Dr Zia ur Rehman

About

Dr. Zia ur Rehman is a Professional Engineer, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and an accomplished researcher with over a decade of experience in high-impact research and university-level teaching across the UK, China, and Pakistan. Recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists in Stanford University’s global database and acknowledged as a global talent in civil and geotechnical engineering by the Royal Academy of Engineering, his expertise spans the broader domains of civil and geotechnical engineering. His doctoral study at the world-leading Tsinghua University earned him the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award. Dr. Rehman's work has contributed to advancing the constitutive theory of the shear coupling effect of gravelly soil-structure interface, proposing a novel three-dimensional constitutive interface model. His research also integrates data science, AI, mathematical modelling, environmental science, and sustainability within civil and geotechnical engineering. He has authored over 70 peer-reviewed research papers, accumulating over 1950 citations (h-index: 27, i10-index: 49) in leading international journals such as Engineering Geology, Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, International Journal of Geomechanics, Computers and Geotechnics, Transportation Geotechnics, and Construction and Building Materials, among others. Dr. Rehman has supervised numerous PhD, MS, and undergraduate dissertations and has designed and delivered various undergraduate and postgraduate courses. He serves as an invited reviewer and editor for esteemed journals and as a technical and advisory committee member for prestigious international conferences. Additionally, he organizes special sessions and workshops, further contributing to advancements in his field. Beyond research and teaching, Dr. Rehman has actively contributed to quality enhancement and assessment, citizenship, and various administrative roles within academia.

Teaching responsibilities

Current Teaching Responsibilities:

Project Planning, Value Engineering and Risk Management (L7)
Construction Risk Management (L6)
Project Planning and Development (L5)

Research interests

Constitutive behaviour of soil and rock
Advanced construction materials
Physical, constitutive, and numerical modelling in geotechnics
Soil-structure interaction
Artificial intelligence in geotechnics/civil engineering
Geotechnical earthquake engineering
Transportation geotechnics
Environmental geotechnics
Sustainable waste solutions and recycling
Phase change materials
Pedagogic research

Membership of professional bodies

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)

Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)

Qualifications

BSc Civil Engineering

MSc Civil Engineering

PhD Civil Engineering

Fellow of Higher Education Academy

Recent conferences

Program and Advisory Committee Member of GeoAsia 8-Brisbine Australia

Scientific Committee Member of ICGRE Barcelona Spain

Technical Committee Member of ICAITE Kyoto Japan

International experience

He has international academic and professional experience in the UK, China, and Pakistan spanning over a decade, having worked at renowned organizations such as the University of Portsmouth (UK), Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) (ranked 12th in the world according to THE-2025), University of Engineering and Technology Taxila (Pakistan), National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, and COMSATS University Islamabad, among others.

In the media

Recent publications

Selected Publications

Rehman, Z.U.*, Khalid U., Ijaz, N., Ijaz, Z. (2025). Big data-driven global modelling of cohesive soil compaction across conceptual and arbitrary energies through machine learning. Transportation Geotechnics, 50, 101470.
Rehman, Z.U.*, Aziz, Z., Khalid U., Ijaz, N., Rehman, S., Ijaz, Z. (2024). Artificial Intelligence-Driven Enhanced CBR Modelling of Sandy Soils Considering Broad Grain Size Variability. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. (Article in press).
Rehman, Z.U.*, Junaid, M.F., Ijaz, N., Khalid U., Ijaz, N. (2023). Remediation methods of heavy metal contaminated soils from environmental and geotechnical standpoints. Science of The Total Environment, 867, 161468.
Rehman, Z.U.*, Ijaz, N., Ye, W., Ijaz, Z. (2023). Design optimization and statistical modelling of recycled waste-based additive for a variety of construction scenarios on heaving ground. Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
Rehman, Z.U.* (2023). Trends and Challenges of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Geotechnical Engineering Education. Sustainability, 15(10), 7972.
Rehman, Z.U.*, Khalid U., Ijaz, N., Hasan, M. (2022). Machine learning-based intelligent modelling of hydraulic conductivity of sandy soil considering a wide range of grain sizes. Engineering Geology, 311, 10899.
Rehman, Z.U.*, Khalid, U. (2022). Optimization of COVID-19 face mask waste fibers and silica fume as a balanced mechanical ameliorator of fat clay using response surface methodology. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29, 17001–17016.
Rehman, Z.U., Zhang, G. (2021). Three-dimensional elasto-plastic damage model for gravelly soil-structure interface considering the shear coupling effect. Computers and Geotechnics, 129, 103868.
Rehman, Z.U.*, Khalid, U. (2021). Reuse of COVID-19 face mask for the amelioration of mechanical properties of fat clay: A novel solution to an emerging waste problem. Science of The Total Environment, 148746.
Rehman, Z.U., Zhang, G. (2020). Cyclic Behaviour of the Gravel-Steel Interface under Varying Rotational Shear Paths. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 58(3), 305-316.
Rehman, Z.U.*, Lu, F., Wang, T., Zhang, G. (2020). Large-scale test study on the three-dimensional behaviour of the gravel-concrete interface of a CFR dam. International Journal of Geomechanics, 20(6): 04020046.
Rehman, Z.U., Zhang, G. (2019). Shear coupling effect of the monotonic and cyclic behaviour of the interface between the steel and gravel. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 56(6): 876-884.
Full List of Publications