The Team

Prof. Dr. Robert Galler

Head of Department

From 1997 to 2007 he worked with GEOCONSULT, an international consultant in the field of underground constructions. He has experience in numerous national and international research and consulting projects. Since the year of 2000 Robert Galler is Member of the management board of ÖGG – Austrian Society for Geomechanics; since 2005 he is the Austrian representative of the ITA – International Tunnelling Association. Since 2013 Robert Galler is Chairman of ITA-CET, the committee on education and training within the ITA.

Ing. Bernhard Reinwald

Safety officer

Bernhard Reinwald completed his Matura in the raw material technology department at the HTL Leoben in 2018. After completing his basic military service at Jägerbatallion 18 in St. Michael i.O. he is responsible for safety and the operation at the Zentrum am Berg at the Montanuniversität Leoben.

Dipl.-Ing. Robert Wenighofer

DI Robert Wenighofer has been a research assistant at the Chair of Subsurface Engineering since 2014 and has had a professional background of surveying and mining surveying since 1989 (DI Umlauf, ZT OG Loschnigg-Dachsberger). His professional and scientific areas are near field photogrammetry, laser scanning, CAD and mining projects. He contributes to numerous scientific projects of the Chair of Subsurface Engineering.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marlene Villeneuve

Marlène Villeneuve completed her PhD in 2008 at Queen’s University, in Canada, after which she spent two years working as a tunnel engineer for McMillan Jacobs Associates in the USA and Australia. From 2010-2020 she was a lecturer, senior lecturer and finally an Associate Professor in rock mechanics at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She joined the Chair of Subsurface Engineering in 2020 and focuses on teaching and research in the fields of rock mechanics and numerical modelling.

Michael Mrazek

After completing his mechanical engineering apprenticeship and many years of professional experience in this field, Michael supports the team at the Zentrum am Berg in all technical matters.

Inz.-Mech. Ktn Aliaksei Patsekha

Obtained his educational background in Technology, Equipment and Automation of Mechanical Engineering and Prevention and Elimination of Emergencies at the universities of Belarus. In 2017 completed a doctoral degree (degree of a Candidate of Technical Sciences) in Fire and Industrial Safety at the University of Civil Protection of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus. Since June 2020 Aliaksei Patsekha works as a research associate at the Chair of Subsurface Engineering. His research interests lie in the field of Fire Dynamics and Tunnel Fire Safety.

Ing. Jörg Krainz

From 1993 to 1997, Jörg Krainz worked as a skilled worker (paper technician) at Brigl & Bergmeister in Niklasdorf. From 1998 to 2009, Jörg Krainz was employed at RHI Magnesita in the Technology Center Leoben, in the physics department. His tasks were; Investigations on refractory products, further development of test procedures and participation in R&D projects. After attending the evening school for mechanical engineering and industrial engineering, Jörg Krainz is employed as a laboratory manager at the University of Leoben at the Department of Subsurface Engineering.

Dipl.-Ing. Erik Schuller

Erik Schuller is a graduate of mining engineering at the Montanuniversitaet Leoben. He has been a research associate since 2004 and Senior Lecturer at the Chair of Subsurface Engineering since 2010. In addition to working on numerous projects, Erik Schuller is primarily involved in teaching with a focus on soil mechanics and numerical simulations of geotechnical problems.

Ing. Peter Schwab

Expert advisor

With his many years of civil engineering experience, Peter Schwab supported the team during the entire construction phase of the ZaB and is now at the side of the entire staff as a consultant and trainer in all subject-related issues.

Patrizia Gäbler

Patritzia Gäbler has been working as a project assistant at the Chair of Subsurface Engineering since 1.12.2022.

Her task is to support the project managers and the team in projects.

Aliaa Hammoud

Aliaa Hammoud holds a BSc in Geology from the American University of Beirut, in Lebanon and MSc in Petroleum Production Engineering from the University of Leeds, in UK. In 2022, She joined the chair of subsurface engineering as a University Assistant working towards her PhD. Her research interest lie in the field of Drilling Engineering, Well Logging, Geothermal energy and Machine Learning.

Arsham Karsh A. Moayedi Far

Arsham ist als Research Assistant (RA) am Lehrstuhl für Subsurface Engineering beschäftigt. Sein Hauptaugenmerk liegt auf der Untersuchung der geomechanischen, ökologischen und wirtschaftlichen Aspekte von H2-Geospeichern. Arsham hat einen B.Sc. Abschluss in Bergbauingenieurwesen, wo er ein Forschungsprojekt zur Nutzung der Ameisenkolonie-Optimierung zur Vorhersage der TBM-Leistung durchführte. Darüber hinaus erwarb er einen M.Sc. Abschluss an der TMU in Tunnel- und Untergrundräumen, wobei sich seine Abschlussarbeit auf die seismische Bewertung von Tunneln konzentrierte. Arsham verfügt über umfangreiche Fachkenntnisse in der numerischen Modellierung und Fähigkeiten in der leistungsbasierten Bewertung von Strukturen sowie Techniken der künstlichen Intelligenz (KI) und des maschinellen Lernens (ML). Darüber hinaus verfügt Arsham über praktische Erfahrung bei der Durchführung von Labortests an verschiedenen Arten von FRC-Proben.