2022 Gustavo Colonnetti Medalists

We are pleased to announce the 2022 Gustavo Colonnetti medallists:

• Dr. Ellina Bernard, Imperial College London, UK

Dr. Ellina Bernard is currently a visiting postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London (UK). Her research focus is on cement and clay chemistry for the development of low embodied CO₂ binders and their durability, addressed by thermodynamic modelling and experimental activity also by sophisticated techniques. Thanks to her PhD at EMPA (Switzerland) and Université de Bourgogne-Fanche-Comté (France), postdoctoral appointments at the University of Bern Switzerland and in UK, and internship periods in industry, she has developed a significant international experience. Such experience has earned her awards for her research activity and has allowed her to secure two prestigious grants to continue her research, which has led to a very promising publication record. She has also been active as a member of scientific societies, peer reviewer for international journals, and organizers of scientific meetings.

• Prof. Qing-feng Liu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)

After receiving his PhD in Civil Engineering in the UK, Prof. Qing-feng Liu is now Associate Professor in Civil Engineering at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China), where he leads the “Sustainability and Durability of concrete Materials and Structures” group and serves as Deputy Director of the Key Laboratory for Digital Maintenance of Buildings and Infrastructure. His research on concrete durability, especially ionic transport, electrochemical rehabilitation and service life prediction, has earned him international visibility, as demonstrated by the high number and high quality of his scientific publications, the invited talks he has given and his activity as peer reviewer and member of the editorial boards of scientific journals. He is involved in several national and international scientific societies and he has given significant contributions to many RILEM TCs, which has brought him to establish fruitful collaborations with renowned international experts. His maturity and independence have allowed him to secure impressive funding as Principal Investigator to carry out his research. He has also been very active in supervising postdoctoral researchers, PhD candidates and undergraduate students.

Congratulations to Ellina and Qing-feng on behalf of the jury members, Dr. Enrico SASSONI, TAC chair, University of Bologna, ITALY; Prof. Alexandra BERTRON, RTL Editor in Chief, INSA Toulouse, France; Prof. Eddie KOENDERS, TU Darmstadt, Germany and Prof. Kei-Ichi IMAMOTO, Tokyo University of Science, Japan.