The Team
Camelia Maria Negruțiu
Dr. Eng. Camelia Negrutiu is an Associate Professor at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Civil Engineering, specializing in Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete, Durability, and Sustainable Design. Her research focuses on concrete degradation, innovative repair methods, and eco-friendly materials. A founding member of the SSMB research group, she has authored over 40 papers, three books and one patent. Since 2021, she has led the Civil Engineering Cluster in the EUT+ project. With international experience at TU Delft, Imperial College London, and others, she is also in charge of the Durable Concrete Structures Master’s program, overseeing academic supervision and accreditation processes.
Bogdan Horea Hegheș
PhD. Eng. Bogdan Horea Hegheș is an Associate Professor at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Civil Engineering, specializing in Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete, Finite Elemet Analysis, and On-Site Testing, Non-Destructive Testing of concrete structures. His research focuses on concrete structures behavior, FEM analysis, etc. A founding member of the SSMB research group, he has authored multiple papers, books and one patent.
Mihaela Dumitran
Dr. Eng. Mihaela Dumitran is a Lecturer at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, within the Department of Civil Engineering and Management. She holds a PhD in Civil Engineering and has over 15 years of experience in higher education, teaching and research. Her academic expertise focuses on construction management, project management, value engineering, and construction cost estimation. Alongside her university activities, she is actively involved in professional training programs for construction cost estimation and project management. Dr. Dumitran has participated in several national and international research and educational projects and has authored numerous scientific publications in the field of construction management. Her interests include innovative teaching methods, curriculum development, and strengthening the connection between academia and industry.
Cristian Mojolic
PhD Cristian Mojolic, is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, within the Department of Structural Mechanics. His academic and professional work encompasses structural mechanics, advanced structural analysis, seismic engineering, and the design of steel and reinforced concrete structures. He is actively involved in national and international research and educational projects, including initiatives focused on sustainable and low-carbon construction. His main scientific and research interests are structural analysis, 3D printing technologies for construction, and seismic protection of structures through innovative isolation and energy dissipation systems.
Ernesto Grande
Ernesto Grande is Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (Italy). His research activity, testified by numerous papers published on both international journals and conference proceedings, focuses on different topics of Civil Engineering. Among these: experimental and F.E. modeling of masonry and RC structures strengthened by FRP materials; seismic design of steel structures; Structural Health Monitoring; optimization of grid shell structures; 3D-print for the preservation of historic constructions; analysis of the seismic vulnerability of RC structures subjected to settlements; analysis of the seismic vulnerability of masonry structures in aggregate configuration.
Maura Imbimbo
Maura Imbimbo is Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, where she teaches courses in Structural Engineering and Earthquake Engineering. She earned a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy) and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley (USA). She was a Fulbright Research Scholar at the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University (USA) and a two-time Associate Research Scholar at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University (USA). She was Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering program at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio from 2018 to 2024 and is the director of the Dual Degree Program in Civil Engineering between the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University and the University of Cassino. She is a member of the Academic Senate of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Honors Center of Italian Universities (H2CU), the Technical-Scientific Council of the District of Excellence for Cultural Heritage of Lazio (DTC), and the Steering Committee of the European Alliance EUT+, of which the University of Cassino is a partner. She is an expert in Line 7 of Technological Innovation in Cultural Heritage (TICHE). She is the director of the Laboratory of Structural Analysis and Design (LAPS) at the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio. Her research, with over 100 articles, focuses on structural strengthening with composite materials, seismic engineering, masonry buildings, optimization, 3D printing for cultural heritage, damage identification, and construction monitoring. She has been and is currently the Principal Investigator or Local Manager of research projects funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research, the PNRR, the Italian Department of Civil Protection, the Lazio Region, and at the European level. She is a member of several European committees and working groups on technical guidelines and a reviewer for several international journals.
Erminio Salvatore
Professor Erminio Salvatore is an Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio. He teaches courses in Geotechnical Design at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels. In addition to his current position, he has taught at the Silesian University of Technology in Poland and has led seminars for doctoral programs and professional associations. His research primarily focuses on experimental soil mechanics, liquefaction mitigation, and the numerical modeling of geotechnical systems, including complex foundations, slope stability, and the seismic analysis of earth dams. He is the Scientific Director of the Laboratory of Geotechnics and Transport Infrastructures (LaGIT) and collaborates with several universities in Italy and abroad, such as Laboratoire 3SR in France, Politecnico di Milano, Università Federico II of Naples, BASF Europe, and the University of Tokyo. He is a former member of the LIQUEFACT project under Horizon 2020 and has published extensively in international journals and at conferences.
