Jonathan Knappett MA MEng PhD CEng MICE

Jonathan Knappett joined the University of Oxford in 2026 as Professor of Engineering Science in Geotechnical Engineering and a Tutorial Fellow at Brasenose College. Before joining Oxford, he was at the University of Dundee for 19 years, including as Professor of Civil Engineering (2018-2025), where he also served as Discipline Lead for Civil Engineering (a.k.a. Head of Department) between 2016-2021. Prior to this, he studied at the University of Cambridge (Magdalene College), obtaining MEng and PhD degrees in Engineering. Jonathan is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was awarded the British Geotechnical Association Medal in 2009, the TK Hsieh Award for Civil Engineering Dynamics from the ICE/IStructE in 2010, the ISSMGE TC203 Young Researcher Award in Earthquake Engineering in 2018, the ICE Geotechnical Research Medal in 2023 and the Telford Gold Medal in 2024. In 2017 he gave the 13th Géotechnique Lecture on the use of vegetation in low carbon geotechnical engineering. He was Chairman of the Editorial Panel of the International Journal of Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (2014-2018) and has previously served on the Géotechnique Advisory Panel (2011-2013). He is a current UK National Representative on both Technical Committees TC104 (Physical Modelling) and TC203 (Earthquake Engineering) of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and a member of British Standards Committee B/526 implementing the second generation of Eurocode 7 in UK practice. Jonathan is also the principal author of the internationally best-selling textbooks Craig's Soil Mechanics, 8th and 9th Editions, and co-author of Design of Piles in Liquefiable Soils.

Jonathan’s expertise includes physical modelling, numerical simulation and analytical modelling, with research interests in three main areas associated with innovative design against extreme dynamic environmental actions:

• Nature-based & other low-carbon approaches in Civil Engineering - This work seeks to develop nature-based (e.g. vegetation) or nature-inspired (biomimetic) alternatives to conventional ground engineering interventions which are typically based on the use of concrete and/or steel. By directly using, or learning from, nature, a variety of benefits can be achieved in engineering design, including: more efficient use of materials, reduced embodied carbon, reduced cost, increased resilience to Climate Change, biodiversity enhancement and improved aesthetics.

• Geotechnical Engineering for energy decarbonisation In this area, the goal is to support the practical implementation of cleaner energy systems, chiefly through: (i) the development of innovative anchorage systems for renewable energy systems (particularly marine renewable energy and offshore wind) and methods for their practical design; and (ii) development of approaches for the robust geotechnical design of shallow geothermal energy systems (e.g. piles, diaphragm walls and tunnels).

• Earthquake Engineering The focus of work in this area is to understand how infrastructure systems and structures perform in response to seismic actions over their design life, particularly when they are interacting with each other in dense urban areas. This includes the development of practical multi-scale methods for considering global area effects on local performance that can track the evolution/degradation of system performance with sequential events (i.e. the effects of pre-shocks and after-shocks). This research has been supported by funding from the UK Research Councils, the European Commission, and various overseas, charitable and industrial organisations to a total value of over £8.2M.

• Knappett, J.A., Loades, K., Ciantia, M.O., Black, A. & Nicoll, B. (2026-2029) Native woodland reinforcement of slope stability during establishment.
• Postgraduate studentship sponsored by Forest Research/Transport Scotland (01/25 – 01/28) Knappett, J.A., & Brown, M.J. (2023-2027) Braced excavations: EP/X024768/1, EPSRC, UK. Loveridge, F.A., Shafagh, I, Knappett, J.A., Brown, M.J., Tsuha, C.H.C & Neto A.H. (2023-2026).
• Efficient ground energy systems for deployment in diaphragm walls under challenging application scenarios. Research Grant EP/X032639/1, EPSRC, UK