Geo-disasters are occurring with increasing frequency, posing significant threats to human life, property, and socio-economic stability. Addressing these challenges requires the establishment of a reliable and rigorous system that integrates monitoring, early warning, and engineering prevention. However, progress is constrained by practical and technical barriers, as large-scale field testing demands substantial resources, while numerical modeling remains limited in its ability to reliably capture the complex nonlinear, anisotropic, and time-dependent behaviors of rock and soil.

 

By contrast, physical model testing, as a scaled idealization of a geophysical or geotechnical system, provides a more efficient and informative approach than full-scale simulation of natural systems or engineering works. It can realistically reproduce complex geophysical conditions and effectively complement other research approach. Physical modeling techniques span from simple small-scale models to scaled-down field constructions conducted under high-g, 1g, or even microgravity conditions. These methods support the full spectrum of geo-disaster research, from validating fundamental principles, assessing construction technologies, to evaluating the performance of novel monitoring methods. Advances in physical model testing technology, including visualization techniques and micro-gravity simulation, provide new insights that are challenging to obtain through alternative research approaches.

 

In this context, the establishment of the Committee on Physical Model Experimentation (CoPE) is both timely and strategic. The Committee will serve as a platform to advance the theoretical and methodological frontiers of physical modeling, address key scientific challenges, explore emerging directions in geo-disaster research, and overcome technical bottlenecks. The Committee will also promote the development of testing standards and protocols, while contributing to science communication to raise public awareness of geo-disasters. Furthermore, the committee aims to facilitate interdisciplinary and international collaboration across academia, industry, and government sectors, thereby enhancing geo-disaster prevention, mitigation, and response.

 

Honorary Chair:

Malcolm D. Bolton, Professor, Cambridge University, UK

 

Chair:

Chuhan Deng, Professor, Tianjin University, China

 

Vice-Chairs:

Stuart Haigh, Professor, Cambridge University, UK

Netra Prakash Bhandary, Professor, Ehime University, Japan

Xiaodong Fu, Professor, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

 

Secretaries:

Mengchen Sun, Dr, University of Emergency Management, China

Ruikun Wang, Dr, Tianjin University, China

 

Committee Members:

Wenbing Shi, Professor, Guizhou University, China

Zhigang Tao, Professor, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), China

Peng Zeng, Professor, Chengdu University of Technology, China

Orestis Adamidis, Associate Professor, University of Oxford, UK

Jingsen Cai, Associate Professor, China University of Geosciences, China

Zili Dai, Associate Professor, Shanghai University, China

Domenico Gaudio, Associate Professor, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Pinqiang Mo, Associate Professor, China University of Mining and Technology, China

Dong Li, Assistant Professor, Tianjin University, China

Srikanth Madabhushi, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder, USA

Suran Wang, Assistant Professor, Shanghai University of Science and Technology, China

Vikram Singh, Research Fellow, University of Western Australia, Australia

 

 

All interested members are welcome to join!