"Guido Gottardi is Professor of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Bologna, Italy. He spent a Marie Curie Research Fellowship at the Universities of Oxford and Southampton (UK), where he developed his research on the analytical modelling of the behaviour of shallow foundations under general loading, with special reference to offshore innovative applications. Author of about 150 scientific papers, his more recent research interests include the geotechnical characterization by CPT, the assessment of the probability of failure of river embankments under transient flow, the stability analysis of towers, the physical and numerical modelling of the response of falling rock protection barriers. He is member of ISSMGE Technical Committees TC102 on In-Situ Testing and TC209 on Offshore Geotechnics. Laura Tonni obtained a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from the Technical University of Torino. Since 2004 she has been a member of the Academic Staff at the University of Bologna and she currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering. Her research interests mainly include geotechnical characterization through in situ tests, with special reference to intermediate soil deposits, seismic liquefaction, stability of river embankments and mitigation of backward erosion piping phenomena. She is member of the ISSMGE Technical Committees TC102 ""In-situ testing"" and TC201 ""Dykes and Levees""."