BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:ENAC Seminar Series by Dr. Alessandro F. Rotta Loria
DTSTART:20230515T160000
DTEND:20230515T170000
DTSTAMP:20260916T044107Z
UID:abac8908b9e51ba3da8da2286720d2f56b1d6cb672306aa7dce5c19f
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION: Dr. Alessandro F. Rotta Loria\n16:00-17:00 - Dr. Alessandro 
 F. Rotta Loria\nAssistant Professor\, Northwestern University\n\nThe Geom
 echanics of Underground Climate Change\n\nThe ground beneath urban areas a
 cross the world is warming up due to anthropogenic activity\, leading to s
 ubsurface urban heat islands: an underground climate change responsible fo
 r major environmental\, public health\, and transportation infrastructure 
 issues. Based on the rationale that geomaterials such as soils\, rocks\, a
 nd concrete deform under the influence of temperature variations and exces
 sive deformations can affect civil infrastructure\, this study presents an
  unprecedented investigation of the impacts of temperature variations asso
 ciated with subsurface heat islands on the mechanics of geomaterials\, geo
 structures\, and geosystems. By harnessing experimental laboratory studies
 \, computational simulations\, and the Chicago Loop district as a living l
 aboratory\, this study explores such problem across multiple scales: from 
 the spatial scale of soil particles to cities and from the temporal scale 
 of seconds to centuries. The results of this research unveil that temperat
 ure variations linked to the emerging underground climate change in urban 
 areas represent a silent hazard for civil infrastructures. This problem ar
 ises due to irreversible thermally induced deformations of soils\, incompa
 tible thermo-mechanical effects for the performance of geotechnical struct
 ures\, and continuous changes in the thermo-hydro-mechanical equilibrium o
 f underground systems. The findings of this work enhance our capabilities 
 to understand\, simulate\, and predict the influence of temperature variat
 ions on the mechanics of complex geological systems for various purposes i
 n science\, technology\, and engineering. This fundamental scientific work
  specifically opens a new research field at the intersection of Geomechani
 cs\, Energy\, and Urban Science. Furthermore\, this work expands the curre
 nt knowledge boundaries in Granular Physics\, Earth Science\, and Engineer
 ing by creating theoretical and experimental competence on the mechanics o
 f granular materials and structures.\n\nShort bio: \n\nDr. Alessandro F. 
 Rotta Loria is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University\, where h
 e directs a research laboratory focusing on the subsurface within the Depa
 rtment of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He received his B.Sc. and M
 .Sc. degrees in Architectural Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino\,
  and his Ph.D. degree in Mechanics from EPFL. His research lies at the int
 ersection of Geomechanics\, Energy\, and Electrochemistry. His work has cu
 lminated in the publication of the book “Analysis and Design of Energy G
 eostructures\,” more than 35 peer-reviewed journal papers\, 40 conferenc
 e papers and abstracts\, and 1 patent for his invention of the world-first
  geothermal panel enerdrape. Dr. Rotta Loria is an Editorial Associate of 
 the journal Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment\, the Task Force L
 eader of the ISSMGE Academia-Industry Partnership for Innovation on Energy
  Geotechnics\, and the creator of the Northwestern Sustainability Lecture 
 Series. His work has been recognized with the Curriculum Innovation Award 
 for excellence in teaching from The Alumnae of Northwestern (2022)\, the N
 ational Science Foundation CAREER Award (2021)\, the MIT World Innovator A
 ward Under 35 (Top 100 Global List) (2021)\, the IACMAG Promising Investig
 ator Award (2021)\, the ISSMGE Bright Spark Lecture (2020)\, and Zeno Karl
  Schindler Foundation Award (2019).\n 
LOCATION:GC B1 10 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==GC%20B1%2010
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR