Map
 

Integrated Environmental Solutions Research and Development

IESRD

IES​ develops technology that can significantly reduce the impact that buildings and cities have on the environment by minimising energy use and making zero carbon targets achievable. By looking at buildings and cities as the integrated environments they are, we want to ensure everyone involved in the conception, design, management or use of any building, community or city can work together to leave our world in a much better state than we inherited it.

Project Members

Niall Buckley

Dr Niall Buckley is a senior project manager in the R&D department of IES. Before joining IES, he was a PhD Researcher at University College Dublin (UCD) and a visiting PhD Candidate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Currently, Niall is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the school of architecture, environment and planning, UCD. Niall’s back ground is in developing city scale climate technology.

Niall Byrne

​Dr. Niall Byrne is the Head of Research & Development at IES R&D. A chartered (Ireland) and licensed (Ontario) engineer with a background in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Building Science, Niall has extensive experience in decarbonisation and energy analysis of buildings and communities both in North America, Europe and the UK. Prior to joining IES R&D, Niall led a team of building performance engineers in a consulting engineering firm in Toronto, ON. niall's current research interests include decarbonisation of the built environment, retrofitting & energy performance of buildings and resiliency and climate adaptation at building, community and city scale.

 

B-Kode

BK

B-Kode​ is a Belgian-based SME that provides data-driven building blocks, analytics, and support services to forge a more sustainable and climate-resilient future. The company is adept in integrating technological advancements that are scientifically sound and that foster urban environmental resilience. Its diverse portfolio encompasses projects that delve into high-resolution urban modelling, intricate analysis of Earth Observation data, and the application of AI-driven analytics to effectively tackle challenges related to urban environmental risks and integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies. Engaging in active collaborations with global partners and remote professionals, B-Kode is committed to establishing a worldwide collective of enthusiasts dedicated to urban environmental analytics, aiming to provide the building blocks for a better future.

Project Members

Matthias Demuzere

Matthias Demuzere, is the CEO and Founder of B-Kode. He is trained as an urban climatologist and environmentalist, and is skilled in multi-scale physics-based urban climate modelling, earth observation imagery and machine learning. Addititionally has an interest in the role of green and blue urban infrastructure as a climate adaptation and mitigation tool, citizen science, and smart cities.

Jonas Blancke

​Jonas Blancke holds a master's degree in bioengineering with a specialisation in land, water and climate, and a postgraduate degree in weather and climate modelling. With his strong interest and expertise in urban climatology and data science, he develops innovative solutions for creating safer and more climate-resilient cities.

 

DEMO Consultants BV

DMO

DEMO​ is an independent consultancy firm specialized in Real Estate Information Management and works from three business units: Consultancy, Software and Research. It was established in 1996 and is based in Delft, The Netherlands. DEMO supports its clients with real estate information management and produces innovative software products, such as the Real Estate Suite. Expert systems with user friendly apps, dashboards and other practical features. Software for the development and management of buildings and civil infrastructure. The Real Estate Suite comprises BIM, GIS, IoT, big data, VR/AR and Artificial intelligence technologies. DEMO team consists of building engineers, architects, real estate specialists, researchers and IT specialists. This expertise, extensive experience and an eye for current market developments ensures that DEMO offers its customers innovative and result-oriented solutions. DEMO helps its customers by developing and delivering services and systems that consistently answer various real estate questions from various users at the right time, in the right place, and in an understandable manner at the lowest possible cost.

Project Members

​​Mohamed Elagiry

​​Mohamed Elagiry (1984) brings over 18 years of expertise to the fields of architectural design, BIM & Design Management, and sustainable design. Holding degrees in Architectural Design and Building Engineering, Mohamed has garnered experience from a diverse range of projects worldwide, including high-rise buildings and large-scale constructions. During his time in Italy, Mohamed served as an R&D project manager, overseeing multiple H2020 projects and proposals. Currently, as a Senior Researcher / Business Developer at DEMO, Mohamed plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and collaboration. He initiates, coordinates, and actively participates in European and national research endeavors, taking charge of all new proposal initiatives. Additionally, Mohamed serves as a Business Consultant, bridging the realms of research, software development, and consultancy. He further supports the advisory team by facilitating real estate data collection and digitalization through advanced techniques like "Scan to BIM" and "Mixed Reality".

