Biography

Dr. Derek G. Ma is an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick, specializes in Geo-Engineering and Data Science. His acclaimed interdisciplinary research, meriting a prestigious early career fellowship, focuses on the application of data science to geo-engineering. Honored with the Global Talent awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Dr. Ma has significantly contributed to policy advisory roles with the Welsh Government's Coal Tips Safety Taskforces before moving to his permanent position in Warwick. His expertise further encompasses a key position as a corresponding member of the ISSMGE's TC309 technical committee, dedicated to Machine Learning and Big Data. Dr. Ma is recognized for his innovative research in geohazards, as well as his contributions to consulting and academia, particularly through pioneering work in stochastic computational catastrophe modeling and risk uncertainty quantification.

• Visiting Academic (2017) from University of Canterbury (Christchrch, New Zealand)
• Ph.D. in Computational Geomechanics and Applied Probability (2021) from the School of Engineering, University of Warwick (Coventry, UK)
• Global Talent - Royal Academy of Engineering (UK)
• Early Career Fellow in Interdisciplinary Research (2022) of the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick (Coventry, UK)
• Policy Advisor (2022), Coal Tips Safety Taskforce, Welsh Government (Wales, UK)
• Associate Fellow (2023) of the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick (Coventry, UK)

Research Interests

His research focuses on multivariate modelling/AI prediction/probabilistic analysis in geoscience, specifically for failure analysis and risk assessment of granular flows, avalanches, and natural hazards. Derek develops robust statistical numerical algorithms through the integration of Computational Statistics and Data Science to quantitatively evaluate the uncertainties of granular flows in heterogeneous materials that exhibit significant randomness.

Research portfolio includes:

• Stochastic Analysis of Geo-systems
• Risk Assessment and Crisis Response of Natural/Anthropological Disasters
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (e.g. Deep Learning)
• Risk Pricing for catastrophe insuranceLink opens in a new window and catastrophe bondsLink opens in a new window.

Teaching Interests

• ES1A1/ES1A8 Engineering Mathematics (Module Leader)
• Maths Bridging Programe (Module Leader)
• ES196 Statics and Structures
• ES192 Engineering Design
• ES2C3 Civil Engineering Materials and Structural Analysis
• ES3G6 Geotechnical Engineering
• ES4D8 Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Selected Publications

• Jiang, S., Liu, X., Ma, G.*, Rezania, M., 2023. Stability analysis of heterogeneous infinite slopes under rainfall-infiltration by means of an improved Green-Ampt model. Canadian Geotechnical Journal.
• Xi, C., Hu, X., Ma, G.*, Rezania, M., Liu, B. and He, K., 2022. Predictive model of regional coseismic landslides' permanent displacement considering uncertainty. Landslides, 19(10), pp.2513-2534.
• Ma, G., Rezania, M., Mousavi Nezhad, M. and Hu, X., 2022. Uncertainty quantification of landslide runout motion considering soil interdependent anisotropy and fabric orientation. Landslides, 19(5), pp.1231-1247.
• Ma, G., Rezania, M. and Nezhad, M.M., 2022. Effects of spatial autocorrelation structure for friction angle on the runout distance in heterogeneous sand collapse. Transportation Geotechnics, 33, p.100705.
• Ma, G., Rezania, M., Mousavi Nezhad, M. and Shi, B., 2022. Post-failure analysis of landslides in spatially varying soil deposits using stochastic material point method. Rock and Soil Mechanics, 43(7), pp.2003-2014.
• Ma, G., Rezania, M. and Nezhad, M.M., 2022. Stochastic assessment of landslide influence zone by material point method and generalized geotechnical random field theory. ASCE - International Journal of Geomechanics, 22(4), p.04022002.
• Ma, G., Rezania, M. and Nezhad, M.M., 2022. Probabilistic post-failure analysis of landslides using stochastic material point method with non-stationary random fields. In 20th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE 2022). Sydney.
• Ma, G., Hu, X., Yin, Y., Luo, G. and Pan, Y., 2018. Failure mechanisms and development of catastrophic rockslides triggered by precipitation and open-pit mining in Emei, Sichuan, China. Landslides, 15(7), pp.1401-1414.

Projects and Grants