Dr Grainne El Mountassir
Reader
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Personal statement
Dr El Mountassir is a Reader in Geotechnical Engineering and Director for Research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Grainne's research focuses on developing novel technologies harnessing biological and biochemical processes that can alter the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of soils and rocks. Grainne is currently a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, leading a team of researchers investigating the potential of using fungi and their hyphal networks in ground engineering applications. Over the last 15 years Grainne and the team at Strathclyde have been developing microbially induced calcite precipitation as a technique for rock fracture grouting, soil stabilisation, well sealing and concrete repair.聽
Prize And Awards
- Recipient
- 9/2021
- Recipient
- 7/2021
- Recipient
- 2015
- Recipient
- 3/2014
- Recipient
- 2014
Publications
- , Lyons Joseph, , Kuras Oliver,
- Acta Geotechnica (2026)
- Sang Guijie, , ,
- Biogeotechnics Vol 4 (2026)
- Castro Gloria M, , , , ,
- Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Vol 152 (2025)
- , ,
- E3S Web of Conferences Vol 642 (2025)
- , , ,
- E3S Web of Conferences Vol 642 (2025)
- Sang Guijie, , ,
- Biogeotechnics (2025)
Teaching
I teach CL217 Soil mechanics and the Graduate Apprenticship module EO206 (Soils & Water 2), both to second year students.
Research Interests
My research is largely experimental and focuses on understanding the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of soils and rocks. I am particularly interested in the potential use of biological processes in geotechnical engineering. I am currently developing novel grouting technologies including microbially induced calcite precipitation as a technique for sealing fine aperture fractures and silica sol as a low viscosity grout. I am also investigating the possible deployment of fungi within ground engineering applications.
Professional Activities
- Examiner
- 8/2026
- Examiner
- 18/6/2026
- Member
- 6/2026
- Chair
- 1/5/2026
- Examiner
- 30/3/2026
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 1/10/2025
Projects
- Minto, James (Principal Investigator) El Mountassir, Grainne (Co-investigator)
- 08-Jan-2024 - 28-Jan-2024
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator) Zhang, Qi (Co-investigator) Fathollahi, Alireza (Co-investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator)
- XCT beamtime awarded by DIAMOND Light Source, equivalent value of allocated time 拢60,288 (Session: MG36176-2)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2024
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Zhang, Qi (Co-investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator) Castro, Gloria (Co-investigator) Divers, Matt (Co-investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator)
- Award of Beamtime at Diamond Synchrotron - Session MG36176. Beamtime value 拢60,288.
4 days synchrotron XCT imaging of fungal growth in soils on the i13 beamline at the Diamond Synchrotron, Harwell. - 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2024
- Pedrotti, Matteo (Principal Investigator) Tarantino, Alessandro (Co-investigator) El Mountassir, Grainne (Co-investigator)
- This equipment measures plant physiological activity by monitoring gas exchange and fluorescence emission at the leaf. This is key to analyse hydraulic interaction between plant, soil, fungi, bacteria and atmosphere, which are relevant to geotechnics (plants enhance soil strength), agriculture (soil controls water availability to plants) and soil-remediation (plants remove contaminants from the soil).
- 01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2024
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Tarantino, Alessandro (Co-investigator) Nagy, Benedek (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 01-Jan-2027
- El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2024
Contact
Dr
Grainne
El Mountassir
Reader
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Email: grainne.elmountassir@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3252