Rail Infrastructure Resilience

Professor Rui Calcada is Full Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto, in Portugal, Head of the Civil Engineering Department, and Coordinator of the CSF-Centre of Competence in Railways. He is a Member of the Scientific Council of FEUP, and a Member of the Management Board of the R&D unit CONSTRUCT, in the Institute of R&D in Structures and Construction. He received his PhD and Habillation in civil engineering from the University of Porto. His research focusses include advanced models for analysis of the train-infrastructure dynamic interaction; dynamic effects on bridges and transition zones; fatigue assessment for railway bridges; track-structure interaction; condition monitoring systems; and advanced algorithms for condition assessment of railway infrastructure. He is the Principle Investigator of 12 major research projects. He currently works on the European Commission's RISEN Project (Rail Infrastructure Systems Engineering Network), which has received funding from the EU's Horizon 2020 program. Dr Sakdirat Kaewunruen is Senior Lecturer in Railway and Civil Engineering in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham in the UK. He is also Coordinator of the RISEN project. He has extensive industry experience in the field of structural, civil and track engineering both in industry and academia. With over 14 years in the rail industry and regulatory environments prior to joining academia, he has an array of research interests, including rail engineering, track design, track components, structural and geotechnical engineering, maintenance and construction. He received his PhD in civil engineering from the University of Wollongong in Australia, and has also completed an Emerging Leader Program with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He coordinates the EU-funded RISEN project and is a CI of S-CODE. He has lead numerous projects, sits on various industry committees, and has published widely in the field.