Dr. Jurgen Becque is an Associate Professor in Structural Engineering at the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering. He specializes in cold-formed steel structures, stainless steel structural behavior, and stability analysis, with a focus on local-overall buckling interaction and innovative design methodologies. His work bridges experimental investigations with computational modeling and machine learning applications. Research Interests: Cold-formed steel structural systems Stainless steel column stability Local and overall buckling interaction Mechanics-based design optimization Machine learning for structural behavior prediction Recent publications demonstrate expertise in cross-sectional stability, connection mechanics, and composite systems like UHPC-confined stainless steel columns. His work addresses both monotonic and cyclic loading scenarios, contributing to Eurocode 3 design standards.
Dr. Tarek Sayed is a Professor at the University of British Columbia's Department of Civil Engineering within the Faculty of Applied Science. He specializes in Transportation Engineering, focusing on road safety analysis, traffic operations, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). He serves as the Director of the Bureau of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Freight Security (BITSAFS-Engineering) and Editor of the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering . His research addresses three core areas: improving road safety evaluation techniques, enhancing safety through traffic operations and highway design analysis, and advancing ITS technologies. Notable contributions include frameworks for safety-audits of infrastructure projects like the Sea to Sky Highway and methodologies for evaluating transit signal priority systems in Vancouver. He has authored/co-authored over 250 publications and supervised 60 graduate students. Key Roles: Professor, BITSAFS Director, Journal Editor Awards: Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Wilbur Smith Award, Sandford Fleming Award, Prince Michael International Road Safety Award Consulting: Global projects in traffic safety and ITS for agencies like ICBC, FHWA, and Ashghal His research integrates Bayesian statistical methods, extreme value theory, and machine learning to model traffic conflicts, pedestrian behavior, and safety interventions. Current projects include real-time safety optimization using autonomous vehicle data and analyzing shared space interactions between cyclists and pedestrians. Dr. Sayed chairs national/international committees, including the U.S. Transportation Research Board’s safety data committee. His work bridges academia and practice, influencing policy and infrastructure investment decisions worldwide.
Dr. ONG Ghim Ping Raymond is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head (Research) at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS). He concurrently serves as Director (Operations) at the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) Singapore. His expertise spans sustainable pavements, multimodal transport infrastructure, and urban mobility systems. Dr. Ong holds a B.Eng (Civil) with First Class Honours and a PhD from NUS, followed by postdoctoral research at Purdue University. He has authored/co-authored over 85 peer-reviewed journal articles and 120 conference papers. His research focuses on circular economy applications in infrastructure, car-lite urban design, and mega-projects like Tuas Port and Changi Airport expansions. Dr. Ong actively engages in policy advisory roles, serving on international committees for ASCE, ASTM, and EASTS. He has received prestigious awards including the Alfred Noble Prize (ASCE) and Takeuchi Yoshio Award (OCDI). His teaching accolades include multiple NUS Faculty of Engineering commendations. He advises on critical infrastructure projects for agencies like Changi Airport Group and Defence Science and Technology Agency. Dr. Ong frequently contributes to public discourse on transport and urban planning via media interviews and policy consultations.
Daniel E. Ho holds multiple prestigious positions at Stanford University: William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law Professor of Political Science Professor of Computer Science (by courtesy) Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Faculty Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences He serves on the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Commission (NAIAC), as Senior Advisor on Responsible AI at the U.S. Department of Labor, and as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). Ho earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and Ph.D. from Harvard University, completing a clerkship with Judge Stephen F. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His research bridges artificial intelligence, law, and public policy with emphasis on: Regulatory governance frameworks for AI systems Fairness and bias mitigation in algorithmic decision-making Environmental enforcement using satellite imagery and computer vision Methods for estimating racial disparities without direct demographic data Legal AI reliability and statutory research systems Analysis of his 2025 publications reveals a consistent focus on practical AI governance tools addressing real-world regulatory challenges. Key themes include developing benchmarks for legal applications, mitigating hallucination in legal AI tools, and creating systems for statutory research. His work demonstrates strong integration of technical AI methods with policy implementation, particularly in environmental enforcement and fairness assessment. As Director of the Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab (RegLab), Ho leads interdisciplinary research partnerships with government agencies. While specific grant details aren't provided, RegLab's operational model indicates substantial research funding for policy-relevant AI projects. No student advisees are mentioned in available materials. Ho's leadership extends to national advisory roles where he shapes federal AI policy through evidence-based recommendations, particularly regarding environmental protection and civil rights enforcement mechanisms.
