Category: News

We’re delighted to welcome Sterling as an officially approved industry partner of the ARC Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS).

Through the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Program , Sterling now joins the Hub in collaboration with a respected Australian rail operator and researchers at the University of Melbourne to deliver an exciting new initiative:

“Digital Twin for Bridge Health Monitoring”

This project will demonstrate a live Digital Twin platform that integrates calibrated 3D structural models with real-time sensor data to monitor bridge performance. By combining structural analytics with IoT-enabled sensing, the system will help shift rail infrastructure management from reactive inspections to predictive, risk-based maintenance.

The project brings together strong leadership from both industry and academia. Raphael Woon of Sterling will help guide the practical engineering and deployment aspects, working closely with Dr Maryam Nasim (University of Melbourne, Centre for SDIs and Land Administration), who leads the Digital Twin and structural analytics development .

Together with the RIIS Hub research community, this collaboration represents a significant step toward smarter, more resilient rail infrastructure.

We warmly welcome Sterling to the Hub and look forward to the impact this partnership will deliver.

UNSW Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Rabindra Lamsal, together with Prof. Sisi Zlatanova, recently presented an update on their research project,

“Geospatial Intelligence to Support Machine–Human Native Conversation”, at the FrontierSI staff meeting.

The project aims to design a conversational system that enables natural language interaction with complex geospatial datasets. It is structured in two phases:
(i) developing a conversational system for Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) models; and
(ii) extending this capability to support combined 3D city models and IFC models.

The presentation focused on the completion of the first phase.

Working with IFC models typically requires substantial technical expertise, including proficiency in specialised BIM tools, software libraries and programming environments. These barriers often limit meaningful engagement with IFC data to technical specialists. While Large Language Models (LLMs) present new opportunities for natural language interaction, their limited context capacity — combined with the large size and structural complexity of raw IFC files — makes it impractical to directly ingest entire IFC datasets for querying.

To address this challenge, the research team developed a hybrid relational–graph LLM framework for natural language querying of IFC models. Rather than relying on raw file input, the framework transforms IFC data into structured relational and graph database representations that are more efficient for LLM-based traversal and reasoning. This architectural approach enables scalable, accurate querying without exceeding model limitations.

An implementation of the framework was demonstrated during the presentation. Testing across three IFC models of varying sizes achieved accuracy rates between 93.3% and 100%, demonstrating both robustness and adaptability.

The hybrid framework represents the principal contribution of Phase One and the associated manuscript is currently under journal review. In parallel, the team has developed a complementary semantic retrieval helper system for the IFC schema, designed to enhance performance in similar LLM-based querying frameworks. This supporting work has been accepted for publication in the *Annals of the ISPRS Congress 2026*.

The session provided FrontierSI staff with a comprehensive overview of progress to date and set the foundation for Phase Two of the project, which will extend the conversational system to integrated 3D CityGML and IFC environments.

The RIIS Hub proudly congratulates Prof. Dr. Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, Director of Geospatial Advisory and Innovation at Woolpert Asia-Pacific and RIIS Hub Partner Investigator, on his recent appointments to two prestigious international leadership roles in the geospatial sector.

Prof. Zaffar has been elected Chair of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management – Geospatial Societies (UN-GGIM:GS) and Vice Chair of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Board of Directors. These appointments reflect his visionary leadership and longstanding contributions to global geospatial governance and innovation.

As Chair of UN-GGIM:GS, Prof. Zaffar will lead a coalition that represents a unified voice on geospatial matters to the United Nations and other global stakeholders. His work will support the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management in shaping international geospatial policy and collaboration.

In his role as Vice Chair of the OGC Board, he will help guide the organisation’s governance, financial sustainability, and strategic direction. Prof. Zaffar shared:

“I deem it a great privilege to serve OGC as Vice Chair of the Board. I look forward to working with our new Chair, Ed Parsons, my fellow Board Directors, and the OGC leadership team to position OGC as a resilient organisation – one defined by sustainable finance, strong governance, a member-first approach, and global thought leadership in geospatial.”

These global appointments are a testament to Prof. Zaffar’s impact and leadership in the geospatial community. His achievements continue to elevate the profile of Australian geospatial expertise on the world stage.

The RIIS Hub celebrates this milestone and is honoured to collaborate with Prof. Zaffar in advancing geospatial innovation and research.

The ARC Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS Hub) is proud to celebrate the remarkable achievements of three of our outstanding researchers who have recently completed their PhDs at UNSW Sydney. These graduates have made significant contributions to advancing the frontiers of infrastructure resilience, construction monitoring, and structural health assessment.

