Dr. Zhan obtained PhD degree in geotechnical engineering from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2003. He is a full professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University. His main research area is unsaturated soil mechanics and geoenvironmental engineering, particularly gas and water flow, waste mechanics, landfill cover and barrier etc. He is principal investigator of one project from National key research and development program of China, six projects from Natural Science Foundation of China and several important consultant projects related to waste landfills. He has published over 200 papers, including 90 peer-reviewed international journal papers. He received an Honorable Mention for the R.M. Quigley Award for an outstanding publication in Canadian Geotechnical Journal. He is associate editor of two international journals, i.e., Geotextiles & Geomembranes and Detritus journal.