Speakers

Nicola Bell MBE

Nicola Bell has been responsible for major projects at National Highways since July 2022, having joined the agency six years earlier as a divisional director of asset development. Reporting to the chief executive, she oversees the development, sponsorship, delivery and close-out of enhancement and other significant projects across the strategic road network.

Before joining National Highways, Bell was director of highways and transport at West Sussex County Council and head of local infrastructure and street management at Cambridgeshire County Council. She began her career a senior transport planner and programme manager at Argyll and Bute Council. She holds an MSc in Transport Planning and Engineering and Civil Engineering.

Lisa Constable

Lisa Constable leads development of the national strategy and the framework for delivery of climate change resilience and adaptation across regions and national functions at Network Rail. She plays a leading role in building resilience across the wider rail industry, collaborating closely with government, infrastructure managers, train operators and others. 

Constable’s experience in climate change spans 25 years and includes climate risk and adaptation consultancy for private- and public-sector organisations in South Africa and around the world, as well as emissions trading and flooding policy analysis, development and implementation for the UK government.

Seb Dance

Before joining the Mayor of London’s team, Seb Dance served as an MEP for London from 2014-20, during which time he was vice chair of the environment committee and served as the Socialists and Democrats Group's co-ordinator on vehicle emissions and spokesperson on air quality. He was also deputy leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party. Prior to his election, he worked for the charity ActionAid UK and was special adviser to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

As London’s deputy mayor for transport and deputy chair of Transport for London, Dance will focus on delivering the mayor’s transport strategy, ensuring 80% of all journeys in London are on foot, by cycle or public transport by 2041.

Dr Jacob Kam

Dr Jacob Kam leads MTR Corporation’s board in ensuring effective management and oversight of the company’s business affairs. Prior to his appointment as chairman in January 2026, he served as chief executive officer, having held various management positions since joining the company in 1995.

Dr Kam is an honorary chairman of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and a board/council member of several Hong Kong and international professional, business and community institutions. He is also a chartered member/fellow of professional institutions in engineering, transport and logistics, business management and occupational safety and health, including the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering.

David Porter

David Porter is director of engineering with the Department for Infrastructure, which is Northern Ireland’s highways authority. In this role, he is also the chief highways engineer and head of the civil engineering profession in the Northern Ireland civil service.

Porter is responsible for the development of the department’s professional and technical staff, engineering policies and standards, and health and safety. He also leads on procurement and the internal consultancy.

Previously, he was chief executive of the Rivers Agency, Northern Ireland’s flood defence and drainage authority.

Porter has served on the ICE Council three times, twice as the Northern Ireland representative and once as a general member. He is a trustee who, until recently, held the learning society portfolio. He has also served on several institution committees and panels.

A fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering, Porter was awarded the Poskitt Medal by ICE Northern Ireland in 2017 and the President’s Award by Engineers Ireland in 2018.

Arfa Shahid

Arfa Shahid is a climate adaptation and resilience specialist with experience spanning disaster risk management, international development, local government and national infrastructure. Currently, she leads strategic climate adaptation and resilience initiatives across the UK’s Strategic Road Network.

Before joining National Highways, Shahid led local government climate adaptation programmes. She also contributed to the development of Pakistan's National Adaptation Plan and represented the country at UN climate negotiations (COP), supporting discussions on adaptation finance and climate justice. Her work focuses on driving strategic adaptation at organisational and national levels, helping institutions embed climate resilience into policy, investment decisions, governance and long-term planning.

Patricia Thornley

Patricia Thornley is the chief scientific adviser at the Department for Transport (DfT) and professor at the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute at Aston University, where she leads a national doctoral training centre in negative emission technologies. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, with 30 years’ experience in industry and academia, she has led UKRI-funded research projects worth £38m, with particular focus on sustainable fuels for electricity, heat and transport sectors. She has also served in advisory roles for the DfT, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Defra, the Climate Change Committee, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society and several international funding bodies.

Alison Walker

Alison Walker is a pioneering leader in climate change, carbon management and sustainability with over three decades’ experience of driving transformative change. At HS2, she leads on climate change adaptation and resilience, ensuring one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects is prepared for a changing climate. 

Walker co-founded the Infrastructure Operators Adaptation Forum (IOAF) and is involved in shaping national standards as part of the BSI committee on greenhouse gas management. She also serves on the oversight board for DARe – the UK’s national hub for decarbonised, adaptable and resilient transport infrastructure – helping to create transport systems that are fit for the future.

