Two heavyweight lectures at the opening ceremony, catch the highlights!

After the opening ceremony of this conference, we will have the honor to listen to the wonderful lectures delivered by Dr. Priscilla Nelson, a distinguished scholar from the United States, and Academician Zhu Hehua, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. What are the exciting highlights of these lectures given by two top industry experts? Let's wait and see together!

Muir Wood Lecture

Lecturer：Dr. Priscilla P. Nelson

Dr. Priscilla P. Nelson came to the Colorado School of Mines in 2014 as Professor and Department Head of Mining Engineering. She formerly served as Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, Division Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation, and Provost and Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She has an international reputation in geological, civil and tailings engineering. Dr. Nelson has published more than 200 technical and scientific publications, and she is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), former president of the Geo-Institute of ASCE, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a lifetime member and first president and Fellow of the American Rock Mechanics Association. Dr. Nelson was elected as a Mole and Tau Beta Pi Eminent Engineer, and she received the Kenneth Andrew Roe Award from the AAES, and the Henry L. Michel Award from ASCE. In 2016 she was identified as a Global Inspirational Women in Mining (by WIM/UK), and in 2018 she received the Outstanding Educator award from UCA of SME. In 2020, she founded the Tailings Center as a collaboration with Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona. She received her BS degree in geology from the University of Rochester (1970) and two master’s degrees in geology (Indiana University, 1976) and structural engineering (University of Oklahoma, 1979). In 1983, she received her PhD degree from Cornell University.

Speech Theme：Underground Resources for a Sustainable Global Future

Our world has changed in many ways over the past decade, in particular. The drivers for change includes our evolving comprehension of the finiteness of the carrying capacity of the earth. The growing population has led to urban densification and expansion, and to challenges in human and industrial waste management, disease control, ecology and habitat issues, and behavioral changes and social tensions related to food and water availability, social justice and equity. The fragility of the global supply chain and the realization of the impacts of climate change are driving the energy transition and the need for critical metals and minerals.

What is the role of the underground as an earth resource in addressing these world changes? This lecture will address the responsibilities and opportunities for the construction and mining industries to be leaders in the path towards a sustainable global future. We must be increasingly creative to deliver underground resources that support restoration of earth’s environmental systems and that provide positive outcomes for communities. The lecture will provide discussion on:

• Global issues that are limitations or opportunities for underground solutions.
• The ESG context for approaches that facilitate urban resilience and sustainable performance.
• The application of Doughnut Economics to the future of infrastructure investments.
• Infrastructure systems of systems design approaches, and the differences between achieving resilience versus sustainability.
• Overcoming chronic issues for risk management in underground construction, including risks associated with geotechnical behaviors and uncertainties.
• Transformative construction methods and new materials that decrease costs and contribute to zero carbon and zero waste goals.
• New implementations for the use of underground resources, including critical minerals and metals and “geobatteries” for the energy transition.
• Common issues and innovations that are important for the civil and mining industries.

Keynote Lecture

Lecturer：Professor Hehua ZHU, PhD

Dr. Hehua Zhu holds the position of Distinguished Professor in Geotechnical Engineering at Tongji University, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering.

Dr. Zhu completed his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Mining Engineering at Chongqing University in 1983 and 1986, respectively. He then earned his PhD in Structural Engineering (Civil Engineering) from Tongji University in 1989. From 1993 to 1995, he conducted post-doctoral research at the Geo-Research Institute of Osaka and Kyoto University in Japan.

Notably, Dr. Zhu, in collaboration with Prof. Lianyang Zhang, developed the generalized 3D Hoek-Brown rock strength criterion, also known as the Generalized Zhang-Zhu rock strength criterion (GZZ). This criterion has been recommended as a standard by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM). His contributions to the field have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Humboldt Research Prize in 2015 and the T.H.H. medal at ICCES’13 in 2013. Furthermore, Dr. Zhu is the founder of the International Journal of Underground Space, contributing significantly to the academic discourse in geotechnical engineering.

Speech Theme：Development and Applications of Intelligent Tunnel Construction: the state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Tunnel construction is transforming from digital construction to intelligent construction. This talk provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of digital development in tunnel construction. Based on this, we propose the goal of achieving resilient, intelligent, green, and human-oriented high-quality tunnel through intelligent construction methods.

The core elements of intelligent tunnel construction are thoroughly discussed, encompassing the digitization of construction elements, the establishment of a digital-twin model, the utilization of virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies, and the integration of automated control equipment.

Specifically, this talk suggests leveraging information technology to achieve digitization of all aspects of tunnel construction, including the construction environment, entities, processes, and methods; establishing a data acquisition, transmission, processing, representation, analysis, and service information flow to model a digital twin of the entire construction process. Technologies such as virtual reality, modeling, simulation, and artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze, simulate, and make decisions throughout the entire construction process are utilized. Advanced and industrialized construction technologies, such as robotics and automated control equipment are adopted to obtain precise execution of construction.

Towards the end, this talk showcases preliminary applications of these technologies in several substantial tunnel projects and outlines some future research directions.

Over the years, the opening ceremony keynote lectures have been considered one of the most forward-looking academic reports at the World Tunnel Congress, bringing new insights and perspectives to the development of the tunnel industry. The lectures of these two experts from China and the United States will demonstrate how intelligence and sustainable development are driving the tunnel construction industry to new heights. Let's look forward to this academic feast!