Ben Livneh is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder , affiliated with both the Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) . As Director of the Western Water Assessment , he bridges academic research with regional climate resilience initiatives. Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Hydrology), University of Washington (2012) MESc in Civil Engineering, University of Western Ontario (2006) His research explores hydrologic responses to climate and land-cover changes , focusing on snowpack dynamics, wildfire impacts on water quality, sediment transport, and drought predictability. Key projects include simulations of montane snowpack for wolverine habitat preservation and post-fire landslide susceptibility analysis . Recent publications highlight continental-scale hydraulic geometry datasets , climate-energy nexus challenges , and global lake level reconstructions using satellite data. His work has been recognized by the AGU Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award (2022) and NASA New Investigator Program (2018) . Scientific Awards AGU Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award (2022) NASA New Investigator Award (2018) Symposium Scholar, DISCCRS VIII (2013) CIRES Visiting Fellowship (2012) Ben leads interdisciplinary collaborations with institutions like the University of Alaska Southeast and NOAA , addressing climate-water-energy-food nexus challenges through advanced modeling and remote sensing techniques.
Ruth Mostern is Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Institute for Spatial History Innovation (ISHI). She is Vice-President and President-Elect (2025-2026) of the World History Association and leads the award-winning World Historical Gazetteer project. Education Ph.D. in History, University of California, Berkeley, 2003 Research Interests Mostern is an interdisciplinary historian specializing in world, Chinese, environmental, and spatial history. She investigates long-term human–environment interactions at continental and millennial scales, focusing on how societies organize space, resources, and risk. Her work integrates GIS, digital gazetteers, and environmental science to reconstruct historical geographies of empire, water management, and ecological change. Current projects include: Place: A Global History – a study of itineraries, gazetteers, and databases as technologies of spatial knowledge. The Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Global Medieval Era – cultural adaptations to climate change c. 950-1250 CE. Research Trends Her recent publications span digital environmental humanities, historical GIS, Song-dynasty political economy, and pre-industrial Asian political ecology. A dominant theme is the coupling of state power with environmental transformation, exemplified by her 2021 book The Yellow River: A Natural and Unnatural History (Yale), winner of the 2023 Joseph Levenson Prize. Awards & Honors Joseph Levenson Prize, Association for Asian Studies, 2023 NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant, 2023-2025 Digital Humanities Awards 2021 – Best DH Tool (World Historical Gazetteer) Fudan University Fellowship for Studies of Chinese Civilization, 2019 NEH Humanities Connections Implementation Grant, 2018-2020 Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Summer Institute Grant, 2015-2016 NSF Collaborative Research Grant, 2013-2015 ACLS Digital Innovation Fellowship, 2011-2012 Advising & Grants Mostern welcomes graduate students interested in environmental, global, Asian, or digital history. She has directed multiple externally funded projects, including the NSF-funded Center for Historical Information and Analysis and NEH-supported initiatives on water in Central Asia and global historical gazetteers. Labs & Teams She directs the Institute for Spatial History Innovation (ISHI) at the University of Pittsburgh, a hub for interdisciplinary research integrating spatial technologies with historical inquiry. ISHI hosts the World Historical Gazetteer , providing open tools and datasets that link knowledge about historical places across world regions.
Roles and Affiliations: Professor David Levinson is a Professor of Transport in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney since 2017. He holds adjunct faculty status at the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering (since 1999–2016). He previously directed the Accessibility Observatory and the Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems (NEXUS) research group. He is a member of The Net Zero Institute and leads the TransportLab research group. Education: PhD 1998 in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Research Interests: Focuses on transportation networks, urban systems, accessibility analysis, and policy. Key themes include spatial equity, transport economics, and the co-evolution of land use and transport infrastructure. His work emphasizes data-driven approaches to urban mobility challenges, including modeling transport networks and evaluating infrastructure impacts on accessibility and equity. Grants and Projects: Recent grants include Design of micro-decisions in automated transport (2022, ARC) and Reducing pedestrian crashes through better intersection design (2021, Australian Road Safety Innovation). Collaborates internationally on projects like the Accessibility Observatory. Labs and Teams: Leads the TransportLab and collaborates with the NEXUS group. Active in interdisciplinary research, including urban analytics and transport policy.
