Dr. Muhamad Yusa is an associate professor in geotechnical engineering at Universitas Riau, Pekanbaru.

At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, he’s researching geotechnical engineering on a project entitled “coastal peat burst and slide,” which refers to peatland collapse. Since peatland stores more than 30 percent of carbon worldwide, and its degradation and collapse result in massive emissions of carbon into the atmosphere, his research topic is highly timely. Indonesia is home to vast amounts of tropical peatland.

Dr. Muhamad earned his bachelor’s degree from Institut Teknologi Bandung, a master’s from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and a PhD from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, all in civil engineering.