Keynote Speakers

Luis David Avendaño-Valencia is an Associate Professor in Structural Dynamics and Monitoring at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering within the University of Southern Denmark. His research focuses on the integration of data-driven methods with physical insights for dynamic system modelling, and their application on condition assessment, damage diagnosis and remaining useful life estimation. Luis David’s research efforts have led to novel experimental and operational vibration analysis strategies providing explicit quantification of time-variant dynamics and environmental/operational effects. To achieve this, he leverages available monitoring data (vibration/operational) and physical insights, through integration of the multidisciplinary areas of dynamics, signal processing, statistics, and machine learning..

Su Taylor is a Professor at Queen’s University Belfast, Ireland, where she has made significant contributions to the field of structural engineering, with a focus on structural health monitoring (SHM), condition assessment, and resilience of infrastructure systems. Her research explores advanced sensing technologies, data-driven decision-making, and probabilistic methods for infrastructure management. She has led numerous projects funded by industry and government agencies, addressing real-world challenges in civil and structural engineering. Prof. Taylor is actively involved in professional societies and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Her work bridges the gap between theoretical research and practical applications, ensuring safer and more sustainable infrastructure.

Leonardo Massone is a Technical Manager at IDIEM and Full Professor at the University of Chile. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chile and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. His research focuses on analytical and experimental studies of reinforced concrete systems, with an emphasis on seismic response and the integration of AI tools for structural design. With over 60 indexed publications in Web of Science, he has earned national recognition, such as awards from the Chilean Institute of Engineers (2014), and international acclaim, ranking consistently in the top 2% of global citations in his field (Stanford/Elsevier, 2021–2024). Prof. Massone served as Director of the Department of Civil Engineering (2014–2018) and is currently Technical Manager at Idiem. He actively contributes to industry standards, including voting membership in the ACI 318 committee (2019 edition) and serving as Technical Secretary for Chile’s reinforced concrete design code (NCh430). His work bridges academia and practice, advancing seismic resilience and innovative design methodologies.

Michael Todd received his B.S.E. (1992), M.S. (1993), and Ph.D. (1996) from Duke University's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow (1996), then a staff research engineer (1998), and finally Section Head (2000) at the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in the Fiber Optic Smart Structures Section. In 2003, he joined the Structural Engineering Department at the University of California San Diego, where he currently serves as Distinguished Professor and Chair. His research interests are in applying nonlinear time series techniques to structural health monitoring (SHM) applications, adapting Bayesian inference frames for optimal decision-making in SHM, developing novel ultrasonic interrogation strategies for aerospace structural assessment, optimizing sensor networks for various SHM-rooted performance measures, and he has published over 500 journal papers and proceedings in these areas. Prof. Todd was awarded the 2005 Structural Health Monitoring Person-of-the-Year Award, the 2016 SEM DeMichele award, the 2021 SHM Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2023 Roy Sharpe Prize for Outstanding Contribution to NDT, and the 2023 SPIE Lifetime Achievement Award in NDE. He is the Managing Editor of Structural Health Monitoring: An International Journal.

Dr. Shenfang Yuan is a Changjiang Chair Professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA),China where she serves as Director of the Research Center for Structural Health Monitoring and Prognosis. She received her B.S. (1990), M.S. (1993), and Ph.D. (1996) degrees from NUAA and has been affiliated with the State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures and the Aeronautic Key Laboratory for Smart Materials and Structures since 1990. Her research spans smart materials and structures, structural health monitoring (SHM), structural prognosis and management, wireless sensor networks, and signal/information processing. Dr. Yuan has authored 3 books, published over 500 journal papers, and holds more than 70 invention patents. Her contributions have earned her the SHM Person of the Year Award (2017) and the EWSHM Best Paper Award (2016). Her work bridges cutting-edge theoretical advancements with industrial applications, particularly in aerospace and critical infrastructure.

Dr. Rubén Boroschek holds an engineering degree from the University of Costa Rica and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. As a Full Professor at the University of Chile, he has authored over 300 publications in renowned journals and conference proceedings. He is the CEO of RBA-Global, leading projects across multiple countries, including Chile, Peru, Argentina, Germany, Pakistan, and Indonesia. His expertise spans seismic hazard analysis, experimental dynamics and structural health monitoring, vulnerability assessment of critical infrastructure, seismic isolation and passive energy dissipation systems, and the evaluation and design of safety measures for industrial equipment. In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Boroschek was named Engineer of the Year in 2017 by the Chilean Association of Structural Engineers and received the Best Industrial Project of the Year award in 2019 from the same association.