COMMITTEES

CONFERENCE CHAIRS

Vânia Ribeiro
Polytechnic University of Leiria, Portugal

Roberta Panízzio
Polytechnic University of Portalegre, Portugal

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Ahmad Pourmovahed 
Kettering University, USA

Speech title: Organic Biodiesel Production Using Various Agricultural Feedstocks

Ahmad Pourmovahed holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in Chemical and Civil Engineering. He has worked as a Senior Research Engineer at General Motors, focusing on hybrid vehicles, and as an Assistant Professor at Lawrence Technological University. Currently, he is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Kettering University, specializing in Energy Systems and Sustainability. His expertise includes energy storage, thermal systems, and renewable energy. He is a Fellow of The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD).

His research interests focus on energy system analysis, biofuel production, renewable energy, sustainability, and thermal systems. He led a $951,500 research project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to improve biogas production and its application in transportation and power generation. He has published extensively on topics such as microplastics removal, COVID-19 impacts on food security, urban hydroponics, wind turbine efficiency, fuel cell power plants, and hydraulic hybrid vehicle energy systems.

Dragan Savic

Dragan Savic 
Exeter University, UK

Speech title: Impact of AI on the water industry

Dragan Savić is the Global Advisor on Digitalization at KWR Water Research Institute and a Professor of Hydroinformatics at the University of Exeter. Professor Savić is an internationally recognised leader in the field of Hydroinformatics, particularly water and sewage system modelling and optimization. His work on Artificial Intelligence applications to challenging complex water system problems has delivered significant cost savings to many utilities around the world.

Zhongcheng Ma 

Häme University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Speech title: Recent research activities on sustainable construction

Zhongcheng Ma obtained his first PhD degree from Harbin Institute of Technology, China in 1997, and was awarded a Technical Doctorate at Helsinki University of Technology (Aalto University), Finland in 2000. He holds an MBA from University of Wales in 2012. He has authored and co-authored 63 peer-reviewed scientific publications in structural engineering. He has 14 years’ industrial experiences in the field of material strength and impact of mechanical structures and electronic components and 15 years’ academic experience in structural engineering. He is currently a principal research scientist and research group leader at HAMK, focusing on steel structures. His major research interests include behavior and design rules of steel structures, structural fire behavior and analyses, demountability and reuse of steel construction, building demolition and reuse.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Ana Carolina Assis
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

Bruna Rijo
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

Catarina Nobre
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

Cecília Pedrero
Polytechnic University of Portalege

Filipe Neves
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Flávio Craveiro
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Henrique Almeida
Polytechnic University of Leiria

João Galvão
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Liliana Ferreira
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Joel Vasco
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Paulo Brito
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

Pedro Gala
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Pedro Monteiro
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

Ricardo Gomes
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Sandra Mourato
Polytechnic University of Leiria

Santa Margarida Santos
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

José Copa
Polytechnic University of Portalegre

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Ana Gomes
Porto Catholic University, Portugal

Ana Rodrigues
Politechnic University of Leiria, Portugal

Abel Rodrigues
INIAV/ Research Institute, Portugal

Ahmad Pourmovahed
Kettering University, Michigan, USA

Alfeu Sá Marques
Coimbra University, Portugal

Ana Vale
School of Science IT Sligo, Ireland

Antonio Macías
Extremadura University, Spain

Annukka Pakarinen
HAMK University, Finland

Carla Ferreira
ESAC/Coimbra Polytechnic, Portugal

Carlos Henggeler
INESCC/Coimbra University, Portugal

Catarina Nobre
Polytechnic University of Portalegre, Portugal

Eduardo Álvarez
Oviedo University, Spain

Eliseu Monteiro
FEUP/Porto University, Portugal

Fausto Freire
CIE/Coimbra University, Portugal

Fernando Lidon
NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal

Fulvia Chiampo
Politecnico di Torino, Italy

Howard Dryden
Scotland University, UK

Hassan El Bari
Kenitra University, Marocco

Helena Bártolo
Polytechnic University of Leiria, Portugal

Jerónimo Cortés
CICTE/Extremadura Research Center, Spain

João Pina
FCT/Nova Lisbon University, Portugal

Jorge MGP Isidoro
Algarve University, Portugal

José Lobo
Extremadura University, Spain

Kirsi Knuuttila
HAMK University, Finland

Lucélia Hoehne
Universidade do Vale do Taquari – UNIVATES, Brazil

Lisiane Librelotto
UFSCatarina, Brasil

Luís Loures
Polytechnic University of Portalegre, Portugal

Luís Neves
INESCC/Politechnic University of Leiria, Portugal

Luís Silva
Porto Polytechnic, Portugal

Luís Tarelho
Aveiro University, Portugal

Luisa Schmidt
ICS/Lisbon University, Portugal

Luiz Rodrigues
Polytechnic University of Portalegre, Portugal

Madalena Moreira
Évora University, Portugal

Margarida Gonçalves
Nova University, Portugal

Manuel Hermoso
Jaen University, Spain

Maria Dermiki
Atlantic Technological University, Ireland

Maria Manuela Silva
NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal

Marika Tossavainen
HAMK University, Finland

Marritta Kymalainen
HAMK University, Finland

Milica Kasanin-rubin
University of Belgrade, Serbia

Mauricio Nogueira Frota
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Mohammed Karim BENHACHMI
University Hassan II/Casablanca, Marocco

Nicolau Almeida
Polytechnic University of Portalegre, Portugal

Noel Pereira
Birmingham City University, UK

Paulo Mourão
Évora University, Portugal

Remco Kranendonk
Wageningen University, Nedherlands

Ricardo Chacartegui
Sevilha University, Spain

Rodrigo Moruzzi
UNESP/ São Paulo State University, Brazil

Rui Ganhão
Polytechnic University of Leiria, Portugal

Saifur Rahman
Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute, USA

Sérgio Leitão
UTAD/Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro University, Portugal

Susana Neto
IST/Lisbon University, Portugal

Szakonyi Petra
István University/Győr, Hungary

Teresa Mouga
Polytechnic University of Leiria, Portugal

Valentim Realinho
VALORIZA/Polytechnic University of Portalegre, Portugal

Wolf-Gerrit Früh
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland

Zahra Kalantari
Stockholm University, Sweden