Ten PhD theses from all over the world were short listed for the Rocha Medal 2010 of the ISRM, which distinguishes the best PhD thesis in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. The Award Committee decided to award this prize to the thesis Rock Mass Response to Coupled Mechanical Thermal Loading. Äspö Pillar Stability Experiment, Sweden, presented by Dr J. Christer Andersson, from Sweden.

The Board also awarded 2 runner-up certificates to Dr Yoon Jeoung Seok, from Korea, for the thesis “Hydro-mechanical coupling of shear-induced rock fracturing by bonded particle modelling” and to Dr Abbas Taheri, from Iran, for the thesis “Study on shear strength and deformability properties of rock masses by in-situ and laboratory testing methods”.