Mija Susnik

​​Mija is a researcher at DEMO Consultants. With a background in Civil and Building Engineering, Mija holds a Master’s degree in Building Engineering from the University of Ljubljana (2018) and specialized Master’s degree in Building Information Modelling from Politecnico di Milano (2020). She worked as an Engineering Consultant and Building Auditor focusing on reducing energy consumption in buildings. Her responsibility was also developing the strategy for implementing BIM into the business process and preparing educational webinars on BIM. In her research project, she investigated the issues of interoperability between BIM and Calculation Virtual Environments for energy and acoustic analysis. Currently, she is managing and contributing to EU-funded research projects focusing on energy efficiency, smart and proactive buildings, digital solutions and building capturing.​​​ Through her expertise and dedication, she aims to drive innovation and efficiency in the built environment while ensuring environmental sustainability.

​​André van Delft

​​André is managing director and founder of DEMO Consultants and responsible for strategy, management and business development. He is also an experienced consultant specializing in real estate information management and developer of real estate software for buildings and infrastructure. He has designed and built various software solutions for ministries, municipalities, housing corporations, asset managers and research institutions. He also has more than twenty five years of experience in various international research consortia in which DEMO has participated as a partner or coordinator and continues to participate. André combines a creative, innovative information management approach with a down-to-earth, pragmatic approach to developing and implementing the software solutions and services for DEMO's customers. André studied architecture at TU Delft with a specialization in Construction Management and Real Estate Management.

 

Dublin City Council

DCC

Dublin City Council​

 

E2ARC Architecture & Research for Cities

E2ARC

E2ARC​ Architecture & Research for Cities vzw is a private non-profit research organization based in Belgium. It has as a general aim the creation of a permanent collaboration between researchers, architects, engineers, landscape architects and urban planners in the fields of architecture and adaptive reuse, innovative building materials and components, as well as research related to urban planning, the environment, sustainable urban regeneration, climate change and Nature Based Solutions for resilient cities.

Project Members

Sara Van Rompaey

​Sara Van Rompaey is a Belgian conservation Architect and EU project expert in the field of historic building renovation, urban regeneration and climate change. She has more than 25 years of expertise in the design, development, and execution of building projects with a special focus on energy-efficient renovation and conservation. In 2016 she founded E2ARC (Architecture & Research for Cities) and with the team she is involved as partner in several EU-funded research projects that relate to buildings’ sustainability, cultural heritage and urban regeneration with Nature-Based Solutions for future cities.

Eleni Goni

Eleni Goni studied Architecture in the Technical University of Athens- Greece and obtained with a distinction an MSc in the Environmental Design of Buildings at the Welsh School of Architecture. She has a long experience in the design, management and execution of complex building projects in Greece and Spain. Since 2011 she has also been involved in several EU- funded research projects related to buildings’ sustainability, energy retrofitting, innovative materials and Nature-based Solutions.

Angeliki Mavrigiannaki

​Angeliki Mavrigiannaki holds a Diploma in Architecture from the National Technical University of Athens and an MSc in Environmental Design of Buildings from Cardiff University. She has been involved in EU funded projects since 2016 and has completed a PhD at Technical University of Crete on integrated and smart design for zero energy buildings and communities. Her research interests include implementation of innovative sustainable solutions from the building to the city scale for energy conservation, climate change mitigation and human comfort. She is a LEED Green Associate.

 

La SIA SpA

LASIA

SIA S.p.A.​ was established in Rome in 2004. The company is a design and management company operating in the field of engineering and engineering services. Its strong specialisation in the field of design in the telecommunications, tertiary and production plant sectors has enabled the company to achieve a prominent position in the national market. Main sectors of intervention

  • Design and/or renovation of tertiary buildings and production facilities with BIM processes;
  • Design, works management and testing of electrical and mechanical plant engineering works with BIM processes in the field of engineering for production and tertiary settlements;
  • Management of BIM processes for manufacturing and service companies;
  • Consulting and Project Management.

