Mark Diederichs joined Queen's University and the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering in 2001. Previously, Dr. Diederichs had spent 10 years involved with numerous institutional and industrially supported research organizations including the Rock Engineering Group at the University of Toronto, The Canadian Mining Research Directorate, CSIRO (Australia) and The Geomechanics Research Centre in Sudbury. Immediately prior to his appointment at Queen's, Dr. Diederichs spent 2 years acting as an independant research and development consultant to the mining industry. Dr. Diederichs is a graduate of programs in Geological Engineering (1987, B.A.Sc., 1990 M.A.Sc., University of Toronto) and Civil Engineering (2000, Ph.D. University of Waterloo).

GEOMECHANICS GROUP RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

    RESEARCH INTERESTS

Geomechanics for Underground Rock Engineering:
• Geomechanics for undergound storage of nuclear waste
• Numerical analysis for geomechanics design
• Rock support design for tunnels, caverns and stopes
• Near-face response of tunnels in weak tectonized rockmasses
• Geomechanics for mechanically bored tunnels and shafts in hard rock
• Response of geological systems to excavation induced stress change
• Mechanics of rock fracture and brittle damage under high stress
• Deformation and rupture of shotcrete linings in rock tunnels
• Rockburst hazard management in tunnelling and mining
• Induced seismicity in underground mining operations
  
  Geomechanics of Rock Slopes and Landslides:
• Rock fracture and the stability of high rock slopes
• Numerical modelling and decision support systems
• Integration of Geomechanics and Geomatics
• Risk Analysis for slopes and landslides
• Structural geology and slope stability
• Hazard management

Complete list of recent publications here

    TEACHING INTERESTS

• Geological Engineering Design
• Structural Geology and Geomechanics
• Field Methods in Geological Engineering
• Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Design
• Applied Numerical Analysis for Rock Engineering

    PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• Professional Engineers of Ontario
• Canadian Rock Mechanics Association
  
• American Rock Mechanics Association
  
• International Society for Rock Mechanics
  
• Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
  
• Int.Assoc. of Engin.Geology & the Environment
  
• Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
  
• Tunnelling Association of Canada
  
• Geological Association of Canada
  
• Canadian Geotechnical Society
  
• Geological Society of America
  

Mark Diederichs is a member of the Geological Engineering Centre at Queens' University and RMC