Dr. Jiapei Du earned two PhD degrees in Geotechnical Engineering from RMIT and Petroleum Engineer-ing from China University of Petroleum in June 2023 and December 2019, respectively. Since July 2023, he has served as a postdoctoral research fellow at RMIT University. His major research interests include nanoscale characterization and modelling of expansive soil behavior, and the development of nano-engineered cementing materials for complex geological environments. Dr. Du has authored 41 peer-reviewed journal papers, with 88% of these published in SJR Q1 journals, serving as the first and corresponding author for 30 of them. His interdisciplinary work, which spans geotechnical engineering, soil science, physical chemistry, mathematics, and construction technology, has gained about 880 citations on Google Scholar, earning him an h-index of 18.

Dr. Du’s research has achieved international recognition, as demonstrated by his presentations at international conferences and workshops, including ANZ Geomechanics 2023, UniMelb workshop 2021, ARC Smart Pavements Hub Workshop 2020, 2021, 2022 and the 2017 International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference. He has received several prestigious awards, such as the Australia Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award, Science and Technology Award from the China Association of Oceanic Engineering, HDR Engineering Prize from RMIT University, the Featured People in ARC Smart Pavements Hub, the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Student Abroad, and the Cover Page Article in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

As the principal inventor, Dr. Du has secured 6 patents, including a notable invention - a novel cementing technology tailored for deep-sea soils - commercialized in the Lingshui 17-2 offshore gas field, which has significantly benefited the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. He has served as a Guest Editor for Frontiers in Materials (Q2) and Frontiers in Chemistry (Q1), and as a reviewer for 7 Q1 journals.