Project Members

Amilcare Paolella

​Amilcare Paolella - CIO (Chief Innovation Officer) - graduated in Electronic Engineering from the Roma3 University in Rome. He has more than 27 years of work experience, which began in an electronic equipment repair laboratory for Telecom Italia when he was still in high school and continued first in the field of software development and systems integration (HP, SCAI Group, Telecom) and then continued in the telematics field as international sales manager at Octo Telematics. He has been at La SIA for about 7 months and oversees multiple projects, many of them in Europe. He holds the role of contact person and is responsible for the coordination of the project team.

Viktoria Kliuzko

​Viktoria Kliuzko - PhD, architect - graduated in Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. She has more than 18 years of work experience in the field of internal and external design of buildings, including 8 years of research activity in the field of aerodynamic energy efficiency of buildings and structures. She’s been at LaSia for about 2 years.

 

Prospex Institute

PI

Prospex Institute​​ enables the participation of citizens and stakeholders in societally relevant dialogue and decision-making processes. PI engages with top professionals with extensive expertise in engaging broad stakeholder groups, often in multi-cultural and multi-sectorial workshop formats. PI builds its reputation on its unique competences in stakeholder engagement and co-creation, and through participatory methodologies. Prospex Institute’s experts have worked extensively for public organisations, businesses and civil society around the world on a broad range of issues and across sectors, such as in innovation, technology, energy, environment, education, ICT, construction, health and transport. PI in that sense has a long track record and high-level experience in the identification of stakeholders, as well as in the design and facilitation of interactive processes, including workshops, meetings and conferences. Prospex Institute is an internationally active not-for-profit organisation based in Brussels.​

Project Members

Katharina Faradsch

Katharina Faradsch combines a background in management, development cooperation and academic research with excellence in multi-stakeholder project coordination and implementation. She has worked both across Europe (e.g. in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Croatia, etc.) as well as internationally (e.g. in Latin America, Southern and Eastern Africa), in a variety of multi-cultural and multi-lingual settings. Katharina has led and facilitated stakeholder engagement processes in a range of (research) projects in areas such as ecosystem services and natural capital, international food security, resource efficiency, education, training and many others.

Simon Munkler

Simon Munkler holds a MSc in Urban Studies from the Université Libré de Bruxelles/Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he specialised in financial geography and urban energy governance. Simon is involved in multiple EU-funded research projects centred on sustainable energy buildings, nature-based solutions and strategic raw materials. He has contributed to publications, policy recommendations, and workshops aimed at advancing the EU’s green transition. Simon has a keen interest in the integration of renewable energy in urban environments and the socio-economic impacts of sustainable technologies.

 

Region of Westerm Greece

RWG

The Region of Western Greece​ (RWG) is one of the 13 regions of Greece, covering an area of 11,336 km2 in the North-West part of the Peloponnese and the western extremity of Mainland Greece. Bordered by the Ionian Sea and the Gulfs of Kyparissia, Patras and Corinthos, it possesses a strategic position at the centre of Greece. It is divided into three regional units, i.e., Aitoloacarnania, Achaia, and Ilia, where unique archaeological sites and historic places of great cultural importance, such as Olympia (The birthplace of the Olympic Games) and Mesollonghi (The sacred town of the Greek War for Independence) are situated. It is the 4th largest region in terms of population in Greece (679.796 inhabitants), contributing to circa 5% of the total Gross Domestic Product of the country. The Regional Authority of Western Greece, as a second level public administration body, counts more than 800 employees, spread in 22 Directorates and 2 special services, i.e., the Special Managing Authority for the Operational Programme 'Western Greece and the Regional Development Fund. The RWG won the "2017 European Entrepreneurial Region Award" and in 2024 has been identified as Regional Innovation Valley. RWG has gained significant experience in implementing numerous European projects and capitalizing the learnt lessons and acquired experience in its regional operational programme.

