Keynote Speaker

Katherine A. Cashell has worked as a Structural Engineer for over 20 years in a variety of roles including design consultancy, specialist member-based advisory and academia. She is currently a full Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) at University College London (UCL) and is also a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of both the Institution of Structural Engineers (FIStructE) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE). Prior to joining UCL in November 2022, Katherine worked as a Reader in Structural Engineering at Brunel University London (2012-2022), a Senior Structural Engineer at the Steel Construction Institute (2010-2012) and a Senior Engineer at High Point Rendel Ltd (2009-2010). Prior to this, she was a Research Assistant at Imperial College London.

At UCL, Katherine leads a very active research group, and is also the Director of Studies for the Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering. She is engaged in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her principal research interests lie in the area of structural testing, numerical modelling and the development of efficient design guidance for steel and composite structures. In particular, she has developed an expertise in the analysis of structural response during extreme loading conditions, such as a fire. She is also actively engaged in researching the use of novel materials such as stainless steel, high strength steel and FRP’s in building and infrastructural applications. She has been principal investigator for various research projects, including a current £2m project looking at strategic use of stainless steel for more resilient steel structures.

Katherine has served on a number of panels and committee’s at the IStructE, including the Education Committee (2019-current, including a term as Chair in 2020), and was also a member of Council from 2020-2022. She is a Board member of the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM), representing both IStructE and ICE.

Leroy Gardner is Professor and Head of Structural Engineering at Imperial College London and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is engaged in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, industry training, specialist advisory work and leading an active research group in structural engineering.

Prof. Gardner’s principal research interests relate to the testing, simulation, analysis, design and construction of steel structures, on which he has co-authored 4 textbooks, 7 book chapters and over 500 technical papers. He is Editor-in-Chief of two international journals and serves on a number of ISO, European and US code committees. Prof. Gardner was awarded the IABSE prize in 2017 and the ASCE Shortridge Hardesty Award in 2021.

Helena Gervasio has a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Coimbra and is an integrated member of the Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE). She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Coimbra.

Over the last 15 years, her research activities have focused on the sustainability of construction works and on the development of methods and tools to strive for a more sustainable society. Her research interests include, among others, Life Cycle Analysis of structures, Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy, Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, and Decarbonization of the built environment.

She is the Chairperson of the Portuguese Technical Committee CT171, mirror group of CEN/TC350 – Sustainability of Constructions, an expert member in CEN TC350/WG6 “Engineering civil works”, member of Technical Committee TC14 – “Sustainability and Eco-Efficiency of Steel construction” of the European Commission for Coal and Steel (ECCS), and member of the iiSBE Organization – “International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment”, among others. In addition, she is an Expert Advisor for the European Commission Technical group “Steel Applications for New Markets” (Mandate 2023-2028, future low emission industries).

She is responsible for several international and national research projects, and author of about 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals, international and national conferences.

Dr. Daniel G. Linzell, P.E., F.ASCE, F.SEI is the Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs and the Leslie D. Martin Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). He is currently on loan to the National Science Foundation where he is Directing the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG). CMMI’s annual budget is over $230M US and the Division is charged with advancing the future of manufacturing, the design of innovative materials and building technologies, infrastructure resilience and sustainability, and tools and systems for decision-making, robotics and controls.

From August of 2013 to September of 2018, Dr. Linzell was the Voelte-Keegan Professor and Chair of UNLs Department of Civil Engineering. He was an Assistant, Associate and the inaugural John A. and Harriette K. Shaw Professor of Civil Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University from 1999-2013.

The emphasis of Dr. Linzell’s research is structural engineering, with specific foci including response of building and bridge systems to extreme loads, specifically blast and impact; structural health monitoring; steel structures; the design and behavior of bridges during construction and under service loads; and advanced structural analysis. His research group has published over 100 peer-reviewed, archival journal articles and refereed conference papers and abstracts. He teaches courses in bridge engineering, steel design, structural analysis, infrastructure resiliency, and structural health monitoring.

Dr. Linzell is the immediate Past Chair of the Structural Stability Research Council; co-Chairs the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Education and Leadership Committee (ELC); is a member of ASCEs Committee on Education and a member of the Society’s Collaborative Innovation Team; sits on SEIs Futures Fund Board of Directors and is a member of their Advisory Council. He is a Fellow of ASCE and SEI and received SEIs President Award in 2023. Dr. Linzell licensed Professional Engineer in Georgia, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kim Rasmussen is full Professor in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney.

His current research activities involve the testing, analysis and design of built-up cold-formed steel structures, 3D printed steel structures, modular structures, fracture of steel structures and reuse of structural components.

Kim Rasmussen has made numerous contributions to the fields of structural analysis, reliability and design, including steel structures, cold-formed steel structures, stainless steel structures, rack structures and aluminium structures. He has published 480 scientific papers and is a regular keynote speaker at all main conferences on steel structures.

Kim Rasmussen is a member of the editorial boards of numerous journals. He also chairs or is a member of numerous national and international standards committees related to steel, stainless steel and aluminium structures. He contributes to these structural design standards through his research.

Belén Riveiro is an Associate Professor at the University of Vigo (UVigo). She has been Associate Professor at Newcastle University (UK) in 2011, until she joint the UVigo in 2012.

Her research focuses on the field of infrastructure resilience, where she integrates different disciplines such as structural engineering, geomatics, artificial intelligence, and automation in construction. Since 2012, she collaborates with some of the most recognized researchers in her field, thanks to stays she has carried out at universities such as the University of Minho, the University of Cambridge, and Delft University of Technology, among others. These collaborations led to her participation and leadership in national and international collaborative projects (with funding as the principal investigator exceeding €5,5 million). As a result, she has published more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, has served as officer in international associations such as ISPRS (2016-2022), EG-ICE (since 2024) and she has participated in the organization of several international workshops and conferences in the photogrammetric and civil engineering domains. Belén Riveiro is the Editor in Chief of The Photogrammetric Record and is part of the Editorial Board of Infrastructures.

Along her career, Belén has received numerous awards, being specially relevant the “National Research Award Matilde Ucelay 2022", delivered by TM the Kings of Spain, which represents the greatest recognition of research career in the field of Engineering and Architecture for young researchers in Spain.