Department of Civil Engineering

My research focuses on developing and applying advanced computational and experimental approaches to understand the behaviour of geomaterials under large deformation, complex loading, and failure. Current research activities are organized around the following themes:

Computational & Large-Deformation Geomechanics

Development and application of advanced numerical methods for geotechnical problems involving large deformation, failure, and post-failure behaviour. Particular interests include Material Point Method (MPM), finite-element and meshless methods, limit analysis, constitutive modelling, and coupled formulations.

Geohazards & Landslides

Investigation of slope failure, progressive failure, and post-failure runout, including the effects of spatial variability and soil-water interaction, with applications to landslide hazard assessment and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Offshore Geotechnics & Seabed-Structure Interaction

Research on offshore foundations and seabed-structure interaction, including cyclically loaded monopiles, seabed characterization, penetration problems, subsea infrastructure, and scour using computational and physical modelling.

Selected journal and conference publications are listed below in reverse chronological order. For the most up-to-date publication record, please visit Google Scholar .

2026

Journal   Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J.J., and Sołowski, W.T. Determining seabed shear strength from free-fall cone penetrometer test data: Coupled experimental, numerical, and analytical insights. Ocean Engineering, 363, 126599. DOI 

Conference   Cengiz, C., Sharma, A., Konstantinou, M., Zwaan, R., Xie, W., Mohapatra, D., Wang, H., Jostad, H.P., and Kementzetzidis, E. Engineering Challenges and Lessons Learnt from Centrifuge Modelling of Monopile-Clay Interaction. 11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG 2026), Zurich, Switzerland. DOI 

Conference   Kementzetzidis, E., Konstantinou, M., Cengiz, C., Zwaan, R., Sharma, A., Elkadi, A.S.K., Pisanò, F., Wang, H., Jostad, H.P., Christopoulos, G., and Mohapatra, D. Cyclic Behaviour of Monopiles in Clay: Preliminary Insights from the MIDASClay Project. 11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG 2026), Zurich, Switzerland. DOI 

Research Data   Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Saresma, M., Sołowski, W.T., and Virtasalo, J. Raw Triaxial, Oedometer, and Index Test Data for Baltic Sea Soft Clays. Zenodo. DOI 

Data & Code   Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J., and Sołowski, W.T. FFCPT Experimental Data, GIMP Numerical Simulations, and MATLAB Analysis Codes for Marine Clay Characterization. Zenodo. DOI 

2025

Journal   Saresma, M., White, D.J., Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Sołowski, W., Korkiala-Tanttu, L., Virtasalo, J.J., and Gourvenec, S. Assessment of near-surface undrained shear strength of soft seabed with free fall cone penetrometer testing in the northern Baltic Sea. Engineering Geology, 346, 107906. DOI

Conference   Kementzetzidis, E., Konstantinou, M., Cengiz, C., Zwaan, R., Pisanò, F., Wang, H., Jostad, H.P., Christopoulos, G., and Mohapatra, D. Centrifuge testing and numerical modelling of cyclically loaded monopiles in clay: Setup and early findings of the MIDASClay project. ISFOG 2025. DOI 
★ Top 10% Best Paper & Flash Presentation 

2024

Journal   Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J.J., and Sołowski, W.T. Laboratory-Scale Free Fall Cone Penetrometer Test on Marine Clay: A Numerical Investigation Using the Generalized Interpolation Material Point Method. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 49(4), 1299–1318. DOI

Conference   Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J., and Sołowski, W.T. Numerical simulation of in-situ free fall cone penetrometer tests using the material point method. In W.M. Coombs (Ed.), UK Association for Computational Mechanics 2024, pp. 157–160, Durham University. DOI

Conference   Saresma, M., Mohapatra, D., Hasanbarough, S.M., Sołowski, W., and Virtasalo, J.J. Combined Geophysical, Geological and Geotechnical Study of Offshore Soft Sediments at a Planned Wind Farm Area. Near Surface Geoscience 2024, Helsinki, Finland. DOI

Preprint   Mohapatra, D., Mohammadi, S., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J.J., and Sołowski, W.T. Fall cone tests on sensitive marine clay: A comprehensive experimental study and its replication with the Generalized Interpolation Material Point Method. Research Square. View Preprint

