Spotlight on Dr Ellen Robson, Postdoctoral Research Associate

My research focuses on developing stakeholder-focused guidance and methodologies to help mitigate landslides and improve slope stabilisation in lower income countries.  

I am currently working with colleagues at the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University in Nepal on developing road cut slope policy guidelines for engineers in Nepal. These guidelines are being designed based on information collected from interviews and a workshop with road engineers in Nepal. We hope that these guidelines will improve decision-making in designing and implementing stable road cut slopes and, thereby, improve the resilience of the road network. This work is currently funded by Durham University’s Research Impact Fund.  

I am also working with colleagues at IIT Mandi in India on assessing the impact of rainfall-triggered landslides in the Himalayan foothills of India. In addition, we are trying to improve guidance on rainfall-triggered landslides in South and South East Asia.  

I acquired my PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from Newcastle University in 2023, which was sponsored by NERC IAPETUS. My PhD aimed to further understand some of the causes for inadequate road slope stabilisation in lower income country settings, and to develop stakeholder-focused methodologies to aid the planning and design of road slope stabilisation.  

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