Engineering Geology (WEG) group of the Nepal Society of Engineering Geology (NSEG).
Felicia Weir (Australia)
Dr. Felicia Weir is a Director and Principal Engineering Geologist, who specializes in geotechnical open pit slope design and operational support. Her recent work has focused on rock fall risk, discrete fracture networks and management of unstable slopes in both Australia and Southeast Asia. Beyond her professional achievements, Felicia is passionate about earth science education. She is also a strong advocate for both the support and promotion of women in STEM, particularly in the field of open pit mining.
Helen Reeves (United Kingdom, North Europe VP IAEG)
Helen is an Engineering geologist over 20 years’ experience: leading multi-disciplinary ground engineering project teams, engineering geological mapping, rock mass characterisation, geohazard mapping & geomechanics. At Jacobs she is currently a Director & Head of Discipline for Geoscience & Engineering Geology, where she is helping to shape and mentor Geoscientists and Engineering Geologists. She is currently an IAEG VP for Europe.
Jean Hutchinson (Canada)
Jean is currently Professor of Geological Engineering at Queens University in Canada. Jean’s research and consulting work over the past 40 years has focused on various aspects of ground support as well as instrumentation and monitoring, under the umbrella of risk-based assessment. She teaches field courses exploring the opportunities to integrate closure planning, reuse of waste and progressive decommissioning within the mining cycle.
Jean is passionate about promoting inclusivity, helping students and early career professionals to thrive both technically and emotionally in often challenging work environments.
Martha Whitney (USA/ France)
Martha is an engineering geologist specializing in QA/QC and Client Representation for geotechnical site investigations to support design of linear infrastructure and offshore renewables. Martha has worked in the Pacific Northwest, Australia, Europe, East Africa, Papua New Guinea, the North Sea, and the northern Atlantic Ocean. Through these primarily male-dominated experiences, she gained an understanding of the challenges women face in our profession and is interested in getting more women in the field and ultimately taking on supervisory roles. She lives with her geologist husband in Montpellier, France and enjoys food, wine, hiking, cycling, climbing, and rock and roll.
Salome Waziri (Africa)
Salome is an Engineering Geologist/ Hydrogeologist who has been practicing for over thirty years. Her expertise in design and construction of boreholes has helped to solve potable water problems in many rural communities in Niger State, Nigeria. Salome is the first female Nigerian PhD holder in Engineering Geology and is very active in NAEGE (Nigerian Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment). As an Associate Professor of Geology, she has continued to train both undergraduate and postgraduate students especially in the field of engineering geology. Salome is the Vice President of NAEGE (North) and the president of the women’s wing of NAEGE.
Countries with National WEG Groups
Nepal
Coordinator: Anjila Malla
Nigeria
President NAEGE: Salome Waziri
Vice-President NAEGE: Attah Fakeye
Profile: Dominique Ngan-Tillard
I am a geo-engineer specialised in engineering geology and geo-archaeology, working at TU Delft department of Geoscience and Engineering.

Before joining TU Delft
I was raised in Pontchateau, South of Brittany, France, on top of a huge fault, separating two continents, Gondwana and Armorica, active 310 million years ago. This special environment and a secondary school geology teacher have been crucial in my career choice. I was 6 when I contemplated a display box of rock samples that a middle school student had prepared for her class and decided that, to succeed at school, I had to start a rock collection straight away, which I did. At secondary school, I met this teacher. She took us on a memorable field trip; we sampled a myriad of soils and rocks, (fresh, rotten, or fractured), we were exposed to natural geohazards (coastal cliff erosion, subsidence on peat, pollution of sensitive salt marshes) and connected to multiple (small scale but diverse) civil engineering and mining applications. A keen reader of Jules Verne’s novels, especially Voyage au Centre de la Terre and Vingt-Mille Lieues sous les Mers, I became attracted by the non-invasive exploration of the Earth. After high school and 2 years of general Mathematics/Physics/Chemistry at Nantes University, I joined the Ecole et Observatoire de Physique du Globe in Strasbourg and obtained a diplome d’Ingénieur in geophysics. I specialised in rock mechanics and rock engineering during my graduation project and a one year research position at Imperial College, London. My stay in London was supported by British Petroleum at a time Erasmus exchanges were not existing. Then, I undertook my PhD research in Geomechanics at the Laboratoire 3S in Grenoble, France, on the localisation of strain in shear bands applied to borehole stability. Afterwards, I developed my engineering geology career in booming Hong Kong, working on site, on drill and blast tunnel projects and associated works (rock slope cutting and stabilisation, bridge foundations). Being the most educated rock engineer on site, I was the one liaising with international consultants when elaborating alternative designs for our projects. I learned a lot from this. Back to Europe, I worked as a geo-engineer on tunnelling tenders for a year, before joining TU Delft 25+ years ago.
At TU Delft
I am assistant professor and coordinator of the Geotechnical Engineering track of the CE MSc programme. I lecture Engineering Geology, Site Investigation and Monitoring, and Rock Mechanics subjects in this programme. I have also been coaching first year Applied Earth Sciences BSc students in their Grand challenge project for years. Together with TU Delft colleagues involved in the new LDE minor Authenticity, Art and Crime (AAC), I teach methods to detect fakes. Education has always been at the heart of my work at TU Delft and I have been active in various commissions (Board of Studies, Board of Examiners, Binding Study Advisory, Student Admission) committees and workgroups (the latest, SAM StudentAantallen MSc for recruiting students and the re-design of the Applied Earth Sciences programme). I strive to cultivate an engaging teaching style that incorporates innovative methodologies, such as gaming and virtual reality, to make learning a dynamic and interactive experience.
I am specialized in the non-destructive testing of geomaterials at multiple scales (from field scale to sub-micrometer). I merge data sets generated using various techniques to visualize and interpret materials in a multi-disciplinary context. I often exploit X-ray micro-CT scans in combination with other techniques (p-XRF or neutron-tomography, and ESEM or micromorphology analysis, etc…) to better understand the microstructure of materials and estimate, for instance, their durability under variable loading. In the last 12 years, I extended my expertise to archaeological sites, soils, and artefacts. Hence my involvement in the AAC minor. Concrete examples of my work are the causes of high friction of Dutch organic soils, the tool box that I developed to assess the impact of construction works to buried archaeology and my contribution to the multi-scale study of midden deposits that shaded lights onto Neolithic human diet. My approach requires the detailed observations of 3D data sets, image quantification and conceptual modeling. In AllRisk, the flood protection programme, together with PhD candidate Juan Chavez Ollala, we increased objectivity in the interpretation of geophysics tomographic images using various image processing techniques.
Why am I still working at TU Delft in the field of engineering geology?
First, for my academic freedom in a modern organisation. Second, educating students coming with diverse cultures, skills, drivers, and ambitions is personally enriching. Third, the influx of young colleagues with brilliant, non-conventional ideas is inspiring. And last, the field of engineering geology is colossal. By definition, “engineering geology is the science devoted to the investigation, study and solution of the engineering and environmental problems which may arise as the result of the interaction between geology and the activities of man. It is also the science devoted to the prediction and development of measures for prevention or remediation of geological hazards.” (IAEG 1992). In brief, a modernized engineering geology approach is essential to tackle the challenges that we have created and face on our planet. It is with this objective in mind that I will chair the organization of IAEG2026 Congress at TU Delft. For detailed information, please consult www.iaeg2026.org and stay tuned via Linkedin: