
Nasser Khalili is the Head of School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and brings to this position an international reputation for innovation and setting industry standards.
Scientia Professor Khalili’s publications are prolific, awarded, often cited and highly regarded, particularly his work in unsaturated soil mechanics and computational geo-mechanics. In the last two years alone, he has contributed to over 25 peer reviewed articles and is credited with the development of the first thermodynamically consistent framework for constitutive modelling of unsaturated porous media. Similarly, his research into the mechanics of double porosity media has set an international benchmark in numerical modelling of fractured porous media.
Nasser is regularly invited to speak at conferences, deliver specialised workshops for practicing engineers and consult widely on engineering matters within his area of expertise, maintaining vital ties with industry, other academic institutions, peak bodies and government. He sits on 3 international editorial boards, keeping his finger on the pulse of the latest research. Nasser is generous with his time, sitting on numerous industry and university bodies and organising international conferences, further strengthening CVEN’s global reputation as a hub of excellence and innovation. He has been a visiting or honorary academic in China, France, the UK, USA and Canada.
He has recently been honoured for his consistent and excellent contributions to the fields of computational geomechanics, as his 2018 election to the ARC College of Experts confirms.
PhD, University of New South Wales 1991
MSc, University of Birmingham 1987
BSc (Civil), University of Amirkabir 1985
CVEN9512 Geomechanics
CVEN9524 Geotechnical Engineering of Dams
Professor Khalili is currently supervising 16 postgraduate candidates in the areas of
Projects have included:
Hydraulic fracturing through 3D printing and lattice modelling
Study of small strain dynamic properties of sands and silty sands
Nasser has received over $7 million in research funding from the Australia Research Council in the last decade, as well as publishing 3 book chapters and 116 articles in peer reviewed journals.
Robert Niven; Nasser Khalili; Richard Pashley; Mark Taylor; Vladimir Strezov; Scott Wilson; Peter Murphy; Steven Phillips. ARC Special Research Initiatives. 2018 – 2021. With Macquarie University; OPEC SYSTEMS PTY LTD. “PFAS source zone remediation by foam fractionation and in situ fluidisation” $900,000
Jian Zhao; Pathegama Ranjith; Nasser Khalili; Arcady Dyskin; Samanthika Liyanapathirana; David Williams; Itai Einav; Murat Karakus; Jay Sanjayan; Luming Shen; Guowei Ma; Chengqing Wu; Chaoshui Xu; Alexander Scheuermann; Elena Pasternak; Chin Leo; GaoFeng Zhao; Samintha Perera, 2015-2018. ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities. Monash University; The University of Western Australia; The University of Queensland; The University of Adelaide; Swinburne University of Technology; University of Western Sydney; The University of Sydney. “Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar.” $560,000
Adrian Russell; Nasser Khalili; GaoFeng Zhao; Arman Khoshghalb; Scott Sloan; Georgios Kouretzis; Buddhima Indraratna; Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn; Mark Cassidy; Christophe Gaudin; David Williams; Alexander Scheuermann. ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2015. With the University of Newcastle; University of Wollongong; The University of Western Australia; The University of Queensland. “An earthquake shaking table to investigate soil-structure interactions.” $320,000
Nasser Khalili; Arman Khoshghalb; John Rubsov 2014-2017. ARC Linkage Project Grant together with Roads and Maritime Services. "Experimental investigation and constitutive modelling of weak rocks subject to mechanical and moisture degradation" $314,280
Adrian Russell; Nasser Khalili. ARC Discovery Project, 2014-2017. “Shallow foundations in unsaturated soils: Mechanistic design through numerical modelling, analysis and experimental investigation.” $420,000
Buddhima Indraratna; Scott Sloan; Mark Cassidy; Daichao Sheng; Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn; Kiet Tieu; John Carter; Andries Fourie; Nasser Khalili; Abdelmalek Bouazza; Jayantha Kodikara; Kenny Kwok; Manicka Dhanasekar; Priyan Mendis; David Williams; Brian Uy; Arul Arulrajah; Hadi Khabbaz; Mohamed Shahin; Alex Remennikov; J. Antonio H. Carraro; John Wilson; Kristian Krabbenhoft; Christophe Gaudin; Sanjay Nimbalkar; Chin Leo; Adrian Russell; Paul Meehan; Norm Grady. ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities 2014. With the University of Wollongong; University of Newcastle; The University of Western Australia; The University of Queensland. “National Facility for Cyclic Testing of High-speed Rail (FCTHSR)” $900,000
Nasser Khalili; GaoFeng Zhao. ARC Discovery Project, 2013-16 “Dynamics analysis of unsaturated porous media subject to damage due to cracking. This project relates to rigorous analysis of dynamic response in unsaturated soils.” $300,000
Scott Sloan; Mark Randolph; John Carter; Daichao Sheng; Mark Cassidy; Buddhima Indraratna; David White; Nasser Khalili; David Williams; Richard Merifield; Jayantha Kodikara; David Airey; Itai Einav; Andrew Abbo; Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn; Samuel Stanier; Conleth O'Loughlin; Dorival Pedroso; Alexander Scheuermann; Ha Bui; “A national facility for in situ testing of soft soils” $300,000
Nasser Khalili; Robert Niven; Markus Oeser. ARC Discovery Project, 2010-2013. “CO2 sequestration in deformable, chemically interactive, double porosity media. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) level is emerging as one of the most serious issues affecting humanity.” $360,000
Nasser Khalili; Adrian Russel. ARC Discovery Project, 2010-2013. “Erosion of variably saturated soils - a fundamental investigation.” $270,000
Gang-Ding Peng; John Canning; Aibing Yu; Rose Amal; Nasser Khalili; Brant Gibson; Xiaosong Gan; John Holdsworth; Stephen Collins; Jiangtao Xi; Jayantha Epaarachchi; Jeffrey Reimers; Javid Atai; Tony Khoury; Andrew Michie; Mattias Aslund; Kevin Cook; Jun Wang; Jason Scott; Chee Kwok; Rodica Ramer; D Sen; Jie Bao; Maxwell Crossley; Graham Town; Gregory Baxter; “Advanced facility for next generation sustainable energy” $600,000
Markus Oeser; Adrian Russell; Nasser Khalili. ARC Linkage Project, 2009-2012. “Enhanced Analysis and Structural Design of Pavements - Virtual Laboratory for Advanced Pavement Design.” $300,000
Nasser Khalili; Chongmin Song; Peter Tamsett; Prathapa Ravindra. ARC Linkage Project, 2007-2010. “An integrated approach to modelling granular materials in a pavement system.” $276,000
Nasser Khalili; Somasundaram Valliappan; Sik-Cheung Lo. ARC Discovery Project, 2002-2005. “A fully coupled elasto-plastic model for dynamic analysis of unsaturated soils.” $187,000
Nasser Khalili; Somasundaram Valliappan; Benjamin Loret; Adrian Russel. ARC Discovery Project, 2006-2009. “Determination of unsaturated soil properties using cone penetrometer data.” $250,000
Nasser Khalili. ARC Discovery Project, 2005-2008. “Experimental Investigation and Constitutive Modelling of Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupling Effects in Unsaturated Porous Media.” $178,000
Professional Affiliations/Organisations
Editorial Boards
Service Roles