Staff profile

Sravan Muguda Viswanath is an Assistant Professor in Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure at the Department of Engineering, Durham University specialising in bio-geotechnics, sustainable geo-infrastructure, and earthen construction materials. Sravan's research aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on innovative approaches to enhance soil stabilisation, promote resilient infrastructure, and support climate adaptation efforts. By developing sustainable geo-materials and bioremediation techniques, their work addresses critical global challenges in sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), climate action (SDG 13), and life on land (SDG 15).

Sravan Muguda holds dual-PhD degree from Durham University, United Kingdom and University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour, France obtained through the prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship under the TERRE-ITN program, which provided a strong foundation for their interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Sravan has supervised numerous BEng, MEng, MSc, and PhD projects, contributing to innovation and knowledge dissemination in their field.

In teaching, Sravan integrates over 10 years of professional experience into their courses, emphasizing practical applications and industry-relevant skills. Sravan has led courses in surveying, environmental engineering, and design projects, incorporating innovative teaching methods to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.

Sravan is committed to mentoring the next generation of engineers and researchers, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for students from diverse backgrounds.

Funded Research Projects

1. Fungi-Biopolymer synergistic application in soil stabilization: UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Early Career Researcher International Collaboration Grants; £199,794.34. Role: Principal Investigator.
2. EPSRC IAA Equipment - Automatic Hydraulic Machine: Internal IAA Equipment Call; £20,262. Role: Co-Investigator.

Academic Commitments

• L3 Structures, Materials and Geomatics - Surveying
• L3 Environmental Engineering - Site Investigation
• L3 Civil Design

Departmental Commitments

• Academic Lead for Civils and Mechanical Laboratory
• GEER Representative to Infrastructure Committee
• GEER Representative to Health & Safety Committee

Opportunities for PhD Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

🌍 Calling Aspiring Researchers in Sustainable Geotechnics! 🌱

I am looking for prospective PhD students passionate about tackling the global climate crisis through innovative, nature-based engineering solutions.

Our research explores how bio-based methods can transform soil stabilisation, building materials, and climate-resilient infrastructure — advancing UN SDG 13: Climate Action.

Potential research themes include:

🔹 Rapid-Curing Biopolymer Systems for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure in Post-Disaster Scenarios.

🔹 Recycling Bio-Stabilized Soils for Circular Geotechnical Applications in a Changing Climate.

🔹 Engineering fungi-biopolymer systems for climate resilient geo-infrastructure.

🔹 Nature-based geo-solutions for flood and erosion mitigation.

🔹 or ... any other topics related to nature based solutions in geo-infrastructure.

📅 Application deadline: Early February 2026🎓 Interested applicants should work toward obtaining an unconditional offer from the university to be eligible for this PhD studentship.

If you are motivated to contribute to sustainable, climate-adaptive infrastructure and wish to explore bio-geotechnical innovation, I’d love to hear from you. 🌿

📩 Please contact me with your CV and a short statement of research interest.

Prospective PDRAs are welcome to discuss potential opportunities, subject to funding availability. I also support applications for competitive funding schemes like Commonwealth and Royal Society Fellowships.

If interested, please email me at sravan.muguda-viswanath@durham.ac.uk with your CV and a brief statement of research interests.

• Bio-Geotechnics - Biopolymers, Enzymatic stabilisation of soils
• Resilient Earthen infrastructure - Deterioration, Soil Improvement
• Earthen construction - Rammed Earth, Compressed earth blocks

Chapter in book

• Recent Innovations in Stabilized Earthen Construction
  
  Nagaraj, H. B., & Muguda, S. (in press). Recent Innovations in Stabilized Earthen Construction. In Sustainable Materials in Building Construction (pp. 149-164). Springer, Cham.

Conference Paper

• Hydraulic Response of Sandy Soil to Fungi-Biopolymer Treatment
  
  Sivadasan, S., Muguda, S., Salifu, E., Tirkolaei, H. K., Bruno, A. W., & Gallipoli, D. (2025, August 18). Hydraulic Response of Sandy Soil to Fungi-Biopolymer Treatment. Presented at EUNSAT2025 + BGE, Portugal, Lisbon. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202564205009
• Insights into the impact of synergistic fungi-biopolymer stabilization on the shear strength of sand
  
  Sivadasan, S., Muguda, S., Salifu, E., Tirkolaei, H. K., Bruno, A. W., & Gallipoli, D. (2025, May 19). Insights into the impact of synergistic fungi-biopolymer stabilization on the shear strength of sand. Presented at 2025 International Conference on Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (ICBBG), Tempe, Arizona. https://doi.org/10.53243/ICBBG2025-119
• Exploratory Research on Optimizing the Synergistic Application of Fungi Biopolymers in Soil Engineering
  
  Lane, A., Muguda, S., Salifu, E., Tirkolaei, H. K., Bruno, A. W., & Gallipoli, D. (2025, May 19). Exploratory Research on Optimizing the Synergistic Application of Fungi Biopolymers in Soil Engineering. Presented at 2025 International Conference on Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (ICBBG), Tempe, Arizona. https://doi.org/10.53243/ICBBG2025-118
• A non-hysteretic simplification to the Glasgow Coupled Model (GCM)
  
  Mutsvairo, T., Lloret-Cabot, M., Hughes, P., Muguda-Viswanath, S., & Dias, A. S. (2024). A non-hysteretic simplification to the Glasgow Coupled Model (GCM). In W. M. Coombs (Ed.), UKACM Proceedings 2024 (pp. 113-116). Durham University, UK Association for Computational Mechanics. https://doi.org/10.62512/conf.ukacm2024.060
• An Apparatus to Monitor Suction Evolution and Water Migration within a Soil Mass for Climate-Adaptive Infrastructure
  
