Home - INVITED SPEAKERS
SITI FATIN MOHD RAZALI (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia. In 2006, she graduated with a first class degree in Civil Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. In 2011, she obtained her PhD from the University of Western Australia. Currently, Siti Fatin is a professional water resources engineer who was awarded by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and the Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) in 2017. She has published several journal and conference papers and actively supervises numerous PhD and Masters students. Her interests include hydraulichydrological modelling, streamflow, and drought and flood assessment. She is also involved in industrial projects and has been a reviewer for national and international journals.
Dr. Shieh-Kung Huang has completed his PhD in the Department of Civil Engineering at National Taiwan University (NTU). He worked as a visiting scholar in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, from 2018 to 2019. He is currently an assistant professor at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU). He has published around 20 papers in reputed journals and his research topics include the areas of smart structure, structural health monitoring, structural control, and earthquake early warning. He has recent research interests primarily in the fields of automated structural health monitoring, vibration-sensitive equipment, and seismic isolation devices.
Hamidah Bt. Mohd. Saman obtained her Bachelor in Civil Engineering Degree in 1988 from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States of America (USA). She worked as a Researcher in SIRIM Berhad from 1992 before furthering her studies at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and obtained her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 1999. She joined Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 2000 as a Lecturer and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007 and full Professor in 2015. She was a Deputy Dean of Research and Industry Linkages, Head, School of Civil Engineering, Dean of Industry, Community and Alumni Networking (ICAN). Currently, she is an Assistant Vice Chancellor at College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. Her active involvement in professional bodies is portrayed by her designation as a Secretary of Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM) for seven (7) sessions or for fifteen years, Committee, Treasurer, Secretary since 2007 and now hold a position as a Director of American Concrete Institute- Malaysia Chapter. Based on her expertise, she has been appointed as a Chief Editor for Scientific Research Journal (UiTM), Journal of Sustainable Civil Engineering and Technology (JSCET), a member of the editorial board for Malaysian Construction Research Journal (CREAM-CIDB), The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Journal, Journal of Engineering Science & Technology (JESTEC) and International Sustainable Construction Journal co-published by UTHM-Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM). During her service as an academic member in UiTM, she has published more than 300 papers in journals and conference proceedings at the international and national levels in the area of durability in concrete, lightweight concrete, high-performance concrete and bio- concrete, international construction, strengthening and repair materials for concrete structures using non-corrodible materials. Nano, bio-concrete and high fire-resistance cement materials are her new areas of interest. She has been actively involved in research and consultation works and has been granted more than RM 1.5 million over the last five years of research grants from government agencies and industries. So far, she has supervised twenty-nine (29) Ph.D. students, and twenty of them have graduated.
The presenting author, Dr. Kazutaka Shirai, is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University. He obtained his doctoral degree at Tohoku University in 2010. His current research interests include structural engineering, earthquake engineering, reinforced concrete structures, geopolymers and engineered geopolymer composites, ultra-high performance concrete, fibre-reinforced cementitious composites, three-dimensional printing concrete, earthquake response and vibration control of structures, passive friction dampers, variable stiffness and damping devices, optimal damper design, and seismic retrofitting of structures. He received several awards, including the Encouragement Prize of JCI (2015) and the Encouragement Prize of AIJ (2013).
Dr. Norinah Abd Rahman is a senior lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She earned her Master's and Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Chung Ang University, Seoul, Korea, in 2011 and 2015, respectively. She was the recipient of the Chung-Ang University Young Scientist Scholarship (CAYSS) program for her Master's and Ph.D. degrees. Her current research interests include non-destructive testing in civil engineering, primarily focusing on the spectral-analysis-of-surface wave (SASW) test, as well as soil improvements, slope stability, and soil erodibility. She has received various research grants from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the industry. One of her projects aims to enhance the current practice and analysis of the SASW test. Furthermore, she actively participates in industrial projects, publishes research findings, and serves as a reviewer for national and international journals.
