Rate My Professor Davide Guccione

Dr. Davide Guccione serves as an ARC Industry Fellow and Casual Academic in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from the University of Newcastle in 2021, with a thesis entitled "An experimental investigation of fragmentation occurrence and outcome in the context of rockfall." Prior to this, he obtained a Master of Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Parma, Italy, along with a Diploma of Mining and Geoenvironmental Qualified Industrial Technician from Caltanissetta, Italy. His career at the University of Newcastle includes roles such as Tutor in the School of Engineering from July 2018 to December 2022. Currently, as part of his ARC Industry Fellowship in collaboration with Rocscience, he contributes to the Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, focusing on advancing geotechnical analysis tools.

Guccione's research expertise encompasses rock mechanics, rockfall analysis, and photogrammetry, with fields of research classified as photogrammetry and remote sensing (50%) and civil geotechnical engineering (50%). He has authored numerous publications, including journal articles such as "Fragmentation Patterns and Trajectories During Rockfall: Analysis of the Influence of Discontinuities and Impact Conditions Through Drop Tests" in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (2026), "Fragmentation and energy dissipation in rockfall: Effects of block shape and non-collinear impact dynamics" in International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences (2026), and "From rock mass to rockfall activity: A comprehensive rockfall assessment using 3D kinematic analysis and change detection" in Engineering Geology (2025). Notable conference contributions include "A New Stochastic Rockfall Fragmentation Approach for Lumped Mass Simulations" at the Rocscience International Conference (2025), "Monitoring and Prediction of Coastal Rockfall Hazard: An Application of RocSlope3 in Newcastle (Australia)" (2025), and "Application of a copula approach to quantify rainfall-induced rockfall" at the 1st Australian Conference on Engineering Geology (2025). His work addresses critical challenges in rockfall hazard prediction, fragmentation modeling, and slope monitoring for highwalls, coastal cliffs, and transportation networks. Guccione has received several accolades, including the 2022 D.H. Trollope Medal from the Australian Geomechanics Society (2023), Early Career Researcher Excellence Award - Highly Commended from the College of Engineering, Science, and Environment (2023), AGS NSW Research Award (2020), 1st Runner-Up NSW Young Geomechanical Professionals Award (2024), Postgraduate Research Prize in Civil Engineering (2019), and University of Newcastle scholarships (2016). These achievements underscore his influence in developing innovative stochastic models and photogrammetric techniques that enhance geotechnical risk management and design practices.