2023

Conference   Li, Z., Mohapatra, D., Sołowski, W.T., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J., and Khalili, R. Geological, geophysical and mechanical identification of marine deposits from the Gulf of Finland. Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition. DOI

Conference   Saresma, M., Mohapatra, D., Li, Z., Virtasalo, J., and Sołowski, W.T. Free fall cone penetrometer and laboratory fall cone characterisation of marine sediments. Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition. DOI

Conference   Mohapatra, D., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J., and Sołowski, W. Numerical simulation of a laboratory-scale free fall cone penetrometer test in marine clay with the material point method. PARTICLES 2023, Milan, Italy. DOI

Conference   Mohapatra, D., Li, Z.-S., Saresma, M., Virtasalo, J., and Sołowski, W. Replication of fall cone test on marine clay with a Generalized Interpolation Material Point Method simulation. 10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE 2023), London, UK. DOI

2022

Journal   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Homogenization based kinematic limit analysis for finding the stability of an embankment over soft clay reinforced with granular columns. Computers and Geotechnics, 142, 104562. DOI 
★ IGS-Ferroco Young Geotechnical Award 2022 

2020

Journal   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Kinematic limit analysis for clays with anisotropy and different strengths in compression and tension. Computers and Geotechnics, 126, 103713. DOI

Journal   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Bearing capacity of embedded foundations using quasi kinematic limit analysis. Computers and Geotechnics, 117, 103275. DOI

Proceedings   Rahaman, O., Mohapatra, D., and Kumar, J. Bearing Capacity of Piles in Non-homogeneous Clay Using Conic Programming. Geotechnical Characterization and Modelling, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 85, pp. 1045–1053. Springer. DOI

Proceedings   Mohapatra, D., Rahaman, O., and Kumar, J. An Adaptive-Based Finite Element Limit Analysis Approach for Geo-Mechanics Problems. Geotechnical Characterization and Modelling, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 85, pp. 1055–1065. Springer. DOI 
★ Best Presenter Award, Indian Geotechnical Conference 2018 

2019

Journal   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Smoothed finite element approach for kinematic limit analysis of cohesive frictional materials. European Journal of Mechanics - A/Solids, 76, 328–345. DOI

Journal   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Collapse loads for rectangular foundations by three-dimensional upper bound limit analysis using radial point interpolation method. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 43(2), 641–660. DOI

Conference   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Numerical assessment of the macroscopic strength criterion of reinforced soils and its implementation to stability analysis using homogenization based limit analysis approach. 4th Indian Conference on Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India.

2018

Journal   Mohapatra, D. and Kumar, J. Upper bound finite elements limit analysis of axisymmetric problems for Mohr-Coulomb materials using semidefinite programming. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 144(7). DOI

Journal   Kumar, J. and Mohapatra, D. Closure to "Lower-Bound Finite Elements Limit Analysis for Hoek-Brown Materials Using Semidefinite Programming." Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 144(7). DOI

2017

Journal   Kumar, J. and Mohapatra, D. Lower-Bound Finite Elements Limit Analysis for Hoek-Brown Materials Using Semidefinite Programming. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 143(9). DOI 
★ IGS Roorkee Chapter Young Geotechnical Engineer Award 2019 

2014

Conference   Mohapatra, D. A Parametric investigation into modelling of unbounded domain using perfectly matched layer. 7th Annual Student Symposium, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India.

Complete & Updated Record: Google Scholar 

Our research group works on fundamental and applied problems in computational geomechanics, large-deformation soil mechanics, geohazards, offshore geotechnics, constitutive modelling, and soil-structure interaction. We aim to integrate mechanics, advanced computation, experiments, and emerging data-driven approaches to address challenging geotechnical engineering problems.

Current Members

The research group is currently being established at IIT (BHU), Varanasi. Details of Ph.D., M.Tech., B.Tech., and project students will be updated here.

Research Opportunities

Computational & Large-Deformation Geomechanics
Material Point Method (MPM), CEL, advanced FEM, failure and post-failure modelling, and constitutive implementation.