Prof. Sara Belarouf is professor of physics at Agronomic and Veterinary Institute of Hassan II of Rabat, Morocco, his PhD in Mechanics and Energetics in 2021, with a thesis dedicated to Energy efficiency in buildings . After obtaining a The Brussels Faculty of Engineering Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) research fellowship in 2019, Prof. Belarouf’s research activities focus on the study to combine energy and multi-scale experimental civil engineering with advanced methods for sustainable and ecological materials innovation. focus on sustainable development of high societal and environmental impact bulk building materials, smart/multifunctional bulk composite materials for energy efficiency, and ultra-high fiber reinforced materials for structural and rehabilitation applications. Results of the research carried out have been published in prestigious journals and presented in national and international conferences. She’s involved in many national and international research projects and she'snd editor in chief of the scientific journal "Global Research Review ".
Mohammad Zuaiter, Jordanian, was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil Infrastructure & Environmental Engineering at Khalifa University of Science & Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and a Research member in the Advanced Digital & Additive Manufacturing Center (ADAM) at Khalifa University. He pursued his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Abu Dhabi University in 2019, and his Master of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the United Arab Emirates University in 2022, both with Magna Cum Laude (Honors). His research work revolved around concrete technology, i.e. geopolymer concrete, structural behavior, performance evaluation, fiber reinforcement, and nano-reinforcements. As such, he published multiple journals on this topic, with incorporating glass fibers to avert the drawback of the geopolymer concrete mix. His work mainly revolved around fresh, mechanical, and durability properties through experimental investigations, followed by analytical analysis on proposing new equations in predicting the properties of the proposed geopolymer concrete. As an initiative of investigating the behavior of geopolymer concrete for structural use, he examined the shear behavior of beams made with geopolymer concrete and assessed the applicability of replacing stirrups with a durable form of fibers, i.e. glass fibers. He participated in the 7th Undergraduate research competition, which was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a research paper titled 'Influence of Structural System on Behavior of Reinforced Concrete High-rise Buildings Subjected to Lateral Loads'. Besides, he won third place in a 3-minute thesis competition held by UAEU. He also participated in the 7 th & 8 th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Concrete Technology (ICSECT’22 & ‘23) in 2022 and 2023, with papers titled ‘Early-Age Properties of Slag-Fly Ash Blended Geopolymer Concrete Reinforced with Glass Fibers – A Preliminary Study’, and ‘Performance of Hybrid Glass Fiber-Reinforced Slag-Fly ash Blended Geopolymer Concrete’. He is currently investigating the behavior of various concrete composites with nano additives/nano reinforcements for structural and Infrastructure use. His enthusiasm for producing cement-free, durable, and serviceable concrete is never lasting, aligned with the sustainability vision of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and thus demoting the effect of global warming.
Dr. Biao HU is currently an Assistant Professor at the College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, P.R. China. He obtained his Ph.D. from the City University of Hong Kong in 2017. His main research focuses on composite materials & structures, structural retrofitting, and sustainable construction materials. He has published more than 40 technical papers in international journals and conference proceedings (including 41 SCI papers), and these works received more than 830 citations recorded in Google Scholar. He is the principal investigator of 4 research projects and the co-investigator of more than 10 research projects. He serves as the editorial board member of several journals (Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Building Technology Research and Construction Progress) and the guest editor of two SCI journals. He is a regular reviewer of more than 30 peer-reviewed international SCI journals. He received the Moisseiff Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2018.
Prof. Giunta is Associate Professor of Roads Railways and Airports at University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Italy. She received her PhD in Road Infrastructures Engineering from University of Palermo. Prof. Giunta’s research activities focus on the study road, railroad and airport design, road and railway materials, road safety, road geometry, life-cycle assessment, sustainability, environmental impact assessment of construction processes, recycling. Results of the research carried out have been published in prestigious journal and presented in national and international conference. She’s involved in many national and international research project and she's editorial board member of several journals.