Katrina Adam

Katrina Adam is an experienced senior engineer with a record of delivering challenging schemes, designing to accommodate ecology, heritage and planning constraints. She has delivered multiple construction schemes with partners in waterside locations. With broad experience in off-highway and on-highway design, she has worked across a range of communities and landscapes in northern England and further afield.

Abstract submission

Katie Barnes

Katie Barnes is undertaking Network Rail-funded research to develop a composite metric or set of metrics that can quantify the impact of climate adaptation and resilience interventions on the UK railway network. Her aim is to create a scalable, evidence-based framework that enables Network Rail to track and assess how adaptation investments are influencing the resilience of railway infrastructure over time. This work will support more targeted decision-making, demonstrate value for money and help ensure long-term network sustainability in the face of climate change.

Abstract submission

Meg Bartholomew

Meg Bartholomew’s PhD research is focused on measuring the wellbeing impacts of natural disaster resilience investment, for inclusion in a holistic decision-making tool that builds on, and goes beyond, cost-benefit analysis. This perspective is critical because, under increasing uncertainty, decisions can have escalating systemic effects, and the foundation on which such decisions are based is increasingly important.

Abstract submission

Simon Blainey

Simon Blainey is a professor of sustainable transport with almost 20 years’ experience in research and teaching. His interests include passenger demand and behaviour, transport infrastructure resilience, geospatial analysis, and whole-life cost and carbon modelling for transport infrastructure systems. 

Blainey has led and contributed to major UK and European research projects including SAT4DARTS, which developed a transferable whole-life costing tool for transport resilience interventions for the DARe hub, and is a co-investigator on the EU-funded QuieterRail project and for the Healthy Low-carbon Transport Hub. He has produced over 120 journal papers, book chapters and conference presentations and is editor-in-chief of Transportation Planning and Technology. He also chairs the UIC International Railway Research Board’s Academic Board for Innovation.

Abstract submission

Philippe Bouillard

Philippe Bouillard began his career as a work manager for French major construction contractors, before becoming a teaching and research assistant at the Brussels School of Engineering (ULB), where he was promoted to professor in 2005. He holds an MSc in civil engineering and a PhD in engineering (ULB) and a habilitation diploma (Paris VI).

Bouillard’s main research activity is sustainable urbanism, with a focus on infrastructure and mobility. He has co-edited three books, co-authored more than 75 refereed journal papers and 100 conference proceedings, and supervised 23 PhD theses. He is a Chartered Engineer, an ICE Fellow and chaired the editorial board of the ICE Journal of Civil Engineering (2017-21).

Abstract submission

Brendan Bromwich

Dr Brendan Bromwich is Technical Director for Systems Thinking at Mott MacDonald. He has developed new methods of applied systems thinking across infrastructure, environment and social issues. Project experience includes developing the systems frameworks for Anglian Water’s SRO Reservoirs, London’s Subregional Integrated Water Management Strategy and climate assessments for TfL and Heathrow. He holds degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geography having undertaken a PhD on environmental institutions in contexts of social change. Previously he coordinated the Food Water group at King’s College London where he co-edited the Oxford Handbook of Food Water and Society. Previous roles include leading the UN’s environmental response to conflict and displacement in Sudan and infrastructure planning in Asia, the Middle East and the UK.

Abstract submission

Halil Ibrahim Burgan

A graduate of Cukurova University in Turkey, Halil Ibrahim Burgan completed his postgraduate studies in hydraulics and water resources engineering at Istanbul Technical University, where he also worked as a research assistant. He later served as an assistant professor at Istanbul Kultur University. His research focuses on hydrology, water resources, extreme events, statistical analysis, GIS and hydrological modelling, particularly floods and droughts. He has published 22 papers in indexed journals, presented 33 conference papers and contributed to a scientific research project.

Abstract submission

Lucas Dambitis

Lucas is a Project Delivery specialist with experience across client, consultancy and contractor sides of the rail and infrastructure sector, including Network Rail, HS2 and Transport for London. He has led multi-disciplinary engineering teams across civil, electrical, mechanical, fire, premises and communications disciplines, delivering complex infrastructure programmes across live operational networks.

Lucas brings deep expertise in navigating the challenges of ageing assets and constrained environments, developing solutions that improve performance and reduce environmental impact without wholesale replacement of existing infrastructure. This approach has spanned major renewals and enhancement portfolios, working closely with contractors and stakeholders to balance safety, cost and long-term asset resilience.

