Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

Profile

General Information

I am a principal lecturer in Engineering Geology and am the Applied Geoscience Programme manager. My principal lecturing and research areas include Quaternary Geology and engineering geomorphology, landslides and slope stability, contaminated land, risk analysis and assessment, geohazard management and remediation, spatial data modelling, geostatistical techniques, geographical information systems, remote sensing and image analysis. As the Applied Geoscience Programme manager I am responsible for the BEng Engineering Geology and Geotechnics and BSc Geological Hazards Pathways.

Teaching

I am the Unit Co-ordinator and Lecturer for:

• Level 1: Geological Hazards and Engineering Geology (1GS135)
• Level 2: Engineering Stratigraphy (1GS219)
• Level 2: Professional Skills for Applied Geoscientists (BGS238)
• Level 3: Contaminated Land (1GS312)
• Level 3: Landslides and Slope Stability (BGS367)
• Level 3: Applied Geoscience Project (BGS357)
• Level 3: Applied Geoscience Study Tour (2GS340)
• Level M: Fundamentals of Contaminated Land (1GS418)

I also teach on the following units:

• Level 1: Terrain Studies (2GS107) Level 3: Risk Analysis and Assessment (1GS314)
• Level M: Engineering Geomorphology (2GS411)
• Level M: Landslide Geohazards

Fieldwork

I am actively involved in a variety of residential and one-day field courses for the Applied Geoscience undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as well as being the Field Meeting Convenor for the Engineering Group of the Geological Society.

Current field trip destinations include:

• Level 1 field visits to local sites of interest including the Isle of Wight, Isle of Portland and Lyme Regis in Dorset.
• Level 2 residential field course to the Malverns to study the engineering and geohazard assessment of rock masses.
• Level 2 residential field course to the Cotswolds to introduce geomorphological mapping techniques
• Level 2 residential field course to Villerville, Normandy, Northern France to undertake a geohazard assessment exercise.
• Level 2 residential field course to study the Quaternary deposits of North Norfolk.
• Level 3 residential field course to study landslide geohazards, slope instability and engineering geology in Kent.
• Level 3 extended study tour to see a variety of key geohazard and engineering geological sites in the French Alps, Provence and the Massif Central.

Career History 

• 1997-present: Principal Lecturer in Engineering Geology
• 1994-present: Applied Geoscience Programme Manager, University of Portsmouth
• 1991-1997: Senior Lecturer in Engineering Geology, University of Portsmouth
• 1989-1991: Chartered Engineer (Grade E4), Mott Macdonald Group
• 1987-1989: Senior Site Officer, Natural Environmental Research Council Computer Services (British Geological Survey)
• 1984-1987: Computer Mapping Geologist / Specialist Projects Analyst, Scott Pickford and Associates.
• 1983: Temporary Geotechnical Engineer, Norwest Holst Soils Engineering Ltd.
• 1980-1983: BSc Hons in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, Portsmouth Polytechnic.

Professional Record

• Chartered Engineer (IMM Lapsed)
• Fellow of the Geological Society
• Geological Society Engineering Group Award 2001
• Former Member of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy
• Member of the Geologists Association
• Member of the Quaternary Research Association
• Former Member of the Geological Remote Sensing Group
• Former Member of the International Association of Mathematical Geology
• Committee Member of the Engineering Group of the Geological Society
• Former Committee Member of the Geological Remote Sensing Group
• Field Work Co-ordinator of the Engineering Group of the Geological Society

Research

My principal research interests include engineering geomorphology, landslides and slope instability as well as geotechnical risk assessment and geotechnical computer modelling. 

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Publications Before 2006

• Whitworth, M. C. Z., Giles, D. P. and Murphy, W. (2005) Airborne remote sensing for landslide hazard assessment: a case study on the Jurassic escarpment slopes of Worcestershire, United Kingdom. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 38(3), 285-300
• Mwiya, S., Hughes, D.J. & Giles, D.P. A Decision Support Tool for Design of Waste Disposal Sites in Arid and Semiarid Environments. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrology (Paper Under Corrections).
• Mwiya, S., Hughes, D.J. & Giles, D. (2004) Strategies for identifying and designing safe, economic municipal solid waste disposal sites in the arid zones of Southern Africa. Proc. Waste 2004: Integrated Waste Management and Pollution Control: Policy and Practice, Research and Solutions, Warwick, pp 253-265.
• Mwiya, S. & Giles, D. (2004) A knowledge-based approach to municipal solid waste disposal site development in the Kartsified Dolomitic terrain around the town of Tsumeb in North Central Namibia. Communs. Geol. Surv. Namibia, 13, pp 9-21.  
• Mwiya, S. & Giles, D. (2004) A knowledge-based approach to municipal solid waste disposal site development in the Kartsified Dolomitic terrain around the town of Tsumeb in North Central Namibia. Communs. Geol. Surv. Namibia, 13, pp 9-21.
• M. C. Z. Whitworth, A. D. Gibson, A. F. Forster, D. P. Giles, Poulton, C., Rowlands, K.  and Jones, L. J.  (2003) The use of terrestrial laser scanning and digital terrain models for landslide hazard assessment. Proc of the Annual Conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geology: Predictive Modelling of Geotechnical/Landslide Hazards. University of Portsmouth. 2003) The use of terrestrial laser scanning and digital terrain models for landslide hazard assessment. Proc of the Annual Conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geology: Predictive Modelling of Geotechnical/Landslide Hazards. University of Portsmouth.
• Mrabet, Z. & Giles, D., (2002) Probabilistic risk assessment: The tool for uncertainty reduction in geotechnical engineering. Risk Analysis III, pp 3-13. WIT Press.