Project Members

Eleni Bekri

​Dr. Eleni Bekri works as executive Civil Engineer at the Department of Regional Development Incentives of the Development Planning Directorate of the Region of Western Greece. Previously she worked as a postdoctoral researcher of the Environmental Technology Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Patras and at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She has participated in various national and international research programs related to the optimization of water resources management, environmental management and climate change effects, as well as evaluation and assessment of water ecosystems and their services. She has published numerous papers in international scientific journals and conferences. She has worked also as Civil Engineer for more than 6 years in France and Germany in the water and wastewater treatment plants study and design.

Athina Grizi

​Dr Athina Grizi works as a civil engineer in the Department of Development Planning at the Region of Western Greece. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Nottingham in the UK, and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Michigan in the USA. Her research spans several areas, including pile driving-induced vibrations, health assessment of retaining walls, sustainable construction materials, and shear resistance characterization of municipal solid waste. Dr Grizi has published numerous peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).

Konstantina Papagianni

​Mrs Papagiani Konstantina holds a degree of Economics of the Department of Economics -University of Ioannina, Greece (2002) and a master degree in Economic Theory and Policy, Department of Economics - University of Ioannina , Greece (2004). She also has graduated from the National School of Public Administration and local Authority Development, Greece (2007). She works in the Regional Authority of Western Greece dealing with agricultural extension, regional development, social and environmental areas, financial and administrative issues. She has worked as a financial manager in several European programmes and she was a member of the project team for the paper: “Tax decentralization in Greece and Europe” (2005) Hellenic agency for local development and local government.

 

Stam SRL

STAM

STAM is an engineering firm specialized in the high-tech sector. We provide turnkey solutions in the following areas: Space & Defence, Security & Transport, Energy & Environment, and Industry & Automation. 

Since the company establishment in 1997, we have been designing and developing innovative mechanisms and mechatronic devices. The main services provided were related to the field of mechanical engineering, performing all stages of the product design cycle: conception, tools and subsystem design and specification, definition of production systems and cycles. Since 2010 we have broaden our expertise portfolio, applying our expertise in new fields, such as construction and transports, and building new skills in ICT, where we develop solutions and software tools in order to support activities within Industry 4.0.

The enthusiasm and the experience of the personnel is our main asset. Thanks to these qualities and to an ideal mix between various areas of expertise, Stam has achieved outstanding results, such as: a number of patents, a testing laboratory for special machinery, and the successful completion of over 200 projects.

Project Members

Luca Bianconi

Business Area Manager, former developer, background in IT and humanities

Giulia Clerici

Product Owner, MSc in Psychology, former researcher in neurosciences

Alessandro Fermi

Senior Developer, Phd in Artificial Intelligence and PhD in Geomatics, former researcher in AI

 

The university of Auckland

UoA

The University of Auckland​ (UoA; Māori: Waipapa Taumata Rau) is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The University of Auckland is New Zealand's largest university by enrollment, hosting about 40,000 students on five Auckland campuses. It is also New Zealand’s largest research organisation with more than 13,000 staff and postgraduate students involved in fundamental and applied research. The University of Auckland is a recipient of a five star plus QS Stars University Rating for excellence in the categories: Research, Employability, Teaching, Facilities, Internationalisation, Innovation and Inclusiveness.

Project Members

Theuns Henning

​A Director Infrastructure Asset Management Post Graduate Programme and Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, he is also a founding member of the Climate Adaptation Platform, specialising in Asset Management, Performance Monitoring, Climate Adaptation, Performance Based Contracts and Benchmarking

Liam Whotherspoon

​Liam completed both his BE and PhD at the University of Auckland. Prior to his appointment to the department he was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Earth Science and Engineering. His research focuses on both structural and geotechnical aspects of earthquake engineering. Resilience of infrastructure networks (modelling of components, networks and network interdependencies). Geotechnical site characterisation (geophysical characterisation, liquefaction). Soil-foundation-structure interaction and integrated response of structures and foundations (computational modelling and field testing/monitoring of buildings and bridges). Foundation response (computational modelling, large scale field testing). Heavily involved in post-earthquake reconnaissance investigations during the 2010-2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquake sequence and following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.

