Associate Professor Sivakugan received his Bachellor's degree in Civil Engineering from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, with First Class Honours, and MSCE and PhD from Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA. His writings include eight books, seven book chapters, 150 refereed international journal papers, 100 refereed international conference papers, and more than 100 consulting reports.  His books (see Amazon.com), published through Cengage, Springer, Taylor&Francis, and J Ross, are adopted as text in many universities world-wide.

Siva has supervised 16 PhDs to completion, including two Cum Laudes, and has examined 50 Australian and overseas PhDs. He is a registered professional engineer of Queensland; a chartered professional engineer; and a Fellow of Engineers Australia, and American Society of Civil Engineers. He does substantial consulting work for the geotechnical and mining companies, and was a consultant to the World Bank. He is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering (Taylor & Francis, UK) and serves in the editorial boards of Canadian Geotechnical Journal, International Journal of Geosyntehtics and Ground Engineering (Springer), and Indian Geotechnical Journal (Springer). 

Teaching

• CS3002: Soil Mechanics and Geology (Level 3; TSV)
• CS4001: Foundation Engineering and Rock Mechanics (Level 4; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Consultancy work in geotechnical and mining engineering.
• Writing books for academics, researchers, professional engineers and students.

Research

• Consolidation and shear strength of soils, seepage through soils, bearing capacity and settlement of shallow foundations, testing soils and rocks, backfilling underground voids in mining, computational geomechanics.
• Mentoring and nurturing good quality PhDs with life-long commitment to excel in research.

Teaching

• Inspiring the budding civil engineers through geotechnical engineering education.
• Guiding our graduates in subject selection, vacation employment, and career prospects.

Experience

• 2006 to 2013 - Associate Professor, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2003 to 2013 - Head, Civil & Environmental Engineering, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 1998 to 2005 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)

Research Disciplines

• Civil engineering (4005)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Construction design (1202)

Fellowships

• Fellow, Engineers Australia
• Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers

Memberships

• Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland
• Chartered Professional Engineer
• Australian Geomechanics Society
• American Society of Civil Engineers

Other

• The Associate Editor, International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Maney Publications (UK)
• Editorial Board Member, Environmental Geotechnics, ICE (UK)
• Editorial Board Member, Indian Geotechnical Journal, Springer
• Ozreader, Australian Research Council. Assessed LP, DP, DECRA, Future Fellows, CoE and LE projects.
• Assessor, European Science Foundation
• Consultant for World Bank

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Behera R, Patra C, Das B and Sivakugan N (2021) Ultimate bearing capacity of shallow strip foundation under eccentrically inclined load - a critical assessment. International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 15 (7), pp. 897-905, DOI:10.1080/19386362.2018.1549693.
• Malekzadeh M, Sivakugan S and Clark M (in press) Effect of aqeous environment on sedimentation of dredged mud and kaolinite. Marine Georesources & Geotechnology, , DOI:10.1080/1064119X.2021.1877855.
• Mutjaba H, Javed M, Farooq K, Sivakugan N and Das B (2021) Axial capacity evaluation of rock-socketed cast-in-situ concrete piles. Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 58 (2), pp. 152-158, DOI:10.1007/s11204-021-09720-4.
• Niroshan N, Sivakugan N and Veenstra R (2021) Effects of curing methods on UCS test specimens and variability of mechanical properties of cemented paste backfill. International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 15 (9), pp. 1188-1197, DOI:10.1080/19386362.2019.1666558.
• Farooq M, Mujtaba H, Farooq K, Sivakugan N and Das B (2020) Evaluation of stability and erosion characteristics of soil embankment slope reinforced with different natural additives. Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering, 44, pp. 515-524, DOI:10.1007/s40996-019-00340-5.
• Madanayaka T and Sivakugan N (2020) Validity of the method of fragments for seepage analysis in circular cofferdams. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 38, pp. 1547-1565, DOI:10.1007/s10706-019-01111-9.
• Mujtaba H, Farooq K, Sivakugan N and Das B (2020) Laboratory and field investigations in granular soils to correlate relative density, relative compaction and grain size. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 62 (2), Article: 0516, pp. 12-21, DOI:10.17159/2309-8775/2020/v62n2a2.

Book Chapters

• Ameratunga J and Sivakugan N (2021) Replacement. In: Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement. CRC Press, Abingdon, UK, pp. 117-136
• Ameratunga J and Sivakugan N (2021) Ground improvement methods for soft clays. In: Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement. CRC Press, Abingdon, UK, pp. 99-116
• Ameratunga J and Sivakugan N (2021) Parameter derivation. In: Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement. CRC Press, Abingdon, UK, pp. 67-97
• Ameratunga J and Sivakugan N (2021) Geotechnical testing. In: Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement. CRC Press, Abingdon, UK, pp. 49-65
• Ameratunga J and Sivakugan N (2021) Basic soil mechanics. In: Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement. CRC Press, Abingdon, UK, pp. 31-48

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 229+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Siva Sivakugan from 2001 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Strengthening of timber bridge girders through the use of fibre reinforced polymers (PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• Loadings on the Mine Fill Barricades (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Linked Simulation- optimization methodology for reactive contaminant source characterization and optimal design of monitoring networks in abandoned mine sites (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Development of integrated methodologies for optimal characterization of reactive contaminant sources and monitoring network design in polluted aquifer sites (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Sedimentation and consolidation behaviour of fly ash-based geopolymer stabilised dredged mud (2019, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Optimal identification of unknown groundwater contaminant sources in conjunction with designed monitoring networks (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Seepage criteria based optimal design of water retaining structures with reliability quantification utilizing surrogate model linked simulation-optimization approach (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Development of a sustainable groundwater management strategy and sequential compliance monitoring to control saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Cemented paste backfill modification using different types of binders and insight into its mechanical, micro-structure, and flow properties (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Electrokinetic dewatering and consolidation of dredged marine sediments (2017, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Development of sustainable groundwater management methodologies to control saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers with application to a tropical Pacific island country (2019, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Influence of pozzolans and plasticizer on the performance of paste backfill in underground mines (2020, Masters , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Use of waste glass as aggregate and cement replacement in concrete (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• Method of fragments (MoF) solutions for double-walled, circular and rectangular cofferdam seepage problems (2019, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.