Kevin H. Zhang is professor of economics at Illinois State University (ISU). He received his Ph.D. from University of Colorado-Boulder and completed his post-doctoral research at Harvard University. Before joining ISU, Dr. Zhang served as consultant for the Harvard Institute of International Development. Dr. Zhang’s research filed is international economics, industrial development, innovation, urban and regional economics, and the Chinese economy. In addition to 5 books on FDI, international trade, industrial development, the Chinese economy, and regional economics, Dr. Zhang has published over 100 articles and book-chapters in leading journals such as Journal of Development Economics, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Development Studies, Urban Studies, Contemporary Economic Policy, China Economic Review, International Journal of Business, Review of Development Economics, and International Review Economics and Finance. Dr. Zhang is associate editor of The Chinese Economy (published by Taylor & Francis) and in the editorial board for journals such as Online Journal of Social Sciences Research, Journal of Chinese Economics and Foreign, and The Open Urban Studies Journal. Dr. Zhang served as vice president of Chinese Economists Society (CES) for two terms (2000-01 and 2002-03). Since 2001, Dr. Zhang has taught in several leading universities in China.
Angela Fiamingo is a PhD candidate in “Evaluation and Mitigation of Urban and Land Risks” at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Italy. In 2022-2023, she spent a research period at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. In 2020, she obtained her MSc degree in Structural and Geotechnical Civil Engineering from the University of Catania, Italy, with full marks and honour. Her current research interests cover the study of the Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction (DSSI) and the Geotechnical Seismic Isolation (GSI) systems, using soil and rubber grains, manufactured from scrap tyres, disposal of which has become a severe environmental problem worldwide.
Dr. Jorge Feijoo is Associate Professor at the Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Defense University Centre at Spanish Naval Academy. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Vigo (Spain) in 2016 and completed his post-doctoral research at Institute of Geosciences belonging to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Feijoo’s research activities are focused mainly on the intervention of porous building materials used in cultural heritage, publishing more than 30 technical papers in international journals in this field, especially in the intervention and improvement of the properties of ornamental rocks and lime mortars.
Dr Woo has a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering, and he has obtained PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M. He majors in energy system such as HVAC and its heat transfer, optimal design and control of refrigerator, reliability design of thermal components, and failure Analysis of thermal components in marketplace using the Non-destructive such as SEM & XRAY. In 1992.03–1997 he worked in Agency for Defense Development, Chinhae, South Korea, where he has researcher in charge of Development of Naval weapon System. He was working as a Senior Reliability Engineer in Refrigerator Division, Digital Appliance, SAMSUNG Electronics. Now he is working as associate professor in mechanical department, Ethiopian Technical University.
Concetta Tavoletta (1986) is an architect and has a PhD in architectural and urban design and architectural restoration. Since 2022, she has been a Researcher in Architectural Design at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”. She is Deputy editor of Dromos. Architecture periodical book - scientific journal for ANVUR Classification - and writes for numerous magazines in the sector such as Area, Abitare and Platform Architecture and Design. She is the author of four monographs and has edited several volumes. In 2018 and 2021, she was nominated for the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture T Young Claudio De Albertis. In 2020, she was among the best Italian architects Under40 for the magazine Platform Architecture and Design. Her projects and drawings have been included in national and international exhibitions and conferences to which she was also invited as a speaker.
Dr. Xinpeng WANG is an assistant professor of architecture at Waseda University in Japan. He received master and phd degree also at Waseda University. He has been engaged in the research on architectural space prototypes of traditional East Asian urban dwellings, and has always been working with local residents, communities, governments and scholars. Many of his research topics revolve around the decline of urban public space and the adaptive analysis of elastic street space. He is also a co-editor of architectural magazines such as "UED", and a reviewer for international journals such as "City and Built Environment" and "BMC Public Health". At the same time, he is the founder of an architectural design studio “WA Atelier" , responsible for a number of public buildings and urban renewal projects in China and Japan.