Max Stephens

​Max Stephens joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as a Lecturer in 2019. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle Washington and his M.S. and B.S. from Portland State University in Portland Oregon. Max works in the area of structural engineering with an emphasis on resiliency and engineering for extreme events. His research interests span multiple scales – from structural-component to regional scales. He has expertise primarily in concrete and steel structures, large scale experimentation and advanced computing.

Yang Zou

​Yang started his career at the University of Auckland in 2018 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2022. He is the Programme Leader for Master of Engineering Studies (Construction Management), the Director of the Smart Digital Lab (SDL) and Faculty Co-Champion (Academic Lead) of the new UoA-Trimble Technology Lab (TTL). His research lies in the inter-disciplinary area of intelligent infrastructure and digital construction. He has focused on applying Building Information Modelling (BIM), Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR), Smart Sensing and Visualisation, throughout the lifecycle of complex building and large-scale infrastructure systems. My ultimate research goal is to develop a smarter, safer and better built environment to meet the new needs of a changing world.

 

Trinity College Dublin

TCD

At Trinity College Dublin​, the University of Dublin we provide a liberal environment where independence of thought is highly valued and all are encouraged to achieve their potential. We promote a diverse, interdisciplinary, inclusive environment which nurtures ground-breaking research, innovation, and creativity through engaging with issues of global significance. Trinity is Ireland’s highest ranked university. It is home to 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students across all the major disciplines in the arts and humanities, and in business, law, engineering, science, and health sciences. For Minority Report, TCD's involvement will be via TrinityHaus - a research centre in TCD's School of Engineering. TrinityHaus focuses on co-creation and the intersection between the built environment, health, wellbeing inclusion, climate action and sustainability. The built environment greatly affects health, inclusion, sustainability and climate change. These issues are deeply embedded and connected within our buildings, neighbourhoods, towns, and cities, and they require integrated and people-centred research and design solutions. TrinityHaus responds to these challenges through transdisciplinary research and co-creation across multiple sectors and spatial scales. From housing to healthcare settings, and from building materials to urban design, our projects focus on the role and impact of the built environment in creating low-carbon, resilient, climate adaptive, healthful, and inclusive communities.

Project Members

Tom Grey

Tom Grey Dip.Arch.B.Arch.Sci.MArch - Research Fellow, TrinityHaus Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin. Tom graduated from DIT Bolton Street in 1998 with an honours degree in Architecture. He moved to New Zealand in 2003 to complete a two-year Masters (Sustainability of the Built Environment) at the University of Auckland. With over 10 years in architectural practice working on projects in Ireland, the UK, Croatia, the US and NZ, Tom joined TrinityHaus Research Centre in TCD as a Research Fellow in 2009. Since then he has undertaken a variety of urban design and building design research projects exploring the relationship between the urban built environment and health, inclusion, resilience, sustainability, and climate change. All of these projects are underpinned by people-centred design, Universal Design, co-creation, and stakeholder engagement. (See - https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=greyt / https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3705-8666)



Dimitra Xidous

​Dimitra Xidous, MSc International Health - Research Fellow, TrinityHaus Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin. Dimitra Xidous has a master’s in international health from Queen Margaret University, Scotland. She has a background in public health policy, with a focus on health and human rights and has worked with multi-lateral organisations and stakeholders, including WHO, PAHO, and the UN. As a Research Fellow with TrinityHaus for the last decade, she has been involved in various health and design research projects exploring the intersection between the built environment and health and well-being across the lifecourse. As part of her role, she leads TrinityHaus' co-creation pillar, and has significant experience in participatory design and stakeholder engagement. She also has extensive experience in nature-based solutions, having been a WP lead in Connecting Nature, and involved in NBSEduWorld, and UNP Plus.

 

University College London

UCL

Consistently ranked among the global top 20 universities (currently joint 9th in the QS World University Rankings), University College London (UCL) is London’s Global University. UCL is a diverse intellectual community engaged with the broader world and committed to improving it. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL was the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to admit women on equal terms with men.

