Itai Einav is working at the University of Sydney as a professor of geomechanics and as the Director of Sydney Centre in Geomechanics and Mining Materials (SciGEM). Itai’s research focus is on the physics of porous and granular materials including sand, clay, rocks, and snow. His current research encompasses the granular physics of mineral processes, the hydrodynamics of unsaturated soils, the science of collapse in brittle porous media, the origin of geotechnical failures and natural disasters such as earthquake faulting and landslides in soils, and avalanches in snow. Itai has received many international awards for his research, including the George Stephenson Medal from the Institute of Civil Engineers of the UK, and the prestigious Alert Medal by ALERT Geomaterials as the first Australian recipient.