My research line focuses on infrastructure resilience and optimization in a cross-sectoral and multi-actor setting and how such infrastructure can be analyzed and governed. I am passionate about this field not only because it is relatively recent and has room for innovation but also for its academic significance, societal impact, and multidisciplinary nature. My rigorous Bachelor training in Civil Engineering (Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, 2013), strengthened by industry experience, followed by a Master in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Bologna University, Italy, 2015), and later, a Ph.D. in Infrastructure Dynamic and Resilience (Polytechnic University Turin, Italy, 2019) have laid the foundations to pursue my grand vision.
My Ph.D. involved modeling interdependent infrastructure systems given external stressors and uncertainties. I have contributed scientifically by developing much-needed resilience frameworks and computational models/tools at different levels/scales of interest. After my Ph.D., I have been pursuing my research as a postdoctoral fellow at TU-Delft working on infrastructure optimization and management developing optimization tools that respond to the industry’s needs, and hence fulfilling the objective of Dutch Research Agenda NWA of bridging science and society.
Currently, I envision the need to deepen my understanding of infrastructure resilience by accounting for human interactions. The understanding of these interactions is paramount for effective policymaking. I also aim to contribute to transferring the accumulated resilience knowledge into practice, where practitioners are in dire need for such transfer. The 4TU-RE program represents a great opportunity for me to connect with the well-established interdisciplinary resilience network. I will be closely collaborating with Claudia Fecarotti, an assistant Professor in Resilient Asset Management and Maintenance at Eindhoven University of Technology.