Professor Klaartje de Weerdt has been awarded the 2021 RILEM Robert L’Hermite Medal. Professor de Weerdt holds a Chair in the Department of Structural Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), in Trondheim, Norway. The Robert L’Hermite medal is granted to recognise her outstanding and influential research in concrete durability, with a particular focus on understanding the mechanisms of attack on reinforced concrete by chloride and carbonation, designing concrete to resist deleterious alkali-silica reactions, and the use of blended cements to produce more sustainable, highly durable concrete. Her many contributions to these research topics show proof of leadership and active participation in RILEM Technical Committees, she is Deputy Chair of RILEM TC ASR and has been Work Package leader in RILEM TC 258-AAA.  She leads a prominent and successful research team at NTNU. She holds a Master degree in Civil Engineering from KU Leuven, Belgium, and a PhD from NTNU, and has also worked as a researcher at SINTEF in Trondheim prior to taking on her academic appointment. Her research is supported by an extensive portfolio of EU, national, and industry sponsorship, and she has made important and highly cited contributions to the scientific literature in the areas of cement hydration and concrete durability.

 

Congratulations to Klaartje on behalf of the jury members, Prof. Nele DE BELIE, TAC Chair and Chair of the Medal Jury, Prof. John PROVIS, Materials & Structures Editor in Chief, Dr Anya VOLLPRACHT and Dr Eshan DAVE, TAC members. 

 

Emilio Martínez-Pañeda is a Lecturer at Imperial College London and head of the Mechanics of Infrastructure Materials Lab. Dr Martínez-Pañeda has made multiple contributions to the areas of durability, material degradation and structural integrity. He combines experiments, theoretical analysis and computer simulations to develop mechanistic models that can reliably capture material deformation and fracture. Among these, the predictive, mechanistic model for hydrogen embrittlement is probably the most renowned. Dr Martínez-Pañeda is leading a successful research team in in the growing area of multi-physics material degradation and has an outstanding publication record. His achievements have been recognised with prestigious awards by academia (e.g., Acta Materialia Student Award, Simo prize, Springer PhD Thesis Prize) and industry (Keith Miller Prize, IMechEPrestige Award for risk reduction). Dr Martínez-Pañeda has been involved in RILEM; he has supported the activities of RILEM’s TC CCH (Stress Corrosion Cracking and Hydrogen Embrittlement of Concrete-Reinforcing Steels). He has been invited to deliver talks in many top institutions (MIT, Oxford, Texas A&M, etc.), as well as at the International Hydrogen Conference.

 

Prannoy Suraneni is an assistant professor in the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Miami in the United States.  Dr Suraneni is head of  the Advanced Cement Chemistry, Engineering, Sustainability and Science Lab (ACCESS Lab) at the University of Miami.  His research focus is on supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), alternative cementitious materials, and concrete durability with important contributions regarding the reactivity of SCM and the clarification of the interactions between cementitious materials and chlorides. In addition to an excellent publication record in these research areas, his research has resulted in a national test standard. For his outstanding contributions, he has been recognized as ACI Ambassador Speaker and has been awarded with the PCA Fellowship and University of Miami’s SEEDS You Choose Leadership Award. Dr Suraneni has been actively involved in RILEM, he is member of the Educational Activities Committee (EAC) and deputy chair for TC EBD on test methods to evaluate durability of blended cement pastes against deleterious ions. He has been remarkably active on the fronts of doctoral research guidance (both as supervisor and thesis committee member), as a journal peer reviewer, editorial board member and guest editor, and in a leadership role that fosters younger and emerging professionals in ACI and ASTM International.

 

Congratulations to Emilio and Prannoy on behalf of the jury members, Prof. Nele DE BELIE, TAC Chair and Chair of the Medal Jury, Prof. John PROVIS, Materials & Structures Editor in Chief, Dr Anya VOLLPRACHT and Dr Eshan DAVE, TAC members.