🎓 Dr Ziang (Blake) Jiang

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr Ziang (Blake) Jiang on the successful completion of his PhD. Pictured on graduation day with his supervisor, RIIS Hub Chief Investigator Associate Professor Johnson Xuesong Shen, Blake has made impactful contributions to the field of infrastructure monitoring.

His research focused on real-time construction progress monitoring for infrastructure projects. Through extensive field trials on transport infrastructure sites, Blake utilised terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and handheld simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) laser scanners to collect high-resolution spatial data. His work demonstrated the potential of integrating point cloud scan data with 4D Building Information Modelling (BIM) to enable timely and automated progress tracking on large-scale construction projects.

We wish Blake every success as he embarks on the next stage of his professional journey.

🎓 Dr Andres Felipe Calderon Hurtado

Congratulations to Dr Andres Felipe Calderon Hurtado on achieving his PhD! Andres has been a valued member of the RIIS Hub, where his research has focused on data-driven methodologies for structural health monitoring of bridges.

His thesis, “Development of Advanced Data-Driven Methodology for Bridge Damage Assessment Using Drive-By Bridge Inspection,” explored the use of vehicle-mounted sensors and unsupervised learning frameworks to detect and assess bridge damage through dynamic signal analysis. This innovative approach offers a scalable and efficient solution for bridge condition assessment, with the potential to transform how infrastructure is monitored and maintained.

We especially enjoyed seeing the graduation photo of Andres with RIIS Hub Chief Investigator Dr Mehri Makki Alamdari – a proud moment for both student and mentor.

🎓 Dr Mahdi Zakerzadeh

A warm congratulations to Dr Mahdi Zakerzadeh on completing his PhD in Civil Engineering. Mahdi’s research journey has been marked by dedication, innovation, and a strong connection to industry.

Supervised by Scientia Professor Nasser Khalili and Dr Babak Shahbodagh, and supported by industry partner Kypreos Group, Mahdi’s work has contributed to the advancement of road and pavement engineering. His research bridged the gap between academic inquiry and real-world application, exemplifying the RIIS Hub’s mission to deliver impactful, industry-relevant outcomes.

Mahdi’s reflections on the support of his supervisors, colleagues, and family highlight the collaborative spirit that underpins success in research. His graduation photo with Professor Khalili captures the pride and camaraderie shared by the RIIS Hub community.

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We are incredibly proud of Blake, Andres, and Mahdi for their achievements and contributions to the RIIS Hub. Their success reflects the strength of our research community and the value of our partnerships across academia and industry.

 

 

Milad Mousavi, a RIIS Hub student and researcher from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNSW Sydney, was honored with the Best Presentation Award at the 10th International Conference on Machine Learning Technologies (ICMLT 2025), held in Helsinki, Finland from May 23–25, 2025. His paper, “Online Deep Transfer Learning and Multi-Sensor Analysis for Enhanced Underground Monitoring,” introduces a novel approach to improving safety and efficiency in underground environments.

Tackling the Challenges of Underground Monitoring

Underground operations, such as coal mining, face significant challenges due to complex spatial layouts, unpredictable geological conditions, and hazardous gas emissions—particularly methane. Traditional monitoring systems often struggle with data scarcity and adaptability, especially during the early stages of operation.
Milad’s research addresses these limitations by integrating multi-sensor analysis with online transfer learning, enabling real-time prediction and monitoring of methane concentrations. His model leverages a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network trained on data from a Polish coal mine and fine-tuned using online learning with data from a Chinese coal mine.

Key Innovations and Results

The study demonstrates that combining historical data with real-time updates significantly enhances prediction accuracy. Notably:

– The online transfer learning model achieved an R² score of 0.93, indicating high reliability in methane concentration predictions.
– The model trained with transfer learning showed faster performance improvements compared to models trained from scratch.
– This approach helps mitigate the “cold start” problem in new underground projects, where data is initially limited.
By continuously adapting to new data, the model supports timely interventions, reduces false alarms, and improves operational efficiency—ultimately contributing to safer underground environments.

A Vision for the Future

Milad’s work, as a RIIS Hub student supported by the ARC Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS), sets a new benchmark for intelligent underground monitoring. His presentation at ICMLT 2025 not only showcased technical excellence but also highlighted the practical impact of machine learning in infrastructure resilience and safety.
As underground operations become increasingly digitized, innovations like Milad’s will play a crucial role in shaping the future of smart, adaptive monitoring systems.