  Rana, A., Kumar Sharma, A., Kumar, A., Azizi, A., Muguda, S., Osman, A., & Toll, D. G. (2023). An Apparatus to Monitor Suction Evolution and Water Migration within a Soil Mass for Climate-Adaptive Infrastructure. In Geo-Risk 2023 (pp. 117-126). American Society of Civil Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784484968.013
• Evaluation of recycling capabilities of bio-stabilised earth building materials
  
  Cuccurullo, A., Muguda, S., Gallipoli, D., & Perlot, C. (2022, March 18 – 2022, March 19). Evaluation of recycling capabilities of bio-stabilised earth building materials [Conference paper]. Presented at RILEM International Conference on Earthen Construction, Université Gustave Eiffel, Paris.
• A review of factors affecting undrained strength of fine-grained soils at consistency limits.
  
  Nagaraj, H., & Muguda, S. (2019). A review of factors affecting undrained strength of fine-grained soils at consistency limits. Presented at The XVII European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Reykjavik Iceland.
• Geotechnical characterisation of recycled biopolymer-stabilised earthen materials
  
  Muguda, S., Hughes, P., Augarde, C., Perlot, C., Bruno, A., & Gallipoli, D. (2019). Geotechnical characterisation of recycled biopolymer-stabilised earthen materials. Presented at The XVII European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Reykjavik Iceland.
• Preliminary study on use of biopolymers in earthen construction
  
  Muguda, S., Booth, S., Hughes, P., Augarde, C., Perlot, C., Bruno, A., & Gallipoli, D. (2018, August 3). Preliminary study on use of biopolymers in earthen construction. Presented at 7th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Hong Kong, China.

Doctoral Thesis

• Biopolymer Stabilised Earthen Construction Materials
  
  Muguda Viswanath, S. (2019). Biopolymer Stabilised Earthen Construction Materials [Thesis]. Durham University. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13444/

Journal Article

• Shrinkage Limit Determination of Soils Using Hydrophobic Compounds
  
  Asha, M., Nagaraj, H. B., & Muguda, S. (2025). Shrinkage Limit Determination of Soils Using Hydrophobic Compounds. Geotech Geol Eng, 43(5), Article 214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-025-03162-7
• Recycling biopolymer stabilised earthen construction materials using β-mannanase
  
  Muguda, S., & Wyndham, M. (2024). Recycling biopolymer stabilised earthen construction materials using β-mannanase. Construction and Building Materials, 457, Article 139334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.139334
• Cross-linking of biopolymers for stabilising earthen construction materials
  
  Muguda, S., Hughes, P., Augarde, C., Perlot, C., Bruno, A., & Gallipoli, D. (2022). Cross-linking of biopolymers for stabilising earthen construction materials. Building Research and Information, 50(5), 502-514. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2021.2001304
• Discussion on "Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents"
  
  Nagaraj, H. B., Sravan, M. V., & Deepa, B. S. (2021). Discussion on "Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents". Geomechanics and Geoengineering, 16(4), 325-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2019.1670875
• Durability and hygroscopic behaviour of biopolymer stabilised earthen construction materials
  
  Muguda, S., Lucas, G., Hughes, P. N., Augarde, C. E., Perlot, C., Bruno, A. W., & Gallipoli, D. (2020). Durability and hygroscopic behaviour of biopolymer stabilised earthen construction materials. Construction and Building Materials, 259, Article 119725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119725
• Effect of enzymes on plasticity and strength characteristics of an earthen construction material
  
  Muguda, S., & Nagaraj, H. B. (2019). Effect of enzymes on plasticity and strength characteristics of an earthen construction material. International Journal of Geo-Engineering, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40703-019-0098-2
• Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents
  
  Nagaraj, H., Sravan, M., & Deepa, B. (2018). Factors influencing undrained strength of fine-grained soils at high water contents. Geomechanics and Geoengineering, 13(4), 276-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2018.1445873
• Mechanical properties of biopolymer-stabilised soil-based construction materials
  
  Muguda, S., Booth, S. J., Hughes, P. N., Augarde, C. E., Perlot, C., Bruno, A. W., & Gallipoli, D. (2017). Mechanical properties of biopolymer-stabilised soil-based construction materials. Géotechnique Letters, 7(4), 309-314. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.17.00081
• Potential Use of Enzymes in the Preparation of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks
  
  Muguda Viswanath, S., & Nagaraj, H. B. (2017). Potential Use of Enzymes in the Preparation of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 29(9), Article 04017103. https://doi.org/10.1061/%28asce%29mt.1943-5533.0001947
• Influence of soil gradation, proportion and combination of admixtures on the properties and durability of CSEBs
  
  Nagaraj, H. B., Rajesh, A., & Sravan, M. V. (2016). Influence of soil gradation, proportion and combination of admixtures on the properties and durability of CSEBs. Construction and Building Materials, 110, 135-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.023
• Correlation of compaction characteristics of natural soils with modified plastic limit.
  
  Nagaraj, H. B., Reesha, B., Sravan, M. V., & Suresh, M. R. (2015). Correlation of compaction characteristics of natural soils with modified plastic limit. Transportation Geotechnics, 2, 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2014.09.002
• Role of lime with cement in long-term strength of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks
  
  Nagaraj, H. B., Sravan, M. V., Arun, T. G., & Jagadish, K. S. (2014). Role of lime with cement in long-term strength of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks. International Journal for Sustainable Built Environment, 3(1), 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2014.03.001