Professor Haijiang Li is a Chair in BIM for Smart Engineering at Cardiff University's School of Engineering. His roles include leading the Computational Mechanics and Engineering AI Research Group, directing the BIM for Smart Engineering Centre, and overseeing the BIM MSc programme. He holds editorial roles for journals like Construction Innovation and Automation in Construction , and chairs the European Group of Intelligent Computing in Engineering (EG-ICE). Research focuses on smart computational engineering platforms integrating BIM, AI, and big data for sustainable infrastructure. Key areas include digital twins, disaster management, and resilient urban systems. He has secured £40M in research funding, including £9M as PI, and led over 70 research staff and students. Prof. Li is a Standards Committee Technical Executive at buildingSMART, driving international BIM standards. His work includes co-authoring a book on BIM standards across China, the US, and the UK. Awards include Fellowships from the British Computer Society (FBCS) and the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). His research outputs span over 250 publications, covering topics like AI-driven bridge maintenance, ontology-based decision-making, and energy-efficient urban systems. Collaborations with industry and global partners emphasize practical applications of BIM and smart technologies.
Prof. Eleni Chatzi is a Full Professor and Chair of Structural Mechanics at ETH Zurich's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. She holds a PhD from Columbia University (2010) and has held roles from Assistant to Full Professor at ETH since 2010. Her research focuses on intelligent structural monitoring and data-driven asset management, emphasizing nonlinear dynamics and sensor integration. Affiliations : Institute of Structural Engineering, European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE President), Swiss Community for Computational Methods (SWICCOMAS Chair) Research interests include Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), system identification, and advanced simulation tools. She pioneered work on data-driven diagnostics and self-aware infrastructure, supported by grants like the ERC Starting Grant (2015). Awards include the 2020 Walter L. Huber Prize and 2024 SHM Person of the Year Award. Her work spans wind energy infrastructure, metamaterials for vibration control, and AI-driven structural analytics. Over 600 publications and 200k+ citations highlight her impact. She teaches computational science and structural dynamics in ETH's programs and collaborates globally on sustainable infrastructure projects.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in LausanneSwitzerland
Marie Violay is an Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Experimental Rock Mechanics (LEMR) within the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). She also contributes to teaching and PhD program committees across multiple EPFL divisions. Specializes in rock mechanics, earthquake dynamics, and hydro-mechanical couplings Leads experimental studies on fluid-induced seismicity and reservoir deformation Research Focus : Investigates how pore fluid pressure variations affect rock strength, fault behavior, and permeability evolution. Her work spans from brittle fracture mechanics to ductile deformation processes under geothermal conditions, with applications to carbon storage, earthquake mitigation, and volcanic hazard assessment. Article Trends : Her recent publications examine stress biaxiality effects on fracture energy (2025), alteration impacts on geothermal reservoirs (2025), permeability changes in volcanic rocks (2024), and fundamental studies of water weakening mechanisms in sedimentary rocks (2024-2021). The work combines laboratory experiments, microstructural analysis, and numerical modeling. Labs & Collaborations : Coordinates the LEMR laboratory at EPFL. Collaborates with European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Freie Universität Berlin, and industry partners like Emch&Berger AG. Leads PhD committee work in the EDME Doctoral School .
Magda Posani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Aalto University, focusing on building physics, hygrothermal behavior of materials, and environmental sustainability. Her research explores the use of bio-based insulation, thermally massive stone and earth walls, and additive manufacturing techniques to enhance indoor comfort and address climate change challenges in Nordic regions. Integrated Master's Degree in 'Building Engineering and Architecture' from the University of Bologna (Italy) Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) and the University of Porto (FEUP, Portugal) Postdoctoral Research at ETH Zürich (Switzerland) Her research integrates vernacular solutions with modern technology, such as combining additive manufacturing with super-hygroscopic materials to develop components for passive humidity regulation. She addresses critical issues like occupant comfort, health risks from improper humidity, and climate change impacts on traditional constructions. The articles highlight her work on low-carbon materials, 3D-printed building components, and strategies for enhancing hygrothermal performance in both modern and historic structures. Key themes include moisture buffering, thermal insulation compatibility, and climate-resilient renovation.