We’re very proud of students who have been able explain their complex research simply, in less than 3 minutes, with no notes and using only one slide ….and wow a crowd while competing in the UNSW Civil and Environmental Engineering #3MT competition (Heat), hosted by The Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety (#CIES).

Among them were:

🔵 Higher Degree Researcher/PhD student Kartika Nur Rahma Putri spoke to her work in Automated Material Management in Construction

 

🔵 Higher Degree Researcher (#HDR)/PhD student Yiyang Liu spoke to his work developing Rubberized Geopolymer Concrete Pipe Using Dry-Cast Technology

 

We congratulate event winners, and wish them luck as they progress into the next round. We also acknowledge the efforts of all students taking part in 3MT competitions. It’s inspiring to see how passionate students are for creating change during their three-minute #PhD Thesis introductions, where they explain their research in simple terms to an audience and panel of judges, including how their research is unique, why it is important and how it could be used to improve the world 👏

Some of the other 3MT competitors and their UNSW and RIIS Hub: Resilient and intelligent infrastructure systems colleagues, including Heat competition judge, RIIS Hub Chief Investigator Mehri Makki Alamdari and event Emcee RIIS Hub Chief Investigator Johnson Xuesong Shen.

 

 

 

 

Winners of the 3MT Competition:

1st Place: Tareq Khondoker

2nd Place: MD. Ibrahim Mostazid

3rd Place: Gunja Shah

4th Place: Mikael Gilbert

They will advance to represent the centre in the School Round on Friday, 6 June 2025. We wish them the very best!

The Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety (CIES) is a research centre focused on understanding and developing ways to investigate and predict the behaviour of #engineering #infrastructure under a range of conditions. Located at the UNSW Australia’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, CIES projects incorporate a number of engineering disciplines – from structural engineering to geotechnical engineering, and engineering materials to computational mechanics

We were privileged to have a seminar presented to RIIS Hub members at UNSW Sydney on Friday 14th February 2025.

Prof Alexander Scheuermann is a recognised expert in geotechnical and environmental engineering renowned for his expertise in the development, modification, and application of electrical and electromagnetic measurement methods for various applications. Since 2010, he has held a position at the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland, where he heads the GeoSystems Group. This group is dedicated to investigating complex multiphysical processes in porous media across the scales, including processes under unsaturated conditions. His academic journey commenced at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, where he completed his Habilitation Thesis on “Spatial Time Domain Reflectometry (Spatial TDR) in Geohydraulics and Geomechanics”. For the advancement of the Spatial TDR technology for key industries in Queensland he was awarded the Queensland Smart Futures Fellowship in 2012, and he was invited to join the Technical Committee of the International Society for Electromagnetic Aquametry (ISEMA) for his contributions to this research field. He was awarded the prestigious ARC Future Fellowship in 2018 on the topic of erosion. Prof Scheuermann is Editor of Acta Geotechnica and Associate Editor of the Journal of Geophysics and Engineering.

Publications

RIIS Hub students took part in a Poster competition during our end of year workshop, with judges ranking entrants on 2 key qualities:
* Effective communication when describing their research: Actively engagement with the audience, inviting questions and spurring discussions
* Poster is visually attractive, well-balanced with text and graphics enhancing the understanding of the content

Winning Poster: Vladislav Alekseev
Research Poster Title: Seismic Data Denoising with a Single-Shot Deep Learning Approach: Double-DIP
Research Insight:
Denoising is an essential step in seismic data interpretation. We proposed a novel deep learning approach where one neural network predicts the clean signal while another estimates the original noise. This single-shot method requires no additional training data, working directly on a single image. It effectively preserves structural information while achieving superior denoising performance.
Industry partner on this project: Kumul Petroleum

Runner Up Poster: Amir Fila
Research Poster Title: A Graph Theory Approach for Aerial Point Cloud Segmentation and Processing
Research insight:
The majority of research on aerial point cloud data segmentation uses the term ‘complexity’ vaguely by abstractly assigning higher complexity to those point cloud datasets with higher computation requirements. As part of my PhD research, I aim to provide a mathematical approach, leveraging graph theory and Laplacian matrix analysis, to address the complexity elements inherent in aerial LiDAR captures. This approach will serve as a valuable tool for understanding complexity across different sections of a given point cloud dataset, ultimately aiding in noise recognition and boundary detection processes.
Industry partner on this project: Woolpert Asia-Pacific / Woolpert

Congratulations both on your work. We also thank our industry partners for supporting RIIS Hub research, practical research application and educational opportunities.

