Entrant: Maria Giulia Migliorelli

Copyright: 2024 Maria Giulia Migliorelli

Funding: Strathclyde International Strategic Partnership (ISP) fund

This image combines an X-ray scan of microscopic mica clay particles with a cityscape. Despite their presence in most soils, clays remain largely unexplored. Through X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), this research unveils clays' micromechanical behaviour, to enhance soil mechanics predictability and design practices. The cityscape is a metaphor of our daily environments, highlighting the unseen but pervasive presence of clays beneath us, with implications for construction, natural hazards, and environmental sustainability.