Professor Emily So serves as Deputy Head of the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Cambridge and directs the Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment (CURBE). A chartered civil engineer with extensive field experience, she holds leadership roles in the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership and chairs the Faculty EDI Committee. Her research focuses on urban risk and resilience , particularly in earthquake-prone regions. Combining structural engineering with epidemiological approaches, she develops innovative casualty estimation models and engages directly with affected communities worldwide. Her work spans seismic safety, disaster epidemiology, and remote sensing applications for rapid damage assessment. Professor So's publication trends reveal strong emphasis on machine learning for disaster risk modeling , with recent work featuring graph neural networks, deep clustering for urban morphology, and LSTM-based population forecasting. Her research bridges engineering, social sciences, and data science to address resilience in developing nations. 2010 Shah Family Innovation Prize (Earthquake Engineering Research Institute) Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) member advising UK government As Director of CURBE, she leads interdisciplinary collaborations with EEFIT, Global Earthquake Model (GEM), World Bank, and USGS. Her field investigations following major earthquakes inform practical solutions for vulnerable communities, notably contributing to the 2017 World Building of the Year design in China. Current work includes sabbatical research for 2025-2026 focused on decolonizing architectural approaches to disaster resilience. Professor So maintains active roles in professional organizations and international disaster response frameworks, with her CURBE team developing methodologies now implemented globally for seismic safety improvements.
Mohamed Noureldin is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University , Finland, with prior academic roles at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea (2015–2022). His expertise lies in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) , Structural Digital Twin , Predictive Maintenance , and Seismic Retrofitting . Research Focus : AI-powered sustainable structural design, smart retrofitting, predictive maintenance, structural material innovation, and next-generation performance-based seismic/wind design. Industrial Experience : 20+ years in offshore/onshore structural engineering (Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Engineering, Arab-Swiss Engineering Company, Zuhair Fayez Partnership). Teaching : Courses in structural analysis, seismic design, dynamics, and reinforced concrete at Aalto and Sungkyunkwan Universities. Laboratory : Leads the Structural Design AI Lab (SDAI), focusing on AI-driven resilient infrastructure. Contact : mohamed.noureldin@aalto.fi , +358504544861. His publications explore cutting-edge applications of AI, ML, and DL in seismic retrofitting, structural durability, soil stabilization, and hybrid damping systems. Collaborative work emphasizes life-cycle cost assessment and augmented reality for predictive maintenance.
Professor Ana Mijic is a leading academic in water systems integration at Imperial College London's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Faculty of Engineering). Her work focuses on developing systems tools to balance economic growth with sustainable water use, flood management, and water quality under future uncertainties. She leads high-profile projects like the EPSRC VENTURA initiative and the NERC CAMELLIA impact programme, emphasizing adaptive planning and grey/green infrastructure integration in urban systems. Education: BEng (First Class) in Civil Engineering from the University of Belgrade (Serbia), MSc (Distinction) in Hydrology for Environmental Management, and PhD in Earth Science & Engineering from Imperial College London (2013). Previously served as a teaching assistant in Fluid Mechanics and Hydrometry at Belgrade University. Research interests include whole-water system modelling, socio-hydrological interactions, and nature-based solutions for resilient urban water systems. Her work bridges academia and practice through partnerships with regulators like the UK Environment Agency and global initiatives like the IAHS HELPING programme. Awards include the Satish Dhawan Visiting Chair Professorship (2022) and the 2019 Imperial President’s Award for Excellence in Research (as part of her Hydrology team). She co-leads Imperial’s Transition to Zero Pollution (TZP) Urban Ecosystems theme and serves on editorial boards for journals like Water Security . Her contributions span over 50 peer-reviewed articles (2020–2025), focusing on integrated water management frameworks, AI-driven monitoring, and systemic approaches to urban resilience. She advocates for participatory decision-making and policy coherence in water governance.
T. Donna Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on sustainable transportation systems, transportation economics, travel demand modeling, and crash safety. Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2015) M.E., Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington (2008) B.S., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University (2005) Her work explores the impacts of new vehicle technologies on traveler behavior and the environment, with an emphasis on modeling shared autonomous electric vehicle operations, pricing schemes, and life-cycle emissions. She also investigates spatial patterns of electric vehicle adoption and roadway safety for cyclists. Recent publications highlight her contributions to transportation electrification, fleet management, and safety analysis. Key themes include sustainability , autonomous systems , economic modeling , and urban mobility . American Society of Civil Engineers ExCEEd Fellow (2017) NSF IGERT Fellow (2013-2015) FHWA Eisenhower Fellow (2012-2013) Dr. Chen teaches courses on transportation infrastructure design and economics. Her funded projects include research on green vehicle adoption, connected vehicle planning, and dynamic tolling frameworks. She is affiliated with the Transportation Research Board, ASCE TD&I, ITS America, ITE, and Women’s Transportation Seminar.
