Staff Profile

I graduated in Civil Engineering in 2007 (5-years degree). I have a PG Diploma in Railway Engineering, an MSc and a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering and a PG Diploma in Academic Practice. In my PhD I studied experimentally the micro-mechanics of clays and transitional soils and I also worked with constitutive modelling. I have an international network of collaborations with researchers and research institutions in the field of geotechnical engineering, plant science, material science, geophysics, engineering geology, petroleum engineering, and mining. My research ambition is to understand geo-hazards fundamental processes and implement approaches that are low carbon and biodiversity enhancing to mitigate those hazards.

My research is largely experimental and focuses on understanding the main bio-thermo-fluid-mechanical processes behind major geohazards. Currently I am looking at two key aspects: (1) monitoring to assess and mitigate the geohazard and (2) investigating the fundamentals to mitigate hazards via engineered materials. 

My research vision is that new approaches to civil infrastructure design should look holistically at solutions for: net-zero carbon infrastructures, climate change adaptation and, net-gain biodiversity.

My current research interests include:

• Nature-based solutions to mitigate geotechnical hazards
• Sustainable and accessible approaches for infrastructure monitoring
• Geomaterial behaviour and its interaction with the changing environment
• Soil biodiversity

My teaching mission is to encourage open minds and creative thinkers who will meet the challenges of their generation. The goal of my teaching, and centre of my teaching philosophy, is active learning.

Undergraduate Teaching

• CEG3203: Foundation Design

Project Supervision

• CEG8099: MEng Investigative Research Project

Postgraduate teaching

• CEG8210: Advanced Geomechanics
• CEG8218: Foundation Design

Project Supervision

• CEG8296: MSc Project in Geotechnical Engineering
• CEG8297: MSc Project in Engineering Geology

• Articles

  • Chrusciak MR, Luz HKM, Souza RD, Lopes BCFL. The development and evaluation of an educational board game on basic geotechnical soil characterization. Soils and rocks 2024, 47(2), e2024003723.
  • Lopes BCFL, Kühn VO, Queiroz ACG, Caicedo B, Codrão-Neto MP. Structure evaluation of a tropical residual soil under wide range of compaction conditions. Géotechnique Letters 2022, 12(2), 106-113.
  • Menendez OH, Lopes BCFL, Caicedo B, Cordão-Neto MP. Microscopic and mineralogical characteristics behind the engineering properties of a compacted andesitic volcanic soil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 2022, 115, 103752.
  • Kühn VO, Lopes BCFL, Caicedo B, Cordão-Neto MP. Mechanical behaviour of bimodal kaolin clay with aggregates. Engineering Geology 2022, 297, 106490.
  • Dainese R, Lopes BCFL, Fourcaud T, Tarantino A. Evaluation of instruments for monitoring the soil-plant continuum. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment 2022, 30, 100256.
  • Cardoso GAF, Lopes BCFL. ERT Feasibility Study to Assess Unknown Bridge Foundation Depth. Journal of Bridge Engineering 2022, 27(7), 06022002.
  • Dainese R, Lopes BCFL, Tedeschi G, Lamarque LJ, Delzon S, Fourcaud T, Tarantino A. Cross-validation of the high-capacity tensiometer and thermocouple psychrometer for continuous monitoring of xylem water potential in saplings. Journal of Experimental Botany 2022, 73(1), 400-412.
  • Lopes BCFL, Tarantino A. Stability analysis of a cave excavated in granular cohesionless material. Géotechnique 2021, 71(12), 1085-1098.
  • Kühn VO, Lopes BCFL, Borges CR, Massocco NS, Cordão-Neto MP. Relationship between pore-size distribution and compressibility of a lateritic soil. Géotechnique Letters 2021, 11(4), 326-332.
  • Capotosto A, Lopes BCFL, Tarantino A. Proof-of-concept for a probe to measure pore water pressure in oil-water saturated porous rock. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 2021, 198, 108183.
  • Kühn VO, Lopes BCFL, Caicedo B, Cordão-Neto MP. Micro-structural and volumetric behaviour of bimodal artificial soils with aggregates. Engineering Geology 2021, 288, 106139.
  • Monteiro CB, Oleinik PH, Leal TF, Kirinus EP, Toldo-Júnior EE, William CM, Lopes BCFL. Susceptibility to oil spill spreading using case studies and simulated scenarios. Environmental Pollution 2020, 267, 115451.
  • Monteiro CB, Oleinik PH, Leal TF, Marques WC, Nicolodi JL, Lopes BCFL. Integrated environmental vulnerability to oil spills in sensitive areas. Environmental Pollution 2020, 267, 115238.
  • Amabile A, Lopes BCFL, Pozzato A, Benes V, Tarantino A. An assessment of ERT as a method to monitor water content regime in flood embankments: The case study of the Adige River embankment. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 2020, 120, 102930.
  • Lopes BCFL, Sachet C, Sentenac P, Benes V, Dick P, Bertrand J, Tarantino A. Preliminary non-intrusive geophysical electrical resistivity tomography surveys of a mock-up scale monitoring of an engineered barrier system at URL Tournemire. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 2018, 482, 331-345.

• Book Chapters

  • Tarantino A, Casarella A, Pedrotti M, Di Donna A, Pagano P, Lopes BCFL, Magnanimo V. Clay Micromechanics: An Analysis of Elementary Mechanisms of Clay Particle Interactions to Gain Insight into Compression Behaviour of Clay. In: Barla M; Di Donna A; Sterpi D, ed. Challenges and Innovations in Geomechanics. Cham: Springer, 2021, pp.183-201.
  • Lopes BCFL, Cordão-Neto MP. Numerical analysis of unsaturated soil behaviour under large deformations. In: Caicedo,B; Murillo,C; Hoyos,L; Colmenares,JE; Berdugo,IR, ed. Advances in Unsaturated Soils. London: CRC Press, 2013.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Lopes BCFL, Lopes LCFL, Tarantino A. Indirect measurements of water content using TDR-inferred dielectric permittivity and electrical resistivity. In: 7th International Symposium on Deformation Characteristics of Geomaterials. 2019, Glasgow: EDP Sciences.
  • Lopes BCFL, Cordão-Neto MP, Tarantino A. An approach to detect micro- and macro-porosity from MIP data. In: Unsaturated Soils : Research & Applications. 2014, Sydney: CRC Press.