Dr Viroon established his research at HKUST in green slope engineering. He considered vegetation as a self-regenerating material for promoting slope stability. A novel aspect of his PhD was the development of a world-first system that can simulate root reinforcement and water uptake simultaneously in the geotechnical centrifuge.
This system allows researchers to consider coupled hydro-mechanical reinforcements of “live” vegetation on earth structures, such as slopes, flood embankments and landfill covers. He was awarded a fellowship from Hong Kong and Scottish governments, further expanding cross-disciplinary collaboration between HKUST, the University of Dundee and the James Hutton Institute. During his time in HKUST, Dr Viroon was also actively involved in a number of academic-industrial projects, including for the third runway for the Hong Kong International Airport. He co-authored a total of 17 publications in SCI journals and conferences, and successfully co-applied for a patent for instrumentation developed during his research.
He is currently a Lecturer at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) in Thailand. He has also been appointed to the subcommittee on Geotechnical Engineering of the Engineering Institute of Thailand under H.M. the King’s Patronage. His current research aims to develop innovative, biologically enhanced methods for greener and more resilient infrastructure, resulting in aesthetically-pleasing built environments.
You can see one of Dr Kamchoom’s centrifuge tests here.