Vlad and Amir are pictured with their posters as they are congratulated by RIIS Hub colleagues: Hub Director Prof. Nasser Khalili, Hub Deputy Director Prof. Abbas Rajabifard, and Hub Chief Investigators Prof. Sisi Zlatanova and Prof. Bijan Samali.

The RIIS Hub held their 2024 wrap up event at The Coogee Bay Hotel, Sydney.

The Director and Deputy Director of our Research Institute started the day with a warm welcome and an update on our latest research achievements. This set the stage for a day filled with insightful presentations and networking opportunities.

We were pleased to introduce key members of our team and industry partners:

• Garry Mostyn: Chair of the Industry Advisory Board, who gave a summary of his expertise and what he will contribute to the future research direction of the hub.
• New Chief Investigators and Researchers who gave brief presentations on their research interests and the projects they would be participating in in 2025

                     Arman Khoshghalb – Associate Professor – UNSW Sydney

                    Jing Zhao –  ARC DECRA Fellow – UNSW Sydney

                    Huadong Mo – Senior Lecturer – UNSW Canberra

Our industry partners shared their latest innovations and research:

                   Dr Govinda Pandey – Rockfield Technologies Australia Pty Ltd – Chief Executive Officer

                   James Linke – GeoAI – Chief Technology Officer & Chief Financial Officer

                   Huadong Mo on behalf of Dr James Ciyu Qin – Advanced United Technologies Pty Ltd – Process Control and System Optimisation Specialist

We stopped for lunch which proved to be a great opportunity to network and discuss the morning’s presentations.

The RIIS poster competition was held from 2pm where Higher Degree Research (HDR) students presented their posters, showcasing their cutting-edge research projects. This session was a highlight of the day, offering a glimpse into the future of our field.  Our thanks to Arman Khoshghalb for convening this session.

The day concluded with A dinner which was a relaxing and enjoyable end to a productive day providing further opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Australia is a land of ‘droughts and flooding rains’*, and when they occur soils can swell or shrink, which can result in damage to buildings and homes, and pose a risk to human life.

The personal and collective financial cost of addressing flood-related structural damage to homes is not limited to Australia. It is an international challenge.
Damage to infrastructure could be minimised or avoided with a better understanding of soil behaviour under different conditions, and RIIS Hub is contributing to global learning on the topic.
To further explore international learnings on the topic, RIIS Hub team recently welcomed eminent scholar and researcher in soil-related structural impacts Associate Professor Mathilde Morvan from the Pascal Institute & POLYTECH Clermont in France to explore potential solutions.
A/Prof Morvan’s current research seeks to develop a better understanding of soil characterisation. She is also looking to develop new, inexpensive diagnostic methods that can predict swelling soils near detached houses.
A/Prof. Morvan’s work has close alignment to some of the and predictive techniques being developed in RIIS Hub’s Theme 3 Research program, where researchers are exploring the effect of temperature on the movement of soils using a thermo-plasticity model as part of flaw detection and failure avoidance research.
During her Seminar to the RIIS Hub team, A/Prof Morvan shared

• The cost of damage due to soil shrinkage and swelling on detached houses is the highest among natural disasters in France after floods.
• While methods for characterising these soils exist, they are generally not affordable for most households, and as a result, this foundational soil understanding is often neglected at building and planning development stages.
• One objective of A/Prof. Morvan’s work is to provide a methodology for characterising these soils, and to find simple. Another is to find affordable methods to help spur more due diligence soil investigations to inform structural planning and help prevent damage to homes during disasters.
• A current project proposes to develop a method for monitoring individual houses in high-risk areas, with the aim of providing reliable data.

Following the presentation A/Prof. Morvan spent 1:1 time collaborating with members of the RIIS Hub team, exploring future research and data sharing.
RIIS Hub Director Prof. Nasser Khalili shared:
“We want to make flood affected dwellings are as ‘safe as houses’, and ensure Aussies and their homes are better-prepared to weather future storms.
“Building a collaborative and close-working relationship with other researchers working on related infrastructure resilience projects is a practical way to expand and share knowledge and learnings at scale, and inform the development of more robust technical solutions to solve similar problems.”

Theme 3 RIIS Hub Research involves multiple universities in NSW (UNSW, UNSW Sydney, Western Sydney University) as well as QUT in Queensland. We note that this visit was made possible thanks to NSW Chief Scientist ‘RAAP’ funding.
Theme 3 RIIS Hub researchers are designing and applying:
• Modelling, simulations, and prognostics
• Predictive modelling simulation & performance assessment
• Physics-informed artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning & explanation