Professor Nancy Ingabire Abayo Represents U.S. at International Conference, Earns Additional Honors

Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Nancy Ingabire Abayo recently represented the U.S. and the Geo-Institute of ASCE at the 8th International Young Geotechnical Engineering Conference (8iygec) in Graz, Austria.

This quadrennial event brings together top global geotechnical professionals under the age of 35. Ingabire Abayo served as one of three U.S. delegates selected by the Geo-Institute along with Ali Sedaghat and Joseph Vantassel. The conference connected researchers from six continents, including her home continent of Africa.

Ingabire Abayo received one of three Best Paper/Presentation awards for her paper, “Direct Shear Testing of Inclined Layered Granular Sediments: Implications for Geohazards”. The paper is based on the work with her undergraduate students Alessia Costanzo, Sophia Pedrazzi and Shanza Asif.

While in Austria, Ingabire Abayo also attended the International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE 2026), which celebrated its centennial. The event allowed her to network with longtime mentors who are now colleagues, and tour the historic Terzaghi Archive and Time Capsule.

Nancy Ingabire Abayo received one of three Best Paper/Presentation awards for her paper, “Direct Shear Testing of Inclined Layered Granular Sediments: Implications for Geohazards”.

“As an early-career researcher, this trip was truly rewarding,” Ingabire Abayo said. “I found it incredible to learn so much in terms of technical content, but also from the informal mentorship of many colleagues during breaks, lunch, and dinner interactions.”

Her global recognition follows other recent achievements. She was featured in Geostrata magazine this year and received the 2026 Younger Members Award from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), which honored her at the National Conference on Earthquake Engineering in Portland, Oregon, this July where she also engaged in the conference as co-organizer, moderator, and presenter in various conference sessions .

She plans to bring the historical anecdotes from the Terzaghi Archive tour and technical insights from the conferences back to her classroom this fall, noting that the experience reinforced her commitment to global collaboration.

“I left truly inspired and energized to do my part to contribute to international collaborations that ensure safe infrastructure, especially in the face of geohazards,” she said. “I saw the same passion a continent away, where several languages and cultures come together and are committed to making sure that the next 100 years of our profession are transformative and remain people-centered.”