He is actively exploring how AI and digital tools can reshape project delivery, from improving design assurance processes to unlocking smarter approaches to asset management across the rail network.

Abstract submission

Carl Devlin

Carl Devlin has been the Capital Works Director and a Member of the Executive Directorate since 1 August 2022.

He is responsible for leading the Capital Works Business Unit and overseeing the Company’s capital works portfolio, which comprises a broad range of operations projects alongside seven new railway extension projects being delivered concurrently.

Carl possesses extensive experience across a range of large-scale, complex and multi-disciplinary projects in different sectors including transport, rail and civil infrastructure, aviation, energy, oil and gas. He has a strong project management background with solid business leadership experience and has worked successfully with stakeholders and international companies in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, United States of America, Canada and Japan. 

He is a Fellow Member of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and a Chartered Member of Engineers Ireland.

Abstract submission

John Donaghy

John Donaghy is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 13 years’ experience in delivering railway stations, transport interchanges and line-of-route rail projects from feasibility to detailed design. His work explores how inclusive design strengthens transport resilience by creating systems that adapt to changing users and needs. He is an advocate for treating exclusion with the same importance as safety risk, helping to deliver infrastructure that is more inclusive and effective for the communities it serves.

Abstract submission

Paul Eastwood

Paul Eastwood CEng CMgr FCMI MIET MIfSE is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Manager with more than 30 years of experience across the transport, nuclear, defence and utilities sectors. He has held senior leadership roles within Assystem, Costain and SEMP. His experience includes programmes such as Sizewell C, HS2, Sellafield, Yorkshire Water AMP7 and Ottawa's Confederation Line. Throughout his career he has worked with infrastructure owners, delivery organisations and supply chains to address challenges at the interfaces between engineering, delivery, governance and decision making. Paul is a contributing author to the Institution of Civil Engineers' Systems Approach to Infrastructure Delivery (SAID) reports. He has contributed to the UCL and Royal Academy of Engineering Engineering Systemisers programme and has been a guest lecturer in systems thinking at Imperial College London and the University of Southampton. His work focuses on improving integration, resilience and decision making in complex project environments.

Abstract submission

Lucas Everitt

Lucas is a Principal Climate Adaptation Consultant who helps infrastructure organisations prepare for a changing climate. With eight years of experience spanning climate risk, resilience, adaptation planning, and sustainability, he has advised clients across the UK, New Zealand, and internationally. Lucas specialises in translating complex climate risks into practical strategies for transport and network infrastructure, working with organisations including National Highways, Transport Scotland, and HS2. His work focuses on helping decision-makers understand future climate challenges and take action to build more resilient, sustainable infrastructure systems for the future.

Abstract submission

Alexander Hamilton

Alex Hamilton studied engineering at Cambridge University, before embarking on a career at consulting engineers Binnie & Partners (and successor firms) in disciplines including urban infrastructure, water supply, land reclamation and flood protection. His work has involved projects across the UK and internationally. He is the author of several published papers in related fields, including urban resilience. He is an ICE Fellow, serving on an expert panel and a journal editorial panel.

Abstract submission

Yu Han

Yu Han is a research associate in the department of land economy at the University of Cambridge. He holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from the University of Florida. His research focuses on how cities and regions can plan for climate change while advancing sustainability, resilience, and equitable development. He develops human-centred computational approaches that combine geospatial analysis, agent-based modelling, machine learning and scenario-based simulation to examine interactions between climate risk, land use and transport systems.

Abstract submission

Will Haynes

Will Haynes is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 25 years’ experience of delivering infrastructure projects, primarily in the highways and active travel sectors, including more than 12 years designing and overseeing the delivery of active travel schemes. His expertise encompasses the full project lifecycle – from options appraisal through to design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure – working as part of large multidisciplinary teams and with a variety of stakeholders.

Will leads a team of over 100 people in all aspects of the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust’s infrastructure design and construction work. He also has accountability for managing the trust’s estate, which comprises 370 miles of the National Cycle Network and includes responsibility for approximately 1,000 structures across the UK.

Abstract submission

Arfon Irish

Arfon Irish is a Chartered Civil Engineer at COWI, having worked on the operation and maintenance of major bridges for the last 7 years. He currently provides engineering analysis for SHM systems operating on multiple major bridges worldwide, looking to assist maintenance operational decisions and extend asset lifespans. Arfon has been a member of the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) Early Career Academics and Professionals Panel (ECAPP) for the last three years and is currently serving as the industrial chair.

