Alexander Royal

Dr. Alexander Royal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham, specializing in resilience and sustainability research. He holds a MEng from Loughborough University (2001) and a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Birmingham (2006). His academic career includes roles as a Research Fellow (2005) and permanent academic staff member (2010).

Research interests focus on cast in situ barriers for contaminated land remediation, trenchless utility installation technologies, erosion of fine-grained soils around leaking pipes, and geohazards. His work addresses challenges in subsurface interactions, utility network management, and sustainable infrastructure development. Notable projects include the Mapping the Underworld (MTU) initiative, which develops geophysical tools and multi-sensor platforms to reduce trenching costs, and the Cablepipe project exploring long-distance underground power transmission.

Royal’s research has led to publications on utility detection, microtunnelling simulations, and HDD steering. He seeks doctoral students to explore cement-bentonite barriers, geotechnical factors in trenchless tech, and clay mineralogy impacts. He collaborates with industry bodies like the Pipeline Industries Guild and Midlands Geotechnical Society.