Prof. Dong studied and worked in Dalian University of Technology (China). He has an internationally recognized track record of publications in engineering mechanics, materials science and civil & hydraulic engineering. Such areas include (but not limited to) (1) exploring the application of fracture mechanics in concrete structural analysis; (2) investigation on shrinkage and creep behaviours of cement-based materials; (3) development on the fracture test method for concrete, rock and other quasi-brittle construction materials; (4) evaluation of safety and durability on the concrete dams in service. The quality of his contributions is reflected in his citation index (679: excluding self-citations in Scopus database accessed on 01/09/2020) with H-factor: 14 and i10-index 22. Prof. Dong has over 10 years of formal teaching experience to undergraduate and graduate students with a variety of backgrounds which gives him challenging and rewarding classroom discussion. In 2016, due to the positive and productive nature of his classroom approach, he won the 1^st Class Award of the Young Faculty Teaching Competition of National Hydraulics Discipline in China. He has supervised 57 of BSc and 15 MSc students, and is supervising 3 Ph.D students in their research projects.