Abstract submission

David Jenkins

David Jenkins has led the IPWEA since December 2019, having spent more than a decade in senior roles at professional accounting body CPA Australia.

Jenkins has become recognised as a thought leader in infrastructure asset management, speaking at the Sydney Morning Herald Infrastructure Summit and other international events of interest to civil engineers. He has written for the New Zealand Herald, the country’s most widely read newspaper, and contributes regularly to the online publication Government News.

As host of the IPWEA’s Infrastructure Matters podcast, Jenkins has interviewed several international experts in the field.

He is also a board member at the International Federation of Municipal Engineering and chair of its technical committee. 

Abstract submission

Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Water and Environmental Manager with 20 years’ experience in flood risk and drainage design, from feasibility through to detailed design and construction. He is a chief engineer in Atkins Realis’s networks and drainage practice in the UK and is its technical authority for railway drainage. 

During his time with the company, he has served as the flood risk and drainage design lead for major projects such as HS2 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He has worked on both the client and contractor side, through secondments to HS2 Ltd and Balfour Beatty. 

Abstract submission

Alistair Kean

Alistair is Director for Sustainability at COWI in the UK and Ireland, where he leads the integration of carbon reduction, nature enhancement and social value into project delivery, helping to create resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

With over 40 years of experience as an environmental geologist, Alistair has worked across the infrastructure, energy and regeneration sectors in both consultancy and contracting roles. He led the sustainability strategy for the Lower Thames Crossing prior to its Development Consent Order approval, during which the project was recognised as a pathfinder for sustainable solutions.

Alistair is a strong advocate for nature-based solutions and landscape-scale ecological enhancement as essential components of resilient infrastructure. His ambition is to help deliver projects that not only minimise environmental impact but also capture more carbon than they emit, enhance biodiversity and leave a lasting positive legacy for the communities they serve.

Konstantina Kopsalidou

Konstantina Kopsalidou specialises in hydraulics, geotechnics and railway infrastructure, having begun her career in building design and construction before becoming a certified consultant for Greece’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation, focusing on drainage and water supply systems. For the past 12 years, she has been dedicated to railway infrastructure in the UK, leading multidisciplinary teams in design, construction and asset management. 

Kopsalidou holds a dual role as principal infrastructure engineer at RSSB, where she leads the development of industry standards, and senior advisor for infrastructure at the UIC, where she advances the resilience sector, spearheads circularity projects and contributes to asset management strategies. 

Abstract submission

Yimeng Liu

Dr Yimeng Liu is a research associate and geographic information scientist at the DARe hub, with interests including the intersection of urban flooding and transportation systems, with a particular emphasis on adaptation and resilience strategies.

Her research is dedicated to understanding and mitigating the effects of extreme weather events on urban transportation networks. During her PhD study, she has established a framework of the integration of flood and traffic models to assess the potential disruption of flooding on road traffic and to evaluate the effectiveness of various adaptation measures.

Abstract submission

Eda Majtan

Dr Eda Majtan’s work advances industry practice in assessing the impact of flood and ageing on masonry arch bridges through physical modelling, SPH simulation and FE analysis. She completed her PhD at University of Manchester in 2022 and her research was shortlisted in the for the 2024 ICE-New Civil Engineer bridges awards. She contributes to NERC and Innovate UK projects and supports infrastructure owners in improving flood-risk management. She is a Chartered Engineer and the UK’s representative on the IAHR Europe leadership group.

Abstract submission

Phebe Mann

Professor Eur Ing Dr Phebe Mann is a multidisciplinary expert in construction law, management and engineering, Visiting Professor at Loughborough University’s School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering; professionally qualified as a Chartered Civil Engineer, Chartered Surveyor (FRICS) and Chartered Construction Manager, a (FCIArb), Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Phebe serves as a Specialist Member of the Upper Tribunal (Transport Jurisdiction), the Tax Chamber, the General Regulatory Chamber (Transport, Information Rights) and the Agricultural Land Tribunal for Wales. A former Chair of ICE London and the first female chair of the CIOB Leicester Centre. Phebe is appointed Deputy Chair of the ICE Council, helping to shape its professional and knowledge agenda. Her academic background spans computer science, construction, law and education across Cambridge, Loughborough, Buckingham, Surrey, Robert Gordon, City University London and Open University. Phebe worked for Cambridgeshire County Council on A1(M) Alconbury-Peterborough.

