Alessandro Rotta Loria

Alessandro Rotta Loria is an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. He leads the Subsurface Opportunities and Innovations Laboratory (SOIL), focusing on geomechanics, energy geostructures, and subsurface climate impacts. His work addresses urban subsurface challenges like underground heat islands and geothermal energy storage.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Mechanics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), 2018
• M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 2013 and 2011

Research Interests:

His research spans geothermal energy systems, thermal effects on infrastructure, and sustainable materials. Key areas include energy geostructures (e.g., geothermal heat exchangers) and leveraging subsurface resources for climate resilience. Recent work highlights include studies on Chicago’s subsurface heat islands and carbon-negative concrete via electrochemical processes.

Awards:

• Crain’s Chicago Business’ 40 Under 40 (2023)
• NSF CAREER Award (2021)
• World Innovator Under 35 (MIT TR35, 2021)

Advising and Labs: Supervises over 20 graduate and undergraduate researchers in the SOIL lab. Collaborates with industry on geothermal startups like Enerdrape. Active in academia-industry partnerships for energy geotechnics.

Media Impact:

• Featured in New York Times, Scientific American, and BBC for work on underground climate change
• TEDxChicago speaker on sustainable urban solutions