Shinji Sassa is Head of Soil Dynamics Group and Research Director of International Research Center for Coastal Disasters, Port and Airport Research Institute, National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Japan. His expertise includes Landslides and Tsunamis as Multi-Geohazards and Scour and Erosion. He is the recipient of numerous distinguished awards, including the Prime Minister’s Commendations for Disaster Prevention Merit, the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Outstanding Research Accomplishment Award, Best Paper Award four times, Best Technical Development Award thrice, National Land Technology Development Award, and several Editor Awards for leading international journals. His Liquefaction Prediction and Assessment Paper was Top-Read Paper in ASCE Most Read Articles 2017, and his Landslide-induced Tsunami paper is the most cited paper on Landslides and Tsunamis in Journal Landslides. He is currently Principal Coordinator of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Task Group on Submarine Geohazards, Acting Executive Director of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), Chair of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) Network Committee, and Chair of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) Technical Committee on Scour and Erosion. Visit Personal Website

Prof,Vassilis Marinos is the President of the InternationalAssociation forEngineering Geology and the Environment(lAEG) for the 2023-2026term. He is a faculty member at the National Technical University ofAthens, specializing in Engineering Geology and Rock Mechanics. Withover 100 publications and extensive consulting experience in tunnelingandslide risk, and geohazard assessment, his work has earned globarecognition,including over 2100 citations and contributions to maior in.dustry quidelines. Prof. Marinos is actively involved in several leading in.ternational societies and editorial boards of top journals.   Visit Personal Website

Prof. He Manchao, CAS Academician, is Professor and doctoral supervisor at Tongji University’s Department of Geotechnical Engineering. He holds a PhD in Engineering Mechanics (China University of Mining and Technology, 1989), with degrees in Engineering Geology from Jilin University and an honorary doctorate from Belgium’s University of Mons (2011). His research focuses on dual-body catastrophe theory, multi-hazard monitoring, neutron rock mechanics, and large deformation disaster control in rock masses. A leading scholar, he has 136 SCI/EI papers, 118 patents (US, Hong Kong, China), and 13 monographs. Honored with National Innovation Pioneer (2017), Ho Leung Ho Lee Progress Award (2014), and national prizes, he pioneered rock mass disaster theories, developed 110/N00 pillarless mining technology (a key mining revolution), and trained over 120 graduates, with his team recognized as an Excellent Innovation Team. Visit Personal Website

Ximing Cai is the Ben Yen Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineer-ing at the University of lllinois Urbana-Champaign. His primary researchareais water resources systems analysis, with a focus on coupled hydrol-ogy-human systems. He has been developing and applying systems-based and data-driven methods to various water resources man.agement problems, including the food-energy-water nexus, river basinmanagement,reservoir operations, drought mitigation, and interdepen.dent infrastructure planning. Cai's interdisciplinary work bridges hydrol0gy and economics to unravel complex environmental and water-re.sources systems and to inform sound management policies, He waselected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2019 forforging a new science of hydrologic change that accounts for human interactions and advances water-re.sources management, and a Fellow of the International Water Resources Association (lRWA) in 2024 foroutstanding research and leadership in global water-resources management, His honors include the2023 lulian Hinds Award from the American Society of civil Engineers and the 2024 Warren A. Hall Medafrom the University Council on Water Resources, both recoanizing his contributions to interdisciplinarwater resources research, He currently chairs lWRA's Task Force on Downscaling the SDGs to NationalBasin, and Local Scales. Visit Personal Website

Prof. Zhang Limin, PhD in Geotechnical Engineering (Chengdu University of Science and Technology, 1989), is Head and Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at HKUST, holding the Wilson H. Tang Professorship. He directs the Digital Cities and Smart Hazard Mitigation Laboratory and is Associate Director of the GREAT Smart Cities Institute. His research focuses on geotechnical engineering, with expertise in landslide risks, debris flow, slope stability, foundations, and climate impact assessment. A prolific scholar, he has published extensively in top journals (e.g., Engineering Geology, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing), covering landslide detection, slope simulation, and hazard mitigation, bridging geotechnics with smart technologies. Visit Personal Website

Professor Joshua WestProfessor Joshua West conducts pioneering research at the intersection of Earth's landscapes, water-soil resources, carbon cycling, and climate. His work focuses on: The dynamic interplay between mountains and floodplains, examining topographic evolution, material flux regulation, and natural hazards; Reconstructing patterns of climatic change through geologic time and the co-evolution of life and carbon cycles. His scientific exploration centers on sustainable management of natural resources, with research outputs and teaching spanning energy systems and hydrology—seamlessly integrating academic inquiry with pedagogy. West’s transformative findings appear in premier journals including Nature, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, and Science Advances, providing foundational support for advancements in these disciplines. Visit Personal Website

Prof. Gretchen Kalonji currently serves as a Strategic Development Advisor at Sichuan University and a Special Advisor to the International Research Center for Big Data on Sustainable Development. She has previously held positions such as Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO and Dean of the College of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Sichuan University. Prof. Gretchen Kalonji's research focuses on disaster science and management, among other fields. The "Comprehensive Disaster Science and Management" project, part of the Double First-Class discipline development initiative, which she participated in, has laid an important foundation for improving the disciplinary system and deepening academic research in this field. The follow-up research on the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake has provided valuable practical experience and theoretical support for the scientific reconstruction and sustainable development of the earthquake-stricken areas. Visit Personal Website

T.C. Hales is an interdisciplinary scientist and Professor of Environmental Hazards, interested understanding the relationship between ecological and social systems and environmental hazards.  T.C. works on two major projects that focus on the interplay between land use decisions and erosion by rivers and landslides. His work on the lower Kinabatangan River in Malaysian Borneo seeks to understand the drivers and effects of tropical deforestation on erosion and sequestration of carbon within soils. As Chair of the Regrow Borneo project, he is applying this research to develop a community reforestation programme to restore forests and sequester carbon. His work on erosional processes after the 2008 magnitude 7.9 Wenchuan Earthquake has investigated how persistent landslides and mudflows affect the vulnerability of communities recovering from earthquakes. He directed the Sustainable Places Research Institute in 2020-2021.