Abstract submission

Melanie Manton

Melanie Manton is Global Strategic Business Development Manager for BREEAM Infrastructure at BRE, where she works with infrastructure clients, delivery partners and national scheme operators to advance sustainability and resilience across the sector.

With more than 20 years of experience in infrastructure sustainability, including over a decade with CEEQUAL before it became part of BRE, Melanie has witnessed first-hand how industry approaches have evolved, and has a clear view of what has changed and where challenges remain.

Having lived and worked across several continents, she brings an internationally informed and commercially grounded outlook to infrastructure delivery. She is passionate about helping organisations move beyond measurement and compliance to drive meaningful improvements in project performance, resilience and long-term value. As chair of this industry debate, Melanie asks whether assessment is helping the sector deliver resilience or simply record it.

James Markland

James Markland began his career with a leading UK consultancy, designing transport infrastructure and buildings, before spending four years with International Voluntary Service in Lesotho and Mozambique on rural roads and building design. After returning to the UK to work on major building projects, he moved back to Mozambique, first with the International Labour Organization on its Feeder Road Programme and then as a technical advisor to the National Roads Administration. 

Markland joined the World Bank in 2010, serving in Malawi, Ethiopia and India, where he helped prepare and implement major transport projects, while advising ministers and senior officials on transport policy. He retired in 2023.

Abstract submission

Grace McCormack

Grace McCormack is a Senior Sustainability Consultant at Jacobs and a licensed BREEAM Infrastructure Assessor, with experience delivering sustainability assessments across major UK transport programmes. She has supported nationally significant projects including High Speed 2 (HS2) and the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), contributing to the achievement of multiple BREEAM Infrastructure 'Excellent' ratings. Through her experience assessing projects from early strategic stages through to delivery, Grace brings a practitioner's perspective on how resilience is embedded, measured and evidenced within large-scale transport infrastructure. She is particularly interested in how the lessons learned from past infrastructure sustainability and resilience assessment can help frameworks evolve beyond measuring resilience and towards designing, delivering and operating more adaptive and resilient transport networks for the future.

Becci McKenna

Becci is a Senior Transport Planner with over six years of experience in the transport sector, and has a pivotal role in shaping the WSP Transport and Mobility discipline’s climate resilience offer which has included the development and application of WSP’s Climate Risk Early Screening Tool (CREST). CREST aims to help project teams identify climate risks at the earliest and most impactful stages of transport projects, ensuring that best practices in climate adaptation and carbon management are integrated throughout the project lifecycle.

Abstract submission

Tom Metcalfe

Tom Metcalfe has over 20 years’ experience leading transport modelling, economic appraisal and analytical assurance for major infrastructure programmes. He provides strategic leadership in developing robust, TAG- and Green Book-compliant evidence to support investment decisions, business cases and policy. He has led complex modelling and appraisal workstreams for National Highways and devolved administrations, including as technical lead and expert witness for DCO hearings and public inquiries. 

Metcalfe has advanced modelling and appraisal practice through major research and development programmes, including National Highways’ Roads Period 2 Transport Modelling Support commission. He has also developed and tested innovative methods for complex analytical challenges, strengthening transport appraisal evidence and practice.

Abstract submission

Ahmed Nassar

Ahmed Nassar is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Principal Pavement Engineer at AtkinsRéalis, based in Glasgow, UK. He has over 17 years of experience in highway engineering, pavement design, asset management, and the performance evaluation of road pavements across the UK and the Middle East. Ahmed specialises in the assessment of pavement resilience and whole‑life performance, with a particular focus on the development and application of low‑carbon and recycled materials to support evidence‑based investment and maintenance strategies.

He has extensive experience working with major transport authorities, combining field investigations, laboratory testing, and advanced analytical techniques to enhance the durability and sustainability of highway networks. Ahmed is also a Member of the Institute of Asphalt Technology and an active reviewer for leading international journals, contributing to the advancement of research and professional practice in pavement and transport infrastructure engineering.

Abstract submission

Bella Nesti

Bella Nesti is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment (FIBE3 CDT). Her PhD research focuses on rail infrastructure circularity, with an emphasis on modelling the intersections between emissions, circularity and cost. She previously studied at Harvard University, where earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Engineering. As a senior thesis project, she designed an oscillating foil hydroelectric generator for use in streams and low-flow scenarios. Her other academic focuses included water infrastructure design (with Engineers Without Borders) and environmental toxicology. At Cambridge, her project is supervised by Prof. Abir Al-Tabbaa and is sponsored by Network Rail.

