IVAN LOPEZ MOREIRA

Dr. Ivan Lopez Moreira is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agroforestry Engineering at the Higher Polytechnic School of Engineering, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. His research focuses on renewable energy systems, particularly wave and tidal energy converters, hydrodynamic modeling, and artificial reef design. He is affiliated with the Strategic Grouping in Sustainable Management and Production of Bioresources (BioReDes) and the CIGEO Group for Integrated Civil Engineering and Geomatics. Lopez Moreira holds a Doctorate from the University of Santiago de Compostela (2015), focusing on optimizing turbine-chamber coupling in OWC devices using numerical modeling and laboratory tests with PIV technology, under the supervision of Dr. Jose Gregorio Iglesias Rodríguez.

Research Interests: His work integrates computational fluid dynamics, experimental hydrodynamics, and ecological engineering. Key areas include: 1) Wave energy converter performance optimization, 2) Tidal stream energy site selection methodologies, 3) Hydrodynamic design of artificial reefs for biodiversity enhancement, and 4) Multi-criteria analysis for renewable energy project feasibility. Recent studies address seasonal variability impacts on hydrokinetic systems and cost-effective analysis frameworks for marine energy projects.

Key Contributions: Developed novel indices for tidal stream farm siting (i-IHE index), proposed 3D hydrodynamic criteria for artificial reef nest cavities, and advanced smartphone sensor applications for OWC motion measurement. His research bridges engineering and environmental science to address sustainability challenges in coastal and marine energy systems.

Labs & Teams: Active in the CIGEO Group and BioReDes strategic unit, collaborating on projects like the LOWREB caisson modeling and estuarine tidal impact assessments. His work often integrates marine spatial planning tools with renewable energy systems optimization.