Dr Sotirios Argyroudis is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Infrastructure Engineering in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Brunel University of London. His research focuses on multi-hazard risk and resilience of interdependent infrastructure systems and cities, addressing challenges related to climate change, geohazards and conflict-related risks. He leads research on infrastructure resilience at Brunel, contributing to the development of sustainable, climate-resilient and adaptive infrastructure systems. He is the Coordinator of the Horizon Europe MSCA PORTAL project and Scientific Manager of the Horizon/UKRI ReCharged project, and has secured over £1M in external research funding as Principal Investigator. His research integrates engineering, digital technologies and socio-economic approaches, with applications to infrastructure adaptation, disaster risk reduction and post-conflict recovery. Dr Argyroudis is ranked among the top 1% most highly cited scientists worldwide (Stanford/Elsevier, for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024), with over 5,700 citations and an h-index of 37 (Google Scholar). He has authored more than 180 publications, including papers in leading journals and Nature-family outlets. His work has informed international policy and practice, including contributions to the United Nations, World Bank, EU Joint Research Centre and UK Parliament. He is co-founder of the www.bridgeUkraine.org initiative, supporting science-based reconstruction of critical infrastructure, and co-leads the www.metaInfrastructure.org initiative, promoting resilient and sustainable infrastructure aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He is a member of the Centre for Flood Risk and Resilience and the Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering Research Group at Brunel. Before joining Brunel, he was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at the University of Surrey (TRANSRISK project) and subsequently appointed Visiting Senior Lecturer. He previously held research and teaching roles at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He holds degrees in Civil Engineering and in Geology, and a PhD in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering. He is Deputy Editor of ICE Bridge Engineering and holds editorial and advisory roles in international journals and scientific committees. His work has received international recognition, including the 2022 European Council on Computing in Construction (EC3) Thorpe Medal and the 2025 IABSE Outstanding Paper Award. He is Vice-Chair of the IABSE Task Group 1.8 on ‘Design requirements for infrastructure resilience’, member of the EAEE Working Group 13 on ‘Seismic assessment, design and resilience of industrial facilities’ and Nominated member (UK) of the ISSMGE (International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering) Technical Committee TC202 on Transportation Geotechnics. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Chartered Engineer (CEng), and Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE).
We are recruiting new Doctoral Researchers to our EPSRC funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) PhD studentships starting 1 October 2024. Applications are invited for the project title Enhancing infrastructure resilience: integrating lifecycle analysis for climate-adaptive restoration. Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend (bursary) of £21,237, including inner London weighting, plus payment of their full-time home tuition fees for a period of 42 months (3.5 years).
You should be eligible for home (UK) tuition fees there are a very limited number (no more than three) of studentships available to overseas applicants, including EU nationals, who meet the academic entry criteria including English Language proficiency.
You will join the internationally recognised researchers in the Department of Civil Engineering research and PhD programmes | Brunel University London
The Project
Climate change intensifies natural hazard frequency and severity, posing threats to ageing infrastructure. Understanding infrastructure life-cycle considering resilience and sustainability is crucial in mitigating risks and adapting to new challenges. Comprehensive life-cycle analysis is vital for cost-effective, reliable, and resilient infrastructure but is absent in recovery planning.
This project aims to develop a new framework and assessment tools, drawing from UK case studies such as highways and railways exposed to extreme flood and weather events. Integrating resilience and sustainability analytics at asset (e.g. bridge, embankments) and system levels will offer life-cycle-based recommendations. The approach will combine Life Cycle Assessment and resilience analytics, employing sensitivity analysis and trade-offs for variable restoration solutions, focusing on the network's interconnected infrastructure assets. The project will be linked to the ongoing Horizon/UKRI ReCharged project, including training and secondments to partner organisations.
Please contact Dr Sotirios Argyroudis at Sotirios.Argyroudis@brunel.ac.uk for an informal discussion about the studentships.
Eligibility
Applicants will have or be expected to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree in an Engineering, Computer Science, Design, Mathematics, Physics or a similar discipline. A Postgraduate Masters degree is not required but may be an advantage.
Skills and Experience
Applicants will be required to demonstrate strong skills in resilience and life-cycle assessment, climate change models, infrastructure network modelling and GIS and/or programming. You should be a highly motivated individual and pose a strong sense of curiosity, able to work independently as well as in a team, collaborate with others within international groups of experts and have good communication skills.
How to apply
There are two stages of the application:
1.Applicants must submit the pre-application form via the following link
https://brunel.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/epsrc-dtp-24-25-pre-application-form-brunel-university-lon
by 16.00 on Friday 5th April 2024.
2.If you are shortlisted for the interview, you will be asked to email the following documentation in a single PDF file to cedps-studentships@brunel.ac.uk within 72hrs.
- Your up-to-date CV;
- Your Undergraduate degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) essential;
- Your Postgraduate Masters degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) if applicable;
- Your valid English Language qualification of IELTS 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in each section) or equivalent, if applicable;
- Contact details for TWO referees, one of which can be an academic member of staff in the College.
Applicants should therefore ensure that they have all of this information in case they are shortlisted.
Interviews will take place in April/May 2024.