Join Us

Join Our Lab

We are actively recruiting graduate and undergraduate students passionate about geotechnical engineering research. Whether you prefer hands-on experiments, coding, or fieldwork, there is a place for you here.

Graduate Studies

Possible Thesis Directions

Experimental

For students who enjoy hands-on testing and observing real soil behaviour

  • Soil-water characteristics and hysteresis of colluvium
  • Strength degradation under wetting-drying cycles
  • Unsaturated triaxial testing
  • Measurement technique development for dynamic element testing
  • Experimental study of sand liquefaction

Numerical Modelling

For students who enjoy programming and building models

  • Numerical simulation of rainfall-infiltrated slopes
  • Constitutive model parameter calibration
  • Machine learning and surrogate model applications
  • Numerical analysis of dynamic soil behaviour

Data Analysis & Field Monitoring

For students who enjoy fieldwork and finding patterns in data

  • Time-series analysis of field monitoring data
  • Rainfall-groundwater-displacement correlations
  • Signal processing and frequency analysis
  • Integration of monitoring data with numerical models

Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Projects

Undergraduate students are also welcome. Projects may include literature review and analysis, basic experimental work, or introductory numerical simulations. For students considering graduate studies, an undergraduate project is a great opportunity to get familiar with the lab's research rhythm.


Training

What You Will Learn

Regardless of direction, you will receive solid training in:

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Core Mechanics

Theoretical foundations of unsaturated soil mechanics or soil dynamics

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Rigorous Research Methods

Complete training from problem definition to publication

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Programming Skills

Python or MATLAB


Helping Taiwan's geotechnical engineering move from static design and reactive repair toward dynamic tracking and proactive prevention. Whether facing rainfall or earthquakes, the core question is the same β€” truly understand what the soil is doing, to make better engineering decisions.

Prerequisites: undergraduate soil mechanics and soil mechanics laboratory. Everything else, we build together in the lab.

Interested?

Feel free to reach out directly!

Prof. Ching-Yu Chao

chingyuchao@gs.ncku.edu.tw Β· +886-6-2757575 #63141

You are also welcome to visit the office for a chat!

Get in Touch