​Within UCL, the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) stands as one of the top research and teaching departments in the UK, with a world-class reputation. CEGE offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes designed to educate engineers in a dynamic and stimulating learning environment. The department boasts an extensive research portfolio across numerous areas and has consistently been among the best-funded engineering departments in the UK. CEGE’s research reflects a broad multidisciplinary view of the engineering world, with projects and centres that span disciplines to provide innovative solutions and new thinking.

The DE|RISC Lab (Disaster Engineering for Resilient Societies Laboratory) within CEGE operates at the intersection of civil engineering and other disciplines. It facilitates multi-hazard risk- and resilience-informed decision-making to create a safer, more resilient, sustainable, and equitable built environment for the future.

Project Members

​Gemma Cremen

​Gemma Cremen is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Risk and Resilience Engineering within the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at University College London (UCL), where she is also Co-Director of the DE|RISC (Disaster Engineering for Resilient Societies) Lab. She has leadership roles in a number of large interdisciplinary natural-hazard-related research projects funded by various sources (including the European Commission and UK Research and Innovation). Gemma’s research focus is at the intersection of civil engineering and other related disciplines, with the aim of facilitating multi-hazard risk- and resilience-informed decision making for a better tomorrow’s world. She has co-authored over 30 journal publications. Gemma was previously a (Senior) Research Fellow (in Civil Engineering) and a Research Associate (in Geophysics) at UCL and the University of Bristol, respectively. She completed her PhD in Earthquake Engineering at Stanford University in 2019.

Carmine Galasso

Carmine Galasso is a Professor of Catastrophe Risk Engineering and Research Director in the University College London (UCL)’s Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE). He is also a co-director of the DE|RISC Lab at UCL. Before his tenure at UCL, he led and participated in catastrophe risk modelling projects exceeding $5 million at AIR Worldwide in San Francisco, CA, working with clients such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. His research focuses on developing and applying probabilistic and statistical methods, as well as computational and digital tools, for catastrophe risk modelling and disaster risk reduction. He investigates risks to building portfolios and infrastructure exposed to multiple natural hazards, including earthquakes, typhoons, and floods, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and community assets. Carmine has authored >300 peer-reviewed articles; his research (>£5M as a Project Lead) is funded by the UK Research Councils, the European Commission, the British Council, the World Bank and its Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and the Willis Research Network, among others. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction; a Handling Editor for the Journal of Earthquake Engineering and Nature Communications Engineering; and one of the Founders and the Executive Editor for Operations for Seismica, a new community-driven Diamond Open Access journal publishing peer-reviewed research in seismology and earthquake science and engineering.

Roman Schotten

Roman Schotten - Roman Schotten holds a degree in civil engineering with a focus on hydraulic engineering from RWTH Aachen University and the Technical University of Dresden. During his initial role at the Dutch research institute Deltares, Roman gained extensive experience in international collaboration and various modelling methods for flood risk analysis and risk reduction. His work emphasized the consequences of flooding on people, economies, and infrastructure, rather than focusing solely on hydraulic or hydrological aspects. After that, Roman pursued a PhD in critical infrastructure network modelling for flood risk management at the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Bachmann. His dissertation has been submitted to RWTH Aachen, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Holger Schüttrumpf. Concurrently, he founded Adaptlantis, a company offering commercial services based on the methods investigated during his PhD. Currently, Roman is focusing on a postdoctoral position at University College London, where he is involved in multi-hazard risk modelling and assessing social consequences within the research group of Prof. Carmine Galasso and Prof. Gemma Cremen.

 

University of Canterbury

UoC

The University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha​, established in 1873, is a leading institution in New Zealand | Aotearoa renowned for its research and academic excellence. It offers a wide range of programmes across various disciplines, attracting students and scholars from around the world. UC is committed to innovation and knowledge creation, fostering an environment that encourages critical thinking and intellectual growth. Within University of Canterbury, the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering (CNRE) focuses on addressing real-world challenges in infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and disaster resilience. CNRE faculty and researchers are actively involved in cutting-edge projects that tackle issues such as climate change adaptation, natural hazard mitigation, and sustainable resource management. A key area of expertise within CNRE is the development and application of advanced models for flood, wildfire, and evacuation scenarios, coupled with robust risk analysis methodologies. These models utilise state-of-the-art computational techniques and data analysis to simulate complex phenomena, aiding in risk assessment, emergency planning, and infrastructure design. By understanding the dynamics of natural hazards, human behaviour, and the associated risks, CNRE researchers contribute to creating safer and more resilient communities.

