Alessandro Leonardi

The University of Sheffield is offering a fully funded PhD investigating how forests can mitigate landslide runout and reduce risks to infrastructure. The project is supervised by Alessandro Leonardi and Dr Jill Johnson, in collaboration with Adrian Koe at AtkinsRéalis, and is supported through the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award. The research will combine physics-based numerical simulations, machine learning and laboratory experiments to understand how forest structure and management affect the movement of landslide debris. The successful researcher will model interactions between landslides and trees, generate synthetic datasets covering varied forest configurations and landslide conditions, and develop predictive tools for rapidly estimating runout and evaluating uncertainty. Experimental work using laboratory flume experiments will be used to validate numerical predictions and improve understanding of landslide–vegetation interactions. Through the industry collaboration, the project will also examine how forest management, thinning and reforestation may influence landslide risks to roads, railways and buildings. The overall aim is to create an automated assessment tool for engineers and land managers making decisions about woodland management, infrastructure resilience and climate adaptation. The interdisciplinary research environment connects computational modelling, artificial intelligence, experimental geotechnical engineering, natural hazard assessment and nature-based solutions.