Final Workshop in videos

Infrastar at a glance

by Dr Odile ABRAHAM.

Dr Odile Abraham is the Infrastar project coordinator and the Director of the geophysics and non-destructive evaluation research laboratory (GeoEND) at University Gustave Eiffel (ex-Ifsttar).

  • She graduated in 1990 at the École des Travaux Publics de l'Etat (France), she obtained a PhD at the University of Wales College of Cardiff (UK) in 1993 in structural dynamics and her “Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches” in 2004 at the University of Nantes.
  • She is a member of the Permanent Scientific Board of the French Confederation of NDT.

Keynote: "Funding opportunities: The MSCA programme from Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe and beyond”

By Athina ZAMPARA.

Athina Zampara has studied Physics in the University of Athens, Greece.
She has extensive experience of 20 years in project management in the domain of IT and research, both in the private and in the public sector.
Before coming to Brussels, she had worked for the National Strategic Reference Framework of Greece (Cohesion and Regional Funds) in the field of Education and Lifelong learning.
She has been working for the European Commission for the last 8 years. Three years in the domain of e-Infrastructures for research in DG CONNECT and five years in the MSCA programme for the Innovative Training Networks, in the Research Executive Agency.
She is a Project Officer in the domain of Physics and she is also responsible for the communication activity of her unit and programme.

Panel discussion #1

The first panel discussion was dedicated to the scientific outcomes of Infrastar and is entitled: "Lowering the environmental impact of bridges and wind turbines by updating structural engineering practices".

The panel discussion was moderated by Prof. Eugen BRÜHWILER.
Eugen Brühwiler is a Professor of structural engineering and Director of the Laboratory of Maintenance and Safety of existing Structures at EPFL – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, since 1995. He received his civil engineering and doctoral degrees from the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich in 1983 and Lausanne in 1988.
His teaching and research activities include modern methods of examination in structural engineering including structural and fatigue safety, monitoring and reliability of bridges and buildings as well as the use of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cement-based Composites (UHPFRC) for the rehabilitation and strengthening of structures.

The panellists comprised the following experts:

  • Morten Søgaard Andersen (DNV GL)
  • Dr Ernst Niederleithinger (BAM)
  • Prof. John Dalsgaard Sørensen (AAU)
  • Dr Marc Thiele (BAM)
  • Prof. Ton Vrouvenwelder (TNO)

Keynote on entrepreneurship and funding of innovation

By Olivier CHASSAGNE.

Olivier Chassagne, graduated from Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, started his a career in the French Ministry for transport in the management of motorways construction projects. He has had then various posts in the services of the European Commission on various issues and programmes: State aid policy, State aid control in transport, protection of international investments in trade policy, the Galileo programme, and the Copernicus programme and now innovation policy.

Panel discussion #2

The second panel discussion was dedicated to the Infrastar ESRs' feedback.

The panel discussion was moderated by Dr Antoine BASSIL (Quadric - Artelia group, ex-ESR02 at University Gustave Eiffel, ex-Ifsttar).
Antoine Bassil is one of the 12 Early Stage Researchers of Infrastar. He has been the representative of the ESR in infrastar consortium for the year 2019. Antoine is now working as an instrumentation and monitoring engineer in Quadric part of Artelia group; one of Europe’s leading engineering firms specialized in building construction and infrastructure.

The panellists comprised the following ESRs:

Panel discussion #3

The third panel discussion was dedicated to the Infrastar Consortium's feedback. The members were asked to perform a SWOT analysis of Infrastar / ITN projects and to comment on the so-called TRL (Technology Readiness Levels) achieved by the project.

The panel discussion was moderated by Dr Odile Abraham (University Gustave Eiffel, ex-Ifsttar).

The panellists comprised the following members:

  • Morten Søgaard Andersen (EUAB member, DNV GL)
  • Prof. Eugen Brühwiler (supervisor and WP leader, EPFL)
  • Christian Clergue (partner organisation, Eiffage)
  • Dr Piotr Klikowicz (supervisor, NeoStrain)
  • Dr Ernst Niederleithinger (supervisor and WP leader, BAM)
  • Dr Franziska Schmidt (supervisor, University Gustave Eiffel, ex-Ifsttar)
  • Prof. John Dalsgaard Sørensen (supervisor and WP leader, AAU)
  • Dr Marc Thiele (EUAB member, BAM)
  • Assoc. Prof. Sebastian Thöns (supervisor, DTU)
  • Prof. Ton Vrouwenvelder (EUAB member, TNO)
  • Dr Thierry Yalamas (supervisor, Phimeca)