Dr Alex Lester

Dr Alex Lester

Research Associate

School of Engineering

Career Summary

Biography

Alex completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) with First Class Honours in 2012. He commenced work as a Geotechnical Engineer at Douglas Partners in Sydney, where he was involved in the delivery of around 250 projects providing a range of geotechnical services including site investigation, analysis, reporting and foundation inspections. He also developed a number of software solutions aimed at storing and interpreting large quantities of site investigation data. In September 2015 he returned to full time study, completing his PhD at the University of Newcastle entitled "Advanced Numerical Methods for Predicting the Behaviour of Soft Clay Soils". Since March 2020 he has been employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Newcastle investigating efficient computational strategies for three dimensional finite element limit analysis.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Newcastle
  • Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)(Honours), University of Sydney

Keywords

  • Computational geomechanics
  • Finite element analysis
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Limit analysis
  • Soft clay soils

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title Organisation / Department

Professional appointment

Dates Title Organisation / Department
16/1/2012 - 18/9/2015 Geotechnical Engineer

Geotechnical analysis via hand/spreadsheet calculations and computer software, development of software solutions for storage and analysis of geotechnical investigation data, geotechnical site investigation and reporting, soil and rock logging and interpretation, construction inspections for foundations in soil and rock.

 Douglas Partners Pty Ltd
Australia

Teaching

Code Course Role Duration
CIVL4201 Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
The University of Newcastle 		Casual Academic 1/1/2018 - 30/6/2018
CIVL4201 Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
The University of Newcastle 		Causal Academic 1/1/2019 - 30/6/2019
CIVL4830 Stress and Finite Element Methods
The University of Newcastle 		Casual Academic 1/7/2018 - 31/12/2018
CIVL4201 Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
The University of Newcastle 		Casual Academic 1/1/2020 - 30/6/2020
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Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.

Journal article (3 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2019 Lester AM, Kouretzis GP, Sloan SW, 'Finite element modelling of prefabricated vertical drains using 1D drainage elements with attached smear zones', Computers and Geotechnics, 107 235-254 (2019) [C1]
DOI 10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.09.007
Co-authors Georgios Kouretzis
2019 Lester AM, Sloan SW, 'Response to discussion on "A smooth hyperbolic approximation to the Generalised Classical yield function, including a true inner rounding of the Mohr-Coulomb deviatoric section"', COMPUTERS AND GEOTECHNICS, 106 350-350 (2019)
DOI 10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.07.021
2018 Lester AM, Sloan SW, 'A smooth hyperbolic approximation to the Generalised Classical yield function, including a true inner rounding of the Mohr-Coulomb deviatoric section', Computers and Geotechnics, 104 331-357 (2018) [C1]
DOI 10.1016/j.compgeo.2017.12.002
Citations Scopus - 2Web of Science - 1

Conference (1 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2018 Lester AM, Kouretzis G, Sloan S, 'A new method for finite element modelling of prefabricated vertical drains', Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering IX. Proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE 2018), Porto, Portugal (2018) [E1]
Citations Scopus - 1Web of Science - 1
Co-authors Georgios Kouretzis
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Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Completed0
Current1

Current Supervision

Commenced Level of Study Research Title Program Supervisor Type
2020 PhD Modelling the Time-Dependent Behaviour of Soft Soils Under Generalised Loading Conditions PhD (Civil Eng), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle Co-Supervisor
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Dr Alex Lester

Position

Research Associate
School of Engineering
College of Engineering, Science and Environment

Contact Details

Email alexander.lester@newcastle.edu.au

Office

Room EA221
Building EA Building
Location Callaghan
University Drive
Callaghan, NSW 2308
Australia
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