Project Members

Tom Cochrane

​Tom Cochrane is a professor of water and land resources in the department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. His research expertise include flooding, erosion, stormwater modelling, and GIS analyses. In addition to leading various research projects with stakeholders in NZ, USA, Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America, he enjoys teaching courses in water infrastructure design and environmental impact assessment.

Markus Pahlow

​Markus Pahlow is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at University of Canterbury. Before joining University of Canterbury Markus has worked in the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Ireland, both in academia and in the industry. His teaching covers hydrology, hydraulics, water resources engineering and integrated civil engineering design. His research aims at developing and maintaining resilient and sustainable water resources systems.

Andres Valencia-Correa

​Andres Valencia-Correa is a senior lecturer in Fire Engineering at the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury. He aims for developing science and engineering tools capable of reducing wildfire risk in urban and rural regions. He has been involved in several projects focused on wildfire behaviour and wildfire risk.

Peter Thompson

​Peter Thompson is a senior research engineer in the department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. His research expertise encompasses dynamic computer simulations, microscopic evacuation analysis, building information modelling (BIM) and physics-based environmental simulations. He develops and enhances pedestrian & BIM modelling systems, and also represents New Zealand on ISO committee ISO/TC 92/SC 4 “Fire safety engineering: Behaviour and movement of people”, serves on the buildingSmart International working groups developing new standards for Occupant Movement Analysis and Fire Safety Engineering BIM data formats. He also lectures to both professionals and students on pedestrian movement, evacuation and BIM.

 

University of Patras

UPAT

The University of Patras​ was founded in the city of Patras in 1964.It is the third largest University in Greece including 35 Departments covering a wide range of disciplines. It also hosts 161 laboratories and 17 fully equipped clinics. The Department of Civil Engineering was founded in 1972. The Department consists of three Divisions, covering the areas of Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering, and Environmental Engineering and Transportation Engineering .The Project, Infrastructure and City Management Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Department aims to support and promote teaching and research activities in the areas of new methods and technologies in management and interconnection of structures, infrastructure and cities as well as in the lifecycle management of transportation projects. The Department of Physics of the University of Patras was founded in 1964. The Department is divided into 4 Divisions, Applied Physics, Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Condensed Matter and Electronics and Computers Divisions.

Project Members

Stylianos Karatzas

​Dr. Stylianos Karatzas is an MSCA fellow in the Institute of Manufacturing (IfM) at the University of Cambridge. He has been an Adjunct Lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Patras, in the field of Smart Infrastructure, Transportation, and Cities since 2018. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Patras, which was selected and co-financed by the Greek State Scholarship Foundation and the European Union, a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science and a master’s degree in Automation and Control Systems from the University of Patras (Greece), and a master’s degree in operations management from the University of Bath (UK). He has been a research scholar in the Construction Science Department at TEXAS A&M University (US), working in data-driven research focused on infrastructure asset management. He has worked in the industry for several technical projects in Greece and the UAE. He is currently coordinating several European Horizon research projects driving innovation and sustainability in the built environment. He has supervised over 20 theses, and he has more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed Journals and refereed conference proceedings.

Polychronis Economo

​Dr. Polychronis Economou is an Associate Professor at the University of Patras. He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the National Technical University of Athens, where he also earned an M.Sc. in Applied Statistics. Additionally, he has a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Ioannina. Dr. Economou's research primarily focuses on survival and reliability models, process monitoring, and time series analysis. He has developed advanced data analytics methods for health and environmental processes using statistical machine learning techniques. He has authored over 70 papers published in international scientific journals, peer-reviewed volumes, and conference proceedings.

