Kurosch Thuro

Prof. Dr. Kurosch Thuro is a Professor and Chair of Engineering Geology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), leading the Department of Engineering Geology within the TUM School of Engineering and Design. His academic career includes a doctoral degree from TUM (1995) and habilitation from ETH Zurich (2002). He has held his current position since 2004 and has supervised over 30 doctoral theses.

Education: Studied geology at TUM (1983–1989), specializing in engineering and hydrogeology. Subsequent roles include assistant at TUM, senior assistant at ETH Zurich, and habilitation at ETH and TUM.

Research focuses on tunnel construction (performance and wear predictions, tunnel boring machines), slope movements (early warning systems, landslide modeling), geothermal energy (reservoir characterization, borehole stability), and laboratory testing (rock mechanics, petrography). Key innovations include microwave pre-conditioning of rocks and BIM-based subsurface mapping.

Awards include the Leopold Müller Award (1996) and DFG habilitation scholarship (1999). He chairs the examination board for the Master’s program in Engineering & Hydrogeology and is a board member of the German Society for Geotechnical Engineering (DGGT) and the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG).

Advising: Currently supervising 10 doctoral students, with over 30 completed since 2006. Also co-supervised 25 further theses. Active in grants and partnerships, including the Munich GeoCenter, a collaboration between LMU and TUM.

Lab facilities include specialized labs for loose/hard rock testing, numerical modeling, and petrographic analysis. Research extends to international projects in Colombia and Georgia, emphasizing landslide risk reduction in informal settlements.