Meet Pouyan Abbasi, Principal Engineer
PhD FIEAust CPEng NER RPEQ APEC IntPE(Aus)
Dr. Pouyan Abbasi is an accomplished geotechnical and structural engineer with over 18 years of expertise, excelling in numerical and finite element analysis. Armed with a PhD in Civil Engineering and a diploma from the Australian Institute of Management, he is a Fellow CPEng NER IntPE Engineer and a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland in Civil, Structural, and Geotechnical Engineering. Pouyan holds memberships in the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS) and the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (AEES).
Welcome to the team. How are you settling into ATCW?
I’ve been allocated a few projects right away, including a scope of work for an ash dam and solar farm in NSW and a tailings facility in Tanzania. At the same time, I will be responsible for ongoing projects in WA as a project manager, technical leader, or reviewer. Each day, I am in contact with other states, but primarily the Melbourne office and we are becoming good friends as we share knowledge. I am learning that the company has many talented keynote speakers, reviewers, and chairs of conferences, seminars or engineering communities. I have been contacted by many team members offering collaboration, so I have discovered that it is a warm culture here at ATCW.
How do you manage the west coast time difference?
My work is not exactly 9-5, but I am very used to that as Europe is nine hours difference and New Zealand is five hours. I start at 8:00 am and get busy communicating with the East Coast offices until they close for the day. So, at the end of the day here, I schedule what needs concentration and reading when it is quiet in the other states. However, I think of a company like a family – if your family needs you, you become available. When the company grows, then you grow.
Where in the world has your career taken you?
I began my career in Iran, managing several projects and teams. From there, I worked briefly in Austria and Portugal on R&D projects, mostly while undertaking post-doctorate studies at the University of Porto and the Institute of Geotechnical Engineering in Vienna. From there, I worked in France in senior geotechnical engineering roles on monitoring, power plants, railway, tunnel, and dam projects. When Australia accepted me for permanent residency, I moved to Brisbane and Melbourne before settling in Perth and working on various tailings, dams and infrastructure projects for a respected company. At ATC Williams, I am keen to collaborate with a highly qualified technical team while also bringing value to them.
– Masjed Soleyman Dam Spillway and Embankment in southern part of Iran
Do you have a stand-out career milestones?
I was involved in sidewall stabilisations for the Masjed Soleyman Dam and its hydropower plant in Iran from 2018-2020. It was a high-risk and challenging two-stage process with very tight timelines. The first stage was reviewing design, and the second was optimising design and implementation while concurrently running the project.
I also have experience in earthquake engineering, soil and seismic analysis and numerical models. Iran is known as a significant seismic area, so most engineers in Iran are knowledgeable in this area. In Australia, I have delivered workshops and reviewed the impacts of recent earthquakes in Turkey and Iran. I am very interested in the designs of structures to withstand earthquakes and in using cutting-edge technology.
– Featured L-R: Khorramrood Dam core Excavation, Core Concrete Pad and Cement injection operation, Tehran-Shomal Freeway Tunnel in Northern part of Iran
– Mine and slope movement monitoring and back analysis (LHS mine in Australia / RHS village in Alpe, France)
What inspired you to be a university lecturer?
I started teaching when I was a PhD student and enjoyed it immensely. I have just started lecturing part-time at the Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) in Perth and collaborating with the Civil Engineering department. Research is in my DNA, and teaching is a great way to learn a subject at a deeper level. I am always keen to help others and enjoy transferring knowledge to young and fresh students. I also enjoy being a volunteer reviewer for engineering journals. As an Engineers Australia Fellow, I see it as my responsibility to assist the industry, and it makes me happy to help others with complicated work.
– You can follow Pouyan on Linkedin here
