Keynote Speakers
Prof Maria Juenger
Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, USA
Title: Addressing workability challenges with calcined clays
Dr. Maria Juenger is a Professor and Ernest Cockrell, Jr. Centennial Chair in Engineering #2 in the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Juenger’s teaching and research focus on materials used in civil engineering applications, with an emphasis on chemical issues in cement-based materials. Dr. Juenger is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and currently serves as Vice President of ACI. Dr. Juenger received her B.S. degree in Chemistry and Spanish from Duke University and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University. After completing her Ph.D., she was a postdoctoral researcher in Civil Engineering at the University at California, Berkeley before coming to the University of Texas at Austin.
Prof. Liberato Ferrara
Professor of Structural Analysis and Design, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Title: A holistic approach to material concept and structural design with advanced cement based materials: a pathway to the decarbonisation of the built environment
Dr. Liberato Ferrara is a Professor of Structural Analysis and Design, the Rector’s delegate for relations with Latin America and Scientific director of the Laboratory for Testing Materials, Buildings and Structures. He was a Fulbright visiting scholar at the Center for Advanced Cement-Based Materials at Northwestern University in Illinois and an invited lecturer at Beijing Jiaotong University. Dr. Ferrara has been involved in several FP7, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects. He has coordinated bilateral projects between Italy and South Korea, India, Israel and Germany. He has been an active member of several international committees within ACI and RILEM. He chaired the ACI TC 544 - Fiber Reinforced Concrete and received Delmar L Bloem Distinguished Service Award in 2020. His research interests span advanced cementitious composites, self-healing concrete, 3D printing with cementitious materials, and sustainability. His expertise encompasses experimental research on material properties, numerical modelling, and structural applications.
Prof Ana Brás
Full Professor of bio-materials for infrastructure, School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Title: Nature-inspired innovations: bio-based materials for resilient buildings and structures.
Professor Ana Bras is a Civil Engineer, CEng, FICE, PhD, with 20 years of experience in R&D and Consultancy on bio-based solutions for buildings and structures. She is a Full Professor of Bio-materials for infrastructure at the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment and is the Deputy Director of the Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (BEST) Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University (UK). By combining civil engineering, materials and microbiology expertise she established a research group on bio-based composites with self-healing behaviour, with a focus on durability of infrastructure. Ana has generated over £3 million in direct external research funding. She is Institution of Civil Engineers Policy Fellow for the development of the UK carbon-neutral infrastructure plan and is she is the chair of RILEM TC BEC (Bio-stabilised earth-based construction: performance-approach for better resilience).
Prof. Paulo B. Lourenco
Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal and ICOMOS ISCARSAH President
Title: Built Cultural Heritage and earthquakes: More than 1000 shaking table tests, the new European code and applications.
Dr. Paulo B. Lourenco is professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal. He is experienced in non-destructive testing, advanced experimental and numerical techniques, innovative repair and strengthening techniques, and earthquake engineering. He has acted as consultant for over 100 monuments and at 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. He has been revision leader of the European masonry code (EN 1996-1-1) and coordinator of the Master on Structural Analysis of Monuments and Historical Constructions. He is editor of the International Journal of Architectural Heritage and author of “Historic Construction and Conservation” and “Finite Element Analysis for Building Assessment”, Routledge (2019 and 2022). He has been awarded an ERC Grant to develop an integrated seismic assessment approach for heritage buildings. He is currently coordinator of an MSCA doctoral network on sustainable building lime applications.
Assoc. Prof. A. (Katerina) Varveri
Associate Professor of Chemomechanics of Infrastructure Materials, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Title: Engineering sustainable and durable paving materials through chemomechanical optimization
Dr. A. (Katerina) Varveri is an Associate Professor of Chemomechanics of Infrastructure Materials and Section Head of Biobased Structures and Materials in the Civil Engineering and Geosciences Faculty at Delft University of Technology. Her research focuses on the environmental impacts of material performance, focusing on the chemomechanical properties and durability of paving materials under complex and interacting environmental conditions. Using advanced physico-chemical characterization methods, chemometrics, machine learning, and modeling techniques, she aims to improve road infrastructure durability. Dr. Varveri also investigates bio-based alternatives to bitumen for sustainable pavements. She actively contributes to the field, serving as Secretary of the APSE, Deputy Chair of RILEM Technical Committee 295-FBB, and as a Steering Committee member of EATA.