International Symposium on
Cone Penetration Testing
May 12 - 14, 2027
Vancouver, B.C.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Mason Ghafghazi, University of Toronto, Canada
Mason Ghafghazi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at University of Toronto. His current area of research is characterizing mine tailings using laboratory and site investigation tools. He analyzes site investigation methods and develops novel field and laboratory testing tools and procedures. His team do laboratory element testing, large and small calibration chamber testing, and advanced numerical modelling.
Mason’s career path includes the University of California Davis, BC Hydro, and the University of British Columbia, working on modelling the CPT, evaluating seismic performance and internal erosion susceptibility of embankment dams and their foundations, development of the instrumented Becker Penetration Test, and numerical modelling of mining activities.
Diane Moug, Portland State University, USA
Diane Moug is an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Portland State University. Diane’s research and teaching focus on geotechnical site investigation, seismic response of fine-grained soils, and bio-mediated ground improvement. She investigates CPT interpretation through numerical modeling and geotechnical centrifuge modeling. She joined PSU in 2017 after finishing her PhD and Masters at the University of California, Davis in geotechnical engineering. She received her Bachelor's degree in 2009 from the University of British Columbia in Geological Engineering. Diane is the current president of the United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research.
Nico Parasie, Fugro, Netherlands
Nico Parasie is a lead scientist and in-situ test expert at Fugro. He has held roles ranging from geotechnical engineer on marine site characterization campaigns to consultant for foundation design, and technical advisor to mechanical, electronic, and software development teams. He currently leads innovation across the full CPT workflow by connecting probe design, sensor calibration and verification, site data acquisition, conformity assessment and geodata interpretation for a wide range of geotechnical applications. His work supports both offshore and onshore site characterization, with a focus on improving data quality, operational efficiency, data conformity assessment, and integration of geodata for ground modelling. Nico is an invited speaker at international conferences and specialist seminars. As inventor, he is named in 5 patents granted and 2 patents pending. Professional memberships include geotechnical societies and ISO standardization.
Santiago Quinteros, Norway
Santiago Quinteros is Head of the Offshore Geotechnical Characterization Section at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) in Oslo, Norway. He earned his bachelor's degree in Switzerland, a master's degree from the University of British Columbia (Canada) and a PhD from Imperial College London (UK). With more than 20 years of international experience -in research and energy projects-, his work focuses on in-situ geotechnical characterization, advanced laboratory tests and the study of soil behavior for foundation design and slope stability, with applications ranging from offshore geotechnics and lunar soils to mine tailings.
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