Kazantzidis Andreas

​Kazantzidis Andreas

Vasiliki Lazari

Vasiliki Lazari holds a diploma in Civil Engineering and a MSc in “Intelligent Transportation Systems and Project Management” from University of Patras. The MSc thesis topic is “Resource allocation optimization in large construction projects using evolutionary algorithms”. She is a PhD candidate in Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, in “Smart Infrastructure Management” and her research interests are in optimization techniques (linear programming, genetic algorithms, heuristic and meta-heuristic techniques) in several domains such as transportation and construction project management. She is currently participating as a researcher in European Projects (Horizon2020, HorizonEU) related to Smart Cities fields, such as Energy management, Indoor air quality and Health and Sustainable development.

Antonis Papamanolis

​Dr. Antonis Papamanolis is an Architectural Engineer and a member of the Hellenic Technical Chamber. He has a PhD from the school of Architecture of the University of Patras on Digital Design Pedagogy and specializes in Digital Design and Fabrication, Participatory Design and Design Management. Besides his work as a freelance architect, he has worked at the University of Patras School of Architecture as the Prototyping Lab Administrator, an external inspector of European Programs for the Western Greek Chamber of Commerce, adjunct professor at the Guglielmo Marconi University of Rome, researcher at the Transformable Intelligent Environments Lab of the School of Architecture of the Technical University of Crete and Project Manager of the Athens Municipal Makerspace. Since 2022 he is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Project, Infrastructure and City Management Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Patras, working on the coordination team of three European Projects (TwinERGY, TwinAIR and HeritACT) as well as teaching under and postgraduate classes on Smart Cities and Digital Twins and supervising graduate and master theses. His research focuses on the Introduction of Computational Methods and Digital Media in Design, Maker Education, integration of Participatory Frameworks in Design and applications of Digital Twin technologies.

 

Urban Intelligence Limited

UI

Urban Intelligence​, based in Aotearoa, New Zealand, is a leading provider of research-based software designed to help accelerate climate adaptation. Our mission is to support more resilient decision-making through evidence-based solutions. We are proud to introduce Resilience Explorer™, a digital platform that integrates risk simulation models with geospatial mapping. This powerful tool empowers users to make informed decisions in the face of rapid environmental change. Resilience Explorer™ combines risk simulation models, geospatial mapping, hazard event simulations, and climate risk assessments to provide actionable insights for proactive risk management and equitable adaptation planning. Our ongoing goal is to expand and provide more evidence-based solutions, ultimately creating a groundbreaking technology for decision-makers worldwide. We are dedicated to addressing the growing challenges and market needs in this area.

Project Members

Mitchell Anderson

Mitchell is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Urban Intelligence. Mitchell’s background is in Civil Engineering and Humanitarian Engineering and is currently finalising a PhD in Risk Analysis. Mitchell has led work around the country with both public and private sector clients.

Anna Scheirlinck

Anna is the team and project manager for Urban Intelligence. Anna holds a master’s degree in emergency management focused on natural hazard community resilience. She has worked throughout Australasia in Central and Regional Government roles across the emergency management sector. As a Senior Advisor within the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Anna contributed to policy development and supported the development of national through to local strategies for disaster recovery. Anna will work with your teams and project manage the delivery of the Resilience Explorer and associated research.

Tom Logan

Tom is the co-founder and technical director of Urban Intelligence. A Fulbright Scholar and Rutherford Discovery Fellow with a PhD in risk analysis, he brings internationally-respected expertise in resilience and adaptation. Prior to returning to NZ to the role of Senior Lecturer in Civil Systems Engineering, he worked in Silicon Valley. At the University of Canterbury, he has developed and teaches courses on climate adaptation and risk analysis. Tom will oversee the technical excellence of the project and collaborate with technical experts in your teams to ensure the accurate use of methodologies and data.

 

Wellington City Council

WCC

Wellington City Council ​is the local government authority for the capital city in New Zealand. WCC has a wide range of responsibilities as specified in the Local Government Act (and other legilslation and policy) including several responsibilities relating to urban planning, long-term infrastructure planning for public assets, public health and emergency management, climate change response planning and delivery.

Project Members

Jamuna Rotstein

​Climate Change Adaptation Lead at WCC for the past 3 years. Has worked in climate change adaptation planning in Australia, New Zealand and Uganda - has a background in climate change policy and public health.