Prof. Te XIAO, a tenure-track Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, has won the HKIE Geotechnical Paper Award 2024 from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) Geotechnical Division. The award was presented in a ceremony held at the 44th Annual Seminar of HKIE Geotechnical Division on May 31st, 2024.

Prof. Te Xiao (second from right) and one of collaborators, Dr. Raymond Cheung (second from left)

The HKIE Geotechnical Paper Award is a biennial award organized by the HKIE Geotechnical Division to encourage high quality geotechnical publications that targeted practicing geotechnical engineers in Hong Kong, in memory of the late Prof. Wilson Tang, past Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The award is given to one or two papers each time. The winner will receive a trophy, to be kept until the time of the next award announcement. 

Prof. Xiao’s paper, titled “Predicting Spatio-temporal Man-made Slope Failures Induced by Rainfall in Hong Kong using Machine Learning Technique”, uses innovative machine learning techniques to address the challenging landslide prediction issues in Hong Kong. This approach may help upgrade the prevailing landslide early warning system used in Hong Kong, and has the potential to significantly improve the ability to manage landslide risks, keeping infrastructures safer and more reliable.

The paper was published in the prestigious journal Géotechnique (73(9), 749-765; https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.21.00160). The coauthors include Prof. Limin Zhang (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Dr. Raymond Cheung (Geotechnical Engineering Office of the HKSAR Government), and Prof. Suzanne Lacasse (Norwegian Geotechnical Institute).

Congratulations to Prof. Xiao and his collaborators.

Bibliography

Prof. Te Xiao is a tenure-track Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, School of Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His main research interests include geotechnical hazard risk, machine learning and digital twins. Prof. Xiao was selected for the National Excellent Young Scientists Program (Overseas) in 2023 and the receipt of several research awards, including ISSMGE Bright Spark Lecture Award, Géotechnique Early Career Award, Georisk Best Paper Award, Georisk Most Cited Award, and Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in Hydraulic Engineering from China Association of Hydraulic Engineering Education. He is a member of ASCE Embankments, Dams, and Slopes Committee and a corresponding member of ISSMGE Technical Committees TC304 (Risk), TC309 (Machine Learning), and TC222 (Digital Twins).