Zhongkun “Frankie” Ouyang

Dr. Zhongkun “Frankie” Ouyang currently serves as the Associate Professor of Ocean Engineering and PI of the Ocean Geotechnics Lab (OG Lab) at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (Tsinghua SIGS). Previously, he was faculty at University of Newhaven, University of Mount Union, and Oregon State University. Dr. Ouyang received his B.Eng from the University of Hong Kong, M.S. and Ph.D. from Georgia Tech. In addition, Dr. Ouyang is the recipient of the Bright Spark Lecture Award and Outstanding Young Geotechnical Engineer Award from International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).

Dr. Ouyang has published over 30 technical papers on prestigious journals including JGGE, CGJ(won editor’s choic award), Ocean Engr, Engr Geology, Acta Geotechnica, Geotechnical Testing Journal and others. His research outcomes have been adopted by US States and Federal agencies, Golder, CNOOC, and Fugro. Ouyang’s research focuses on developing robust and sustainable ocean geotechnics solutions to improve the safety of the offshore infrastructure and cope with the engineering challenges brought by climate change. This includes developing novel sensor-based devices like piezocone penetrometers (CPTU), flat dilatometers (DMT), and other in-situ testing tools to aid engineers in the characterization of offshore geomaterials and design of eco-friendly offshore foundations for ocean energy structures ranging from offshore wind turbines, floating solar panels, to O&G platform.

Jan. 2015 - May. 2019, Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA (Advisor: Paul Mayne)

Aug. 2013 - Dec. 2014, M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA (Advisor: Paul Mayne)

Aug. 2011 - May. 2013, B.Eng. in Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, China (Advisor: Albert T. Yeung)

2026-Now  Tsinghua SIGS, Institute for Ocean Engineering, Associate Professor

2022-2026  Tsinghua SIGS, Institute for Ocean Engineering, Assistant Professor

2021-2022  University of New Haven, College of Engineering,Assistant Professor

2020-2021  University of Mount Union, College of Engineering, Assistant Professor

2019-2020  Oregon State University, College of Civil and Construction,Lecturer

Chinese Ocean Engineering, Editorial Board Member

The Journal of Hydroelectric Engineering, Editorial Board Member

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Associate Member

International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), TC 102 Site Characterization,  TC209 Offshore Geotechnics, Member,

Literature Search and Technical Writing（SIGS）

A Panoramic View of Chinese Culture（SIGS）

English for Master Students（SIGS）

Principles and Numerical Analysis of Geotechnical Engineering（SIGS）

Ocean Insitu Testing And Support Structure Design（SIGS）

Site Characterization and Soil Mechanics Lab （SIGS）

Dr. Ouyang is currently accepting Master and Ph.D. students, please contact me at ouyangzk@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn

Dr. Ouyang’s work has transformed one of the core areas of geotechnical engineering: deriving soil strength parameters from in-situ testing. He developed a rigorous and validated framework for evaluating the effective stress friction angle (f′) of geomaterials using CPT and DMT data, providing a reliable and efficient alternative to laboratory testing.

Grounded in effective stress limit plasticity and spherical cavity expansion theory, and validated against a global dataset of over 200+ field cases, his research offers both theoretical novelty and direct applicability. His contributions were honored with the Editor’s Choice Award of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal and recognition in the 2023 Terzaghi Lecture alongside Prof. Paul Mayne.

He has authored 30+journal and conference papersandover 16 papers for the past 4 yearsonCanadian Geotechnical Journal (CGJ), Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (JGGE), Ocean Engineering, Engineering Geology, Acta Geotechnica, among others—establishing a strong international research record and collaborating with partners from USA, Canada, China, Norway, Egypt, and India. 

1. Key Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China (2025-2028, Co-PI)

2.Young Scientist Project National Natural Science Foundation of China (2025-2027, PI)

3. Key National Research Project, Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2025-2027, Co-PI)

4. General Research Project, NSF of Guangdong Province. (2026-2029, PI)

5. Young Talen Project, Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (2025-2028, PI)

6. Deep See Investigation Apparatus Project, Marine Development Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality(2026-2028, PI)

7. JIP Project, CNOOC (2026-2028, PI)

Li, H., Duan, M., Yang, X., Wang, R., & Ouyang, Z. 2025. Modified CPTU parameters and SBTn chart for predicting shear behavior of organic soils at large strains. Engineering Geology

Ran, Y., Ouyang, Z., Zhou, J., Hu, Z., Liao, R. 2025. Micro-Macro evolution of EICP-treated sand characterized by polarization measurement. Acta Geotechnica

Zhongkun Ouyang., Hualei Feng., Jun Yang., Xiaoqiang Gu., Jie Shi., Haoxi Li., 2026. Interpretation of soil deformation characteristics based on in-situ test:A comprehensive review. Ocean Engineering.

Mayne, P.W., Valsson, Sigurður Már., Nordal, Steinar., Senneset, Kaare., Ouyang, Z., Greig, Jim. 2026. Friction Angle of Sandy Soils from CPT Using the NTH Limit Plasticity Solution. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. 10.1139/cgj-2025-0237

Shi, J., Malik, B. A., Liang, Z., Jing, L., Lu, Y., Gao, F., & Ouyang, Z. (2026). Installation effects on the performance of hybrid suction caissons in sand. Ocean Engineering

Databases for Data-Centric Geotechnics, CRC Press, Chapter 12

2026，ISSMGE, Outstanding Young Geotechnical Engineer Award

2024， Third Prize， Tsinghua Instructor Teaching Competition

2024， Bright Spark Lecture Award ISSMGE, Bright Spark Lecture Award

2019，George F. Sowers Distinguished Graduate Student Award by ASCE Atlanta Geo-Institute Section and Georgia Tech Geosystems Engineering Group

2018，Editor’s Choice paper: Ouyang, Z., Mayne, P.W., 2018, Effective friction angle of clays and silts from cone piezocone penetration tests. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. 55 (9): 1230–1247.