ir. A. Vargas Farias (Andrea)

Since January 2023 I am a PhD candidate at the Construction Management and Engineering group where my main research focus lies in the areas of sustainability assessment, uncertainty analysis, and infrastructure management.

In my PhD project, I aim to explore how we can evaluate the sustainability and circularity of different life extension measures for inner city infrastructure, specifically focusing on quay walls in bridges. By employing life-cycle approaches and uncertainty analysis techniques, my research aims to provide valuable insights that can be leveraged for infrastructure planning and decision-making. The goal is to bridge the gap between academic research and practical applications, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and circular practices in the management of inner city infrastructure. My research is part of the broader STABILITY project, which falls under the umbrella of the Urbiquay program.

Previous research work includes:

• My EngD research at the University of Twente and the Rijkswaterstaat (2020 - 2023) focused on the design of an environmental life cycle-assessment (LCA) based methodological framework for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation treatments, considering the the effects of pavement-vehicle interaction (PVI) into the analysis and accounting for multiple types of uncertainties, namely those associated with the value of parameters, methodological choices and data quality.
• I worked as Jr. Researcher in the Multidisciplinary Water Management at the University of Twente (2019 - 2020) where I performed research on water savings in irrigation with a focus on the underlying narratives behind the value and use of water for agriculture in the EU based on case studies, policy analysis and water footprint assessment. Part of the MAGIC-NEXUS EU-funded project. 

I have a MSc. in Civil Engineering and Management from the University of Twente, with a specialisation in the Integrated Civil Engineering Systems program and the Smart Cities track.

Organisations

• Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), Construction Management and Engineering (CME)
• Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), Market Dynamics (MD)