Landslides & Geohazards
Progressive failure, large-deformation runout, spatial variability, soil-water interaction, and climate-induced geotechnical hazards.

Offshore Geotechnics
Offshore foundations, monopiles, seabed characterization, penetration problems, subsea infrastructure, and scour.

Constitutive & Data-Informed Geomechanics
Advanced constitutive modelling, parameter identification, uncertainty quantification, surrogate modelling, and emerging physics-informed approaches.

Tunnelling & Soil-Structure Interaction
Tunnel-soil interaction, ground response, underground construction, and complex soil-structure interaction problems.

What Can You Expect?

• Strong training in soil mechanics and computational geomechanics.
• Opportunities to learn advanced numerical methods such as MPM, FEM, CEL, and related computational techniques.
• Exposure to scientific programming and research tools such as Python, MATLAB, C++, Fortran, Abaqus, PLAXIS, OpenSees, and research-oriented MPM codes, depending on the project.
• Opportunities to combine computational modelling with experimental, physical, or field observations.
• Development of independent research, scientific writing, and presentation skills.
• Opportunities to present research at national and international conferences and publish in peer-reviewed journals.
• Interaction and collaboration with researchers in India and abroad.

Who Should Contact Us?

We particularly encourage students who are curious, self-motivated, willing to learn, and interested in understanding the mechanics behind engineering problems. Prior experience in advanced computational methods is desirable but not essential; strong engineering fundamentals and a genuine interest in research are more important.

Students from Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, Earthquake Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or closely related disciplines with relevant interests are welcome to get in touch.

Note: Formal admission to IIT (BHU) is governed by the Institute's applicable eligibility criteria and selection procedures. An expression of interest or email correspondence does not constitute an offer of admission. 

My teaching interests are closely aligned with my research in geotechnical engineering, computational mechanics, and numerical modelling. I aim to combine strong fundamentals with practical modelling, physical interpretation, and research-oriented problem solving.

Previous Teaching & Mentoring Experience

TU Delft, The Netherlands

• Assisted in Offshore Geotechnical Engineering.
• Mentored Ph.D. research activities.

Aalto University, Finland

• Finite Element Method Geoengineering
• Numerical Methods in Geotechnics
• Mentored Ph.D. research activities.

City University of Hong Kong

• Mentored Ph.D. research activities in geotechnical engineering.

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

• Finite Element and Mesh-Free Methods
• Earth and Earth Retaining Structures
• Soil Dynamics

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

• Finite Element Method

Teaching Approach

My teaching philosophy emphasizes fundamental understanding, physical interpretation, and critical use of computational tools. Students are encouraged to understand why a model works, recognize its limitations, verify numerical results, and connect theoretical concepts with real geotechnical problems.

My academic journey combines advanced training in geotechnical and earthquake engineering with international research experience in computational geomechanics, offshore geotechnics, large-deformation analysis, and soil-structure interaction.

Education

Professional Experience

Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi

Assistant Professor, Geotechnical Engineering
September 2026-Present

New York University Abu Dhabi

Research Scientist
January 2026-August2026

TU Delft, The Netherlands

Postdoctoral Researcher
June 2024-August 2025

Aalto University, Finland

Postdoctoral Researcher
June 2022-May 2024 
Visiting Researcher
June 2024-December 2024

Durham University, United Kingdom

Visiting Researcher
April 2024-May 2024

City University of Hong Kong

Postdoctoral Fellow
November 2020-May 2022

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Junior Research Fellow
July 2014-June 2015

Selected Awards & Honours

Professional Activities

• Life Member, Indian Geotechnical Society (IGS)
• Former President, IGS-IISc Young Members Chapter
• Reviewer for journals including Computers and Geotechnics, Ocean Engineering, and Sadhana
• Member of interview panels for Ph.D. and postdoctoral selections at Aalto University, Finland
• Contributor to organization of conferences, workshops, and technical events in geotechnical engineering

Academic profiles, research resources, and professional links are provided below.

Academic Profiles

Research & Professional

Contact

Dr. Debasis Mohapatra
Assistant Professor, Geotechnical Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi
Contact: +91-9178746815
Email: debasism.civ@iitbhu.ac.in