Rate My Professor Dominic Ong

Associate Professor Dominic E.L. Ong serves as Deputy Dean (Research) in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Sciences) and Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and Built Environment within Griffith Sciences at Griffith University. He earned a BEng (Hons) from the University of Western Australia and a PhD from the National University of Singapore. Ong holds professional distinctions including Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust), Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (FIEM), and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). In 2022, he received the Lecturer of the Year Award, voted by graduating Civil and Environmental Engineering students. Previously recognized as a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, he joined Griffith University in 2018 as Senior Lecturer and Program Advisor.

Ong's research specializes in geotechnical engineering, focusing on soil-structure interactions, pipe-jacking, microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP), alkali-activated materials, and sustainable soil improvement techniques using biopolymers. He passionately teaches Soil Mechanics, Geotechnical Engineering, and Advanced Foundation Engineering to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Notable contributions include serving as joint Editor-in-Chief of Geotechnical Research, a journal by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE Publishing), since 2019, following five years on the Editorial Board. He is a member of ISSMGE TC104. His scholarly impact is evidenced by over 4,698 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include: "Biopolymers as green binders for soil improvement in geotechnical applications: A review" (Fatehi et al., Geosciences, 2021, 288 citations); "The effect of different Na2O and K2O ratios of alkali activator on compressive strength of fly ash based-geopolymer" (Leong et al., Construction and Building Materials, 2016, 281 citations); "Experimental optimisation of various cultural conditions on urease activity for isolated Sporosarcina pasteurii strains and evaluation of their biocement potentials" (Omoregie et al., Ecological Engineering, 2017, 265 citations); "Pile behavior due to excavation-induced soil movement in clay. I: Stable wall" (Ong et al., Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2006, 185 citations); and "State-of-the-art review of geotechnical-driven artificial intelligence techniques in underground soil-structure interaction" (Jong et al., Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 2021, 175 citations). Ong has secured funding through an ARC Linkage Project (LP220200824) and delivered webinars for the Malaysian Geotechnical Society.