Virginia Morete Barbosa Bertolo

Virginia Morete Barbosa Bertolo is a Postdoctoral Researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology’s Hultgren Laboratory, focusing on advanced high-strength steels for the automotive industry. She previously held a joint Postdoctoral Researcher position at Delft University of Technology and Ghent University (2022–2024), investigating liquid metal embrittlement in Zn-coated steels. Her Ph.D. (2018–2023) in Materials Science and Engineering at Delft University of Technology examined cleavage fracture micromechanisms in high-strength steels applied to offshore and maritime sectors.

• Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Delft University of Technology (2018–2023)
• Postdoctoral Researcher at Delft University of Technology and Ghent University (2022–2024)

Her research integrates advanced materials characterization with multiscale analysis of fracture mechanisms in metallic materials under extreme environments. Key areas include liquid metal embrittlement, cleavage fracture, and fatigue behavior influenced by shearing processes like hole punching. She employs Focused Ion Beam (FIB) – Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and micro-mechanical testing to measure micro residual stresses and analyze strain partitioning, aiming to design steels with enhanced fatigue resistance.

At KTH, Bertolo collaborates with the Hultgren Laboratory, leveraging cutting-edge techniques to bridge processing-microstructure-property relationships in high-strength steels. Her work addresses industrial challenges in automotive and maritime engineering through fundamental micromechanistic insights.