Pier Paolo Riviera

Pier Paolo Riviera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI) at the Polytechnic University of Turin. He is also the Operating Project Manager for the Uzbekistan project and a member of the Interdepartmental Center SISCON, focusing on the safety of infrastructures and constructions. His academic career spans over a decade at Politecnico di Torino, where he progressed from research fellow to permanent researcher and now holds a senior faculty position.

He earned his PhD in Structures and Infrastructures from the Polytechnic University of Marche in 2007, with a thesis on the workability of bituminous concrete. Since 2008, he has been affiliated with Politecnico di Torino, contributing to research on recycled and secondary materials in road infrastructure. Since 2013, he has also taught at the Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, demonstrating an international academic presence.

Riviera's research is centered on sustainable pavement materials, including asphalt concrete, bitumens, reclaimed asphalt, recycling, and sustainable design. His work emphasizes life cycle assessment (LCA), eco-design, and the use of waste materials such as municipal solid waste bottom ashes and polymers in asphalt mixtures. He investigates performance-based assessment of binders, cold recycling techniques, and innovative solutions for rural and unpaved roads.

His recent publications reflect a strong trend toward sustainability, circular economy, and environmental impact assessment in road infrastructure. He frequently publishes on LCA, biogenic carbon, recycling, and the mechanical characterization of innovative asphalt mixtures, often in collaboration with researchers such as Ezio Santagata and Lucia Tsantilis.

He has received multiple scientific recognitions, including:

• Best Paper Award - Innovative Materials and Pavements (MAIREPAV6, 2009)
• Selected Papers Award (RILEM SIB Symposium 2015)
• Selected Papers Award (NAXOS 2018 Conference)

Riviera supervises several PhD students, including Mattia Di Sessa, Mozhgan Hajiali, and Rajab Ali Mehraban, and is involved in both competitively funded and commercial research projects. Notably, he is a member of the Green Roads project (2024–2026) on plastic-modified asphalt mixtures and has led commercial research on innovative bituminous mixtures and self-compacting cementitious materials.

He is actively involved in teaching, serving as course lecturer for 'Construction of Transportation Infrastructures' and 'Roads, Railways and Airports,' and is a member of PhD collegia in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His work bridges academic research, practical application, and international collaboration, particularly in Central Asia.