Rate My Professor Itai Einav

Professor Itai Einav is a prominent figure in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney, serving as Professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Director of the Sydney Centre in Geomechanics and Mining Materials (SciGEM). He obtained his BSc, MEng, and PhD in Civil Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2002. Following his doctoral studies, Einav conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Western Australia. He joined the University of Sydney in 2005 within the School of Civil Engineering, achieving promotion to Full Professor and appointment as SciGEM Director in 2012. His academic career is marked by advancements in geomechanics, particularly focusing on granular materials, where he explores grain flow, segregation, mixing, and crushing mechanisms. These investigations apply to geotechnical engineering, geophysics, mining, and manufacturing, utilizing analytical models, experimental methods like X-ray radiography, and computational tools such as discrete element simulations to analyze granular dynamics and interfacial mechanics.

Einav's influential publications include the foundational 'Breakage mechanics—Part I: Theory' and 'Breakage mechanics—Part II: Modelling granular materials,' both published in the Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids in 2007, amassing over 1,500 citations. Additional significant works feature 'X-ray rheography uncovers planar granular flows despite non-planar walls' in Nature Communications (2018), alongside recent contributions on hydrodynamics of fault gouges and non-equilibrium soil water retention. His research has earned over 7,500 citations on Google Scholar, demonstrating substantial impact in granular physics and geomechanics. Einav has been honored with the George Stephenson Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers for an outstanding paper. He contributes to leadership through SciGEM and delivers public lectures, including at the Royal Society of New South Wales, while securing funding from partners like Rio Tinto for projects in stochastic mechanics and stress sensors.