Prof Panet has a degree in civil engineering from the École des Mines de Paris and a Masters from the University of California at Berkeley. He has had roles in the private sector and academia and now works as a consultant.

He has been in charge of numerous studies in geotechnical engineering for underground works, highways, bridges, and natural hazards, including the Mont Blanc Tunnel (11.6km), the Frejus Road Tunnel (12.9km), the Large Electron–Positron Collider (CERN in Geneva), the Channel Tunnel (from 1967 to the end of the construction), the Loetschberg Base Tunnel (43km), and subways in Paris, Rennes, Caracas, Athens and Algiers.

He is the author of several publications, including “Calculation of tunnels using the convergence-confinement method”.

Professor Kyriazis Pitilakis will deliver a keynote speech on seismic design and risk assessment of tunnels and underground structures.

Professor Pitilakis is vice-president of the European Association of Earthquake Engineering, ex-chairman of the Technical Committee Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Associated Problems (TC203) of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and past president of the Greek Society of Earthquake Engineering. He is professor emeritus at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and a visiting professor at Tongji University, International Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering in Shanghai.

He has been involved in numerous European research projects in earthquake engineering, geotechnical engineering, vulnerability and risk assessment of civil engineering structures, infrastructures and lifelines.

He is also founder and co-ordinator of EUROSEISTEST, a large-scale experimental facility in earthquake engineering, soil dynamics and engineering seismology.

WTC2023 will be held at Megaron Athens International Conference Centre in Athens from May 12-18.

For more information on WTC2023, including the congress programme and technical visits, click here