International lectures (in English)

General Director INGETEC
First Vice President ITA
Co-author FIDIC-ITA Emerald Book
Reviewer ITIG Risk Management Code of Practice
Tutor ITA WG 3- Contractual Practices

Dr. Marulanda serves as General Director of INGETEC, an engineering consulting firm with presence in most Latin American countries and worldwide. He also holds the position of First Vice President of the ITA (International Tunnelling Association). His work at ITA highlights his co-authorship of the FIDIC-ITA Emerald Book: Contract Conditions for Underground Works, the review of the ITIG Risk Management Code of Practice for Tunnelling Projects, co-authorship of the ITA Contractual Framework Checklist for Underground Construction Contracts, and his participation as a tutor in the ITA working group on contractual practices (WG3).

Throughout his professional career, Dr. Marulanda has been actively involved in the tunneling industry as a professional, academic, and member of international associations. He has participated as a geotechnical engineer and as a project director in the design or supervision of more than 300 km of hydraulic and transportation tunnels in over 20 projects. He also has extensive experience in the design and supervision of the construction of large underground caverns for hydroelectric projects. His experience and knowledge also include acting as an expert witness in complex arbitration procedures.

Dr. Marulanda is a Civil Engineer from the Universidad de los Andes and holds master's degrees in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in Project Management from Northwestern University. He also has a PhD in Risk Management-ISM (France) and participated in the HBS Presidents Program at Harvard University. He is a registered engineer in Colombia and the USA (Florida) and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Gerardo Pittaro is a Chartered Civil Engineer with the Institution of Civil Engineers in the United Kingdom. He is a Civil Engineer graduated from the UNC (Córdoba), Argentina, holds a Master's degree in Geotechnics from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, and a PhD from the National University of Singapore. Gerardo has been involved in the design, management, and support of underground construction projects for over 15 years in Argentina, Italy, and more recently, in Singapore, where he has spent the last ten years. He has participated as a speaker at various international conferences and seminars and is an active member of multiple committees within ISSMGE and ITA, including TC214 (soft soils), TC211 (soil improvement), TC204 (underground construction in soft soils), and WTG20 (Urban problems, underground solutions). Gerardo currently serves as Director of Tunnels for Latin America at AECOM, based in Panama.

Civil Engineer with over 35 years of experience leading high-impact infrastructure projects in Colombia. Key contributions include managing landmark projects such as the Toyo Tunnel and its access roads, Parques del Río Medellín, Ayacucho Tramway, Madre Laura Bridge, and the Picacho Cable Car, among others. Successfully executed projects with public resources exceeding COP 4.5 trillion, coordinating interdisciplinary teams and ensuring top-quality results.

Dr. Karin Bäppler, Head of Business Development and Presales, Traffic Tunneling Business Unit, Herrenknecht AG, Germany

Karin graduated in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany (now KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and completed her postgraduate studies with a PhD at the Colorado School of Mines, USA. She joined Herrenknecht in 1997 and since then has specialized in geotechnology, research, and development.

From 2008 to 2024, Karin managed the Geotechnical Engineering and Consulting department of the Traffic Tunneling Division at Herrenknecht headquarters in Schwanau, Germany, and in her current position, is responsible as Head of Business Development and Presales.

Since June 2013, Karin is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Herrenknecht AG.

She is a guest lecturer in postgraduate programs at universities in France, Germany, Italy and the USA on the subject of tunnel excavation and tunnel boring machines, as well as giving lectures at international conferences on mechanized tunneling technology.

Lars Langmaack works since more than 25 years for the tunneling industry:
- started 1996 with research & development of TBM additives at Rhône-Poulenc in France
- 14 years for BASF (MBT / Degussa) as European and worldwide technical manager for TBM additives
- 5 years for NORMET International as head of TBM Division
- Technical Director TBM for MC-Bauchemie since January 2019
His main goals are developments for safer tunneling in more and more heterogeneous grounds - broadening the EPB range into full face clay as well as highly permeable ground - including research for more sustainable and environmental friendly chemical product ranges.
Special project consultancy and support during difficult on-site conditions round up his activity spectrum.
He has worked on projects of all diameters:
below 2m up to more than 15m cutterhead diameter, on Hard Rock, Slurry and EPB TBMs of all relevant manufacturers.