Investigation of bentonite qualities on water retention characteristic curve -- Evaluation of subgrade resilient modulus from unsaturated cbr test -- Characterization of hydro-mechanical effects of suction and clay minerals on resilient modulus mr. -- Addressing problems related to construction in the middle east of high rise buildings on soft rocks -- Laboratory characterization of reservoir rock and fluids of upper assam basin, india -- Modeling root water uptake, climate and unsaturated vegetated clays interactions in the context of shallow foundation soils -- Application of fragility curves to investigate the effect of rainfall pattern on the performance of an idealized soil slope -- Water retention behaviour of palm-oil mixed kaolin -- A modified correlation using statistical techniques in estimating the unixial compressive strength of sedimentary rocks based on p-wave velocity- a case study -- Predicting swelling potential and soil-water retention curves of some characterized expansive clays based on geotechnical properties -- Prediction of water discharge through the foundation of a rockfill dam in brazil -- Experimental investigation on the crack propagation and coalescence in rock-like specimens with pre-existing cracks under compressive loading -- Effects of rock joint inclinations and spacings on the static behavior of dam foundation.This volume discusses issues related to unsaturated soil mechanics and rock engineering based on technical papers focusing on two important topics in geotechnical engineering: (1) the characterization of unsaturated soils, and (2) the investigation of rock properties. The research studies on unsaturated soils include the characterization techniques of the unsaturated soils. The studies on rock properties include thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of gypsum rock, soft rocks capacity, role of rock strength in blastability, indirect methods to estimate rock strength, and variations in isotope distributions in Permian rocks. The two broad themes in this collection, as summarized above, are representative of local challenges facing geotechnical engineers in the Middle East, but their contributions can also be extended to other regions of the world. The volume is based on the best contributions to the 2nd GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition on Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Egypt 2018 – The official international congress of the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSIGE).