Professor Emilio Garcia-Taengua

Profile

I am Professor of Concrete Structures and Materials at the University of Leeds and the Pro-Dean for Student Education and Experience of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS). As Pro-Dean I am responsible for the quality assurance, standards and enhancement of learning and teaching for all Schools in our Faculty. I have the privilege of contributing my experience in education, research and management to the leadership of the Faculty and the University, working closely with the Dean of EPS, the Pro-Deans of the other Faculties and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Before taking up this role, I was the Director of Student Education of the School of Civil Engineering.

My background is in civil / structural engineering and applied data science, specialising in concrete technology and concrete structures. After studying the 5-year full-time programme leading to the professional qualification of Chartered Engineer in Spain (Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos), I did an MSc in Applied Data Analysis and got my PhD from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain) with the thesis "Bond of Reinforcing Bars to Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete". My background in structural engineering and experimental research covers a variety of topics related to cement-based materials and concrete structures. Before joining the University of Leeds, I worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Concrete Science and Technology ICITECH (Valencia, Spain), lectured in Construction Materials at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), and was a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queen's University of Belfast (UK) after receiving a Marie Curie Fellowship for Experienced Researchers to be involved in a European project involving universities and industrial partners in the UK, Italy and the Republic of Ireland.

I am an active member of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), in which I serve as a member of different technical committees, and as a voting member of the ACI 544 committee on fiber-reinforced concrete. I was the principal investigator of the research project “Optimisation of Fibre-Reinforced Concrete using Data Mining”, funded by the Concrete Research Council / ACI Foundation, and serve as associate editor and reviewer for a number of scientific journals. I am also a member of the RILEM (International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures), where I have been actively involved in the technical committee TC-261CCF on creep of cracked fibre-reinforced concrete. Due to my background and research experience in both data science and concrete technology, I am internationally recognised as an expert in machine learning and artificial intelligence methods applied to the optimisation of special concretes.

Responsibilities

• Pro Dean for Student Education and Experience

Research interests

My research interests cover a wide variety of topics in the fields of concrete materials, concrete structures and data science. Most of my current research activity is concerned with the structural performance and quality control of fibre-reinforced concretes and self-consolidating concrete, with a focus on the applications of data-driven approaches for the design and optimisation of concrete mix design. More broadly, I am interested in the rheology of cement-based materials with additions and nanoparticles, sustainability and recycled aggregates, bond of reinforcement to concrete, prestressed concrete elements, FRP reinforcement, creep of structural elements in flexure, and concrete durability. My interest and background in big data and machine learning permeates almost all my work, where I apply such techniques to the design and analysis of experimental campaigns and the improvement of concrete manufacturing processes.

Qualifications

• PhD Concrete Science and Technology
• MSc Applied Statistics (Data Analysis)
• MEng MSc Civil and Structural Engineering

Professional memberships

• CEng CICCP (Spain and ECCE)
• Institute of Engineering and Technology IET
• American Concrete Institute ACI
• RILEM

Student education

As Pro-Dean I contribute to the leadership of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the University in the Student Education space. Currently I teach Data science and Research Methods to undergraduate students in Civil Engineering. I have taught modules on bridge engineering, construction technology, prestressed concrete design and technology, and integrated design.

Research groups and institutes

• Materials and Structures
• Cities, Infrastructure and Energy