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:
