Young Engineering Geologists

Home » Young Engineering Geologists
Young Engineering Geologists2024-11-07T19:40:26+00:00

The Young Engineering Geologists group representing the interests of IAEG young members.
YEG’s Terms of Reference are stated clearly and specifically below
The YEGs are lead by a dedicated international committee of 9 young engineering geologists who meet regularly.

Stratis Karantanellis
Stratis KarantanellisYEG Chair
Stratis is a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan, working in the field of landslide management with computer vision and machine learning techniques. Stratis obtained his BSc in Engineering Geology from Aristotle University and his MSc degree from the ITC – University of Twente, with specialization in Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk Management in 2015. His PhD Thesis was entitled as “Landslide detection and characterization based on OBIA methodology and UAV photogrammetry”. His main research interests are Engineering Geology, landslide and rockfall hazard and risk assessment, photogrammetric and LiDAR applications, and rock and soil mechanics. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, playing basketball, snowboarding and hiking.
Julia LöfflerSecretary
Julia Löffler is a geologist at Stantec Argentina, specialising in dam projects. She works in the geotechnical team, developing geologic models. This involves managing the interaction between the design office and field work, supervising in situ tests, core logging and mapping. For the last eight years she has taken part in dam construction projects in Panama, Chile, Peru and Argentina. She also contributes to teaching at La Plata National University in courses such as Structural Geology, Igneous Petrology and Geology Applied to Engineering.
Andrey KazeevCommittee Member
Andrey is the leading researcher at the Sergeev Institute of Environmental Geoscience (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia). He completed his MSc at Moscow State University, and has gone on to author more than 70 scientific works and 3 Patents of Inventions. Andrey is also the Vice-chair of the Russian IAEG National Group. His scientific interests include landslides and landslide hazard assessment. He has conducted landslide investigations across Russia (e.g. Moscow, Sochi, Ulyanovsk, N.Novgorod, Saransk, Cheboksary, Irkutsk) and abroad. Andrey is always ready for collaboration and would be very happy to exchange experiences.
Lauren FooteCommittee Member
Lauren is an Engineering Geologist working for the consulting firm WSP in Nelson, New Zealand. She has over 10 years’ experience working within New Zealand and has been involved with natural hazard response following the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake, and more recently with local storm recovery works. Having recently moved to Nelson, she is enjoying the varied geology and outdoor activities that the region offers. Lauren is passionate about promoting opportunities for young Engineering Geologists and is looking forward to connecting with others to share learning and development opportunities.
Tümay Kadakci KocaCommittee Member
Tümay is a faculty member of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Geological Engineering Department. She gives lectures on engineering geology and rock mechanics. She received BSc from Hacettepe University while MSc and PhD from Dokuz Eylül University. She specialized in slope stability evaluation from structural, hydrogeological, and mechanical concepts. She seeks ways to apply remote sensing techniques to enhance the understanding of multi-temporal changes on the ground. Her current research interests include wildfire-induced soil disturbance and its relation to landslides, also the numerical simulation of slope instabilities in open pit mines. She is enthusiastic about learning and teaching. She enjoys spending time in nature and cycling with the family.
Adebayo Olaniyi AfolabiCommittee Member
Afolabi is an Engineering Geologist/geoscientist at AOA geo-net limited and advanced engineering consultants, he obtained an M.Sc., in engineering geology at University of Lagos, Akoka, B.Sc., Geology, University of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State (Now Ekiti State Univeristy), Diploma in Civil Engineering, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu Lagos State. He also completed a quality, Health, Safety and Environment Competence Development Course (QHSE) (Level 2 and 3) and Joint Professionals Training and Support Int’l. Afolabi is working within a Quality Management System environment in line with ISO 9001 requirements, analyzing Geotechnical data, and testing materials with computer modelling software. He was recently awarded NMGS/PROF. S.C TEME PRIZE 2022 winner as best Geoscientist for paper presented in Engineering Geology during the Annual NMGS International Conference & Exhibitions 2022.
Malena D'Elia OteroCommittee Member
Malena is a geologist at the Civil Protection Departament of São Paulo City
Hall, in Brazil, where she works with geological and hidrogeological risk
assesment and management. She is also a Ph.D. Candidate in the
Geosciences Department at Campinas State University, working on the
development of new and low-cost technologies for landslide early detection.
Malena obtained her BSc in Geology from University of São Paulo and her
M.Sc. degree from Campinas State University. She has a specialisation in
Subsurface Investigations from the Institute for Technological Research. Her
main interests are landslide risk assessment, landslides disaster reduction,
slope stability and geotechnical monitoring. In her free time, she writes short
stories and practices yoga and trail running.
Om Dhakal PrasadCommittee Member
Om is a PhD researcher at Charles University in Prague with a strong interest in natural hazards.

His current research focuses on understanding the dynamics of mass movements
under changing climatic conditions, supported by temperature-controlled
geotechnical experiments. Om has a background in engineering geology from
Tribhuvan University in Nepal and an MSc in Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk
Reduction from ITC, University of Twente, The Netherlands.

Additionally, Om has experience in engineering consulting, where he worked as a multihazard modeler, directly engaging in in-situ testing of geotechnical parameters used within the models. 

Past Chairs

Louise VickOutgoing Chair
Louise is a research fellow at UiT The Arctic University of Norway specialising in rockfall and rockslides. Originally from New Zealand, she obtained her degrees from the University of Canterbury and worked for several years as an engineering geologist in Auckland. Louise is passionate about increasing the involvement of young professionals in the IAEG organisation. In her spare time she enjoys skiing, rock climbing and hiking.

IAEG supports many conferences, summer schools and networking events.
Click to see a list of events, or contact us to let us know about events in your network!

We are interested in hearing from you about active young member networks in your area.
We are always looking for new passionate people for our committee, contact us if you are interested in getting involved!

Go to Top