Mechanical and Civil Engineering Seminar

Title: "Imaging Soil Plus Something Else: Ice Lenses And Plant Roots"

Abstract: In this talk, I will present results from two studies that use time-series X-ray tomography to observe processes unfolding inside soil. The first examines the progressive formation of ice lenses in clay during freezing. The second follows the growth of a plant root as it navigates through sand. In both cases, the technique allows us to look inside the material as the processes evolve, capturing their dynamics in four dimensions. Combined with targeted image analysis, these observations provide both qualitative insight and quantitative measurements, offering a deeper understanding of how soil deforms and interacts with water/ice and living roots over time.

Bio: Gioacchino (Cino) Viggiani was born in Napoli, Italy, and earned his MSc in Civil Engineering from Università di Napoli Federico II. He received his PhD from Sapienza Università di Roma and his H.D.R. from Université Joseph Fourier. He has been Professor at Université Grenoble Alpes since 2004, conducting research at Laboratoire 3SR on the mechanics of geomaterials.

After postdoctoral work in the USA and France, he pioneered experimental and imaging techniques linking microscale processes to macroscopic geomaterial behavior. He has published extensively, supervised many graduate researchers, and co-founded the journals Acta Geotechnica and Open Geomechanics. He founded and directs the international master's program "Geomechanics, Civil Engineering and Risks" at UGA. He has held major leadership roles, including serving as head of 3SR and president of ALERT-Geomaterials.