Dr. Mikhail Z Kanevskiy is a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks. He received his PhD degree in Geology (Permafrost and Engineering Geology) from Moscow State University in 2004 and was a Post Doc fellow at the Institute of Northern Engineering, College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has more than 40 years of experience in permafrost investigations, cold region engineering, and environmental studies in various permafrost regions. His research mainly focuses on permafrost structure and properties, the formation and degradation of ground ice, and permafrost-related geological hazards (e.g., thermokarst, thermal erosion, frost heave).