Dharma WijewickremeView profile
Professor
Dr. Dharma Wijewickreme is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), part of the Faculty of Applied Science. He joined UBC in 2001 and specializes in geotechnical engineering, with a focus on earthquake geotechnical engineering and pipeline integrity. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering from UBC (1990 and 1986), following 11 years of industry experience in seismic and pipeline engineering consulting. Dr. Wijewickreme pioneered the Pipeline Integrity Institute (PII) at UBC in 2015, serving as its Co-Director. His research interests include soil-pipeline interaction, liquefaction of silts, advanced laboratory testing, and geotechnical material characterization. He teaches courses such as Soil Mechanics II, Soil Dynamics, and Pipeline Engineering. His awards include the Horst Leipholz Medal (2013), Canadian Geotechnical Journal Editor’s Choice Award (2011), and Fellowships from the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. He served as President of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (2017–2018) and Vice President Finance (2013–2017). Recent research trends emphasize advanced imaging techniques (e.g., X-ray μ-CT for silt fabric analysis) and pipeline integrity under seismic and environmental stresses. His work bridges laboratory experimentation with field applications, addressing challenges in geotechnical material behavior and infrastructure resilience.