Valentina Tomei
Researcher in Tenure Track in Structural Analysis and Design at the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio. Previously, Junior Researcher (RTDa) at the same university (2022–2024); Research Fellow at Niccolò Cusano University (2017–2019; 2021); Research Fellow at Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (2019–2020). PhD in Civil Engineering obtained in 2017 at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, with a dissertation entitled “Design Strategies for Grid Shells Optimization”. Master’s Degree (2011–2013) and bachelor’s degree (2008–2011) in Civil Engineering from the same university. During the PhD program, carried out a research period abroad at the LERA+ Laboratory of Engineering Research and Automation of Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA), New York (USA). Research topics: structural optimization of steel gridshells and diagrid tall building, reuse-based design, low-damage timber systems, vulnerability assessment of existing buildings, 3d-printing for cultural heritage.
Nataša Kopitović Vuković
Nataša Kopitović Vuković, Dr-Ing., educated in the field of civil engineering at the University of Montenegro (Dipl-Ing., MSci, PhD) is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering. She teaches courses in advanced building materials, energy efficiency, structural systems, masonry design, concrete technology and testing of materials and structures across all study levels. She participated in the development of Eurocodes and is currently a member of the evaluation and supervision team within IG CERT – National Certification Body at the Institute of Civil Engineering. She is also an active member of the Technical Committee of the Institute for Standardization of Montenegro (ISME) and author of numerous scientific papers presented at national and international conferences.
Biljana Šćepanović
Biljana Šćepanović, Dr-Ing., educated in the field of civil engineering at the University of Montenegro (Dipl-Ing, PhD), University of Belgrade (MSc), and University of Granada (PhD), is a full professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Montenegro. Her academic, research and engineering work is focused on steel, aluminium and timber structures, structural analysis and special structures. She served as vice dean at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and as president of the Board for Doctoral Studies at the University of Montenegro, and was appointed Minister of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro (2022-2023). She has participated in many national and international research and HE projects, and realised numerous research/teaching mobilities at European universities, through active participation in different international cooperation programmes (Erasmus+, CEEPUS, COST, CGHS, IPA etc.). She has published over 100 scientific papers in prestigious journals, as well as at international conferences.
Marija Jevrić
Marija Jevrić, Dr-Ing., educated in the field of civil engineering at the University of Montenegro (Dipl-Ing. PhD) and the field of urbanism at the University of Belgrade (MSci), is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in courses including Introduction to civil engineering, Geometry, Civil engineering structures. Her research interests include urban water management, waste management, green buildings, green infrastructures, and natural-based solutions. She served as vice dean at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and has been a member of the Board for Doctoral Studies at the University of Montenegro. She is a BUILD UP Ambassador for Montenegro, contributing to the European Commission’s BUILD UP platform for energy efficiency and renewable energy. She participated in Erasmus CBHE projects and has led one related to climate-smart and sustainable urban development. She led and participated in other EU-funded projects, as well as bilateral and national projects.
Ivana Ćipranić
Ivana Ćipranić, Dr-Ing., educated in the field of civil engineering at the University of Montenegro (Dipl-Ing) and University of Belgrade (PhD), is an associate professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in courses in Hydraulic, Water supply, Wastewater systems, and Waste Management. Research interests include hydraulic, water management and water protection, flood risk, waste management, green building, and sustainable infrastructure. She has been a head of Infrastructure master program and served as vice dean at the Faculty of Civil Engineering. She is the author or co-author of 9 papers published in journals indexed in WoS (SCI/SCIE list) and more than 70 conference papers. She participated in Erasmus + CBHE projects related to climate-smart and sustainable urban development. She led the national and bilateral cooperation projects between Montenegro and Slovenia. In addition to her academic career, Dr. Ćipranić has extensive professional engineering experience as a designer, reviewer, supervisor, and project manager in the field of hydraulic and municipal infrastructure engineering.
Stylianos Yiatros
Dr Stelios Yiatros is an Associate Professor in Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics at the Cyprus University of Technology. Between 2015-2017 Stelios was a Marie Curie Intra European Fellow at Cranfield University (UK). Stelios was in the core team to lead the successful entry of the Cyprus University of Technology in the EIT Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) and became the Education Lead for the local EIT Climate-KIC Hub, while being also one of the co-founders of Chrysalis LEAP, the first cleantech business idea accelerator in Cyprus.n 2008, Stelios and his collaborators received the Trevithick Prize for the Best Paper in Engineering Sustainability from the Institution of Civil Engineers. In 2015 he was awarded merit in Excellence in Structural Engineering Education by the Institution of Structural Engineers for his innovative teaching case study for Integrated Design. His research interests include nonlinear structural mechanics, novel multifunctional structural materials, entrepreneurship and sustainability in construction and design, systems innovation, biomimetic design and innovation in Engineering Education.
Lana Migla
Dr. Sc. Ing. Lana Migla is an Associate Professor at Riga Technical University, Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on thermal energy systems, solar energy, and sustainable heating and cooling solutions in buildings, including latent heat storage technologies. She has extensive experience in international research projects and academic work, including supervision of Bachelor’s and Master’s theses, as well as study programme development and management. In addition to her academic activities, she holds leadership position at RTU, as a Director of a Study Programs. Lana Migla is the author and co-author of 25 scientific publications, with an h-index of 5. She is an expert of the Latvian Council of Science in environmental engineering and energy.
