Biography

Giovanni Grasselli is a Professor and the NSERC/Energi Simulation Industrial Research Chair in Fundamental Petroleum Rock Physics and Rock Mechanics at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on hybrid finite-discrete element (FDEM) numerical technology, experimental visualization techniques, and geomechanics principles applied to the study of tunneling and hydraulic fracturing. He received the prestigious ISRM Rocha Medal (2004) for best thesis worldwide in rock mechanics and supervised two Rocha Medal winners (2015 and 2017). Through the start-up company Geomechanica Inc., the FDEM technology is currently commercialized and translated to engineering practice.