Dr Grainne El Mountassir
Reader
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Personal statement
Dr El Mountassir is a Reader in Geotechnical Engineering and Director for Research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Grainne's research focuses on developing novel technologies harnessing biological and biochemical processes that can alter the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of soils and rocks. Grainne is currently a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, leading a team of researchers investigating the potential of using fungi and their hyphal networks in ground engineering applications. Over the last 15 years Grainne and the team at 吃瓜tv have been developing microbially induced calcite precipitation as a technique for rock fracture grouting, soil stabilisation, well sealing and concrete repair.聽
Prize And Awards
- Recipient
- 9/2021
- Recipient
- 2015
- Recipient
- 3/2014
- Recipient
- 2014
Publications
- Sang Guijie, , ,
- Biogeotechnics Vol 4 (2026)
- Castro Gloria M, , , , ,
- Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Vol 152 (2025)
- , ,
- E3S Web of Conferences Vol 642 (2025)
- , , ,
- E3S Web of Conferences Vol 642 (2025)
- Sang Guijie, , ,
- Biogeotechnics (2025)
- Fathollahi Alireza,
- 2025 International Conference on Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (2025)
Teaching
I teach CL217 Soil mechanics and the Graduate Apprenticship module EO206 (Soils & Water 2), both to second year students.
Research Interests
My research is largely experimental and focuses on understanding the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of soils and rocks. I am particularly interested in the potential use of biological processes in geotechnical engineering. I am currently developing novel grouting technologies including microbially induced calcite precipitation as a technique for sealing fine aperture fractures and silica sol as a low viscosity grout. I am also investigating the possible deployment of fungi within ground engineering applications.
Professional Activities
- Peer reviewer
- 8/2022
- Recipient
- 10/6/2022
- Contributor
- 20/9/2021
- Examiner
- 9/2021
- Speaker
- 5/2021
- Speaker
- 2/2021
Projects
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Zhang, Qi (Co-investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator) Castro, Gloria (Co-investigator) Divers, Matt (Co-investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator)
- Fungi play vital roles in natural soil ecosystems in the decomposition of organic matter, carbon cycling, nutrient distribution and symbiosis with plants. It is believed that soil fungi and their role in plant-soil feedback processes will play a critical role in achieving global food security amidst land scarcity and soil and water degradation. Furthermore, fungi can offer us solutions to engineering challenges including: remediation of contaminated land and stabilisation of slopes by modifying soil hydraulic and mechanical behaviour. This proposal aims to investigate in fully 3D conditions for the first time the controls on the growth of saprotrophic fungi in soil.
- 13-Jan-2024 - 17-Jan-2024
- Minto, James (Principal Investigator) El Mountassir, Grainne (Co-investigator)
- 08-Jan-2024 - 28-Jan-2024
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator) Zhang, Qi (Co-investigator) Fathollahi, Alireza (Co-investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator)
- XCT beamtime awarded by DIAMOND Light Source, equivalent value of allocated time 拢60,288 (Session: MG36176-2)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2024
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Tarantino, Alessandro (Co-investigator) Nagy, Benedek (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 01-Jan-2027
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2024
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2024
Contact
Dr
Grainne
El Mountassir
Reader
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Email: grainne.elmountassir@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3252