Abstract submission

Shalman Noronha

Shalman Noronha is part of the team overseeing viaduct assessments on the Port Talbot Bypass, a key section of the M4 corridor. He has provided technical oversight across assessment methodologies, structural calculations and assurance processes, ensuring compliance with Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) and Eurocode standards. 

Shalman has also managed programme delivery, coordinated multidisciplinary inputs and supported higher‑level reassessments and CS 470 documentation for the provisionally sub‑standard viaduct elements. He holds an MEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering and is a GMICE member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Abstract submission

Connor O'Higgins

Dr Connor O’Higgins’s postdoctoral research focuses on the structural health monitoring (SHM) of infrastructure, particularly bridges. He has industry experience as a structural engineer, during which time he designed, installed and operated long-term SHM systems. 

In May 2022, Dr O’Higgins completed his PhD, which comprised the design of a vibration-based low-cost SHM system that can be used to detect the changing structural behaviour of bridges. This project involved installing SHM systems on in-service bridges. Since then he has worked on several postdoctoral projects and is currently working on a project to develop the new field of population-based SHM.

Abstract submission

Sho Okazaki

Sho Okazaki is a PhD researcher in Infrastructure Asset Management in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at University College London. He received his B.Eng. and M.Eng. in Precision Engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2023 and 2025, respectively. He was also a visiting researcher at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge. His research interests include probabilistic modelling, artificial intelligence, asset management, and knowledge engineering for complex industrial systems.

Abstract submission

Cara-Marie O'Keeffe

Cara is a Principal Climate Adaptation Consultant at AtkinsRéalis and Chartered Geographer, with over eight years’ experience in climate change risk, climate adaptation and transport planning. She specialises in climate risk assessments, using Geographical Information Systems to analyse spatial variations in climate risk and inform adaptation planning. Cara works closely with UK and international investment banks, transport authorities, local authorities and government departments to identify climate risks and deliver evidence-led, targeted adaptation recommendations.

Abstract submission

Alessandro Palmeri

Dr Alessandro Palmeri is Global Anchors Research & Code Manager at HILTI Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, Germany, leading work on the development and codification of technical solutions for the construction industry. He focuses on structural strengthening and mass-timber connections. Before joining HILTI, he pursued an academic career in Italy, California, Greece and England. At Loughborough University, he was Reader in Structural Engineering & Dynamics and Head of Structures & Materials. His research spans Structural Dynamics, Resilience Engineering, and Performance-Based Design. Dr Palmeri is a Chartered Civil Engineer, qualified in Italy and the UK, and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Abstract submission

Dr Ning Pan

A distinguished researcher with over 10 years’ experience in performance monitoring, intelligent analysis and decision support for infrastructure asset systems, Dr Pan serves as the WP3 coordinator of the Research Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable and Resilient Transport Infrastructures (DARe). 

Her research focuses on enhancing resilience across transport networks and asset lifecycle stages, leveraging emerging computational methods to adapt ageing infrastructure, while balancing budgets and risks. She also serves as a reviewer for journals including Computer-aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering.

Abstract submission

Antoine Paumier

Antoine Paumier has been with Systra Group since 2001, bringing 25 years’ experience, and has worked for more than 12 years in Korea. He was appointed Systra’s chief operations officer in Korea in 2024 and has been overseeing the company’s operations and business development internationally. He successfully delivered several high-speed rail viaduct sections, as project director of Systra Korea’s HS2 detailed design team. 

Abstract submission

Charles Pilson

Dr. Pilson leads the Asset Management Group for North and South America at Mott MacDonald and is based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. He has dedicated over 30 years of his career to transportation infrastructure asset management and has specialized in large asset management software implementation projects, including data integrations and interfaces. He has also led multiple large asset management consulting projects over the years including Transportation Asset Management Plans, and risk studies and frameworks. His current mission is to define quantitative risk management for asset management and merge it into asset management modeling and optimization, and especially asset management software. He hails from Zimbabwe, Africa originally – hence his funny accent.

Abstract submission

Dr Oliver Pritchard

Oliver is a chartered scientist and senior consultant within Arup’s Climate Change and Sustainability Group. He holds a PhD on climate change and ground hazards and their interaction with infrastructure. 

Oliver has over 11 years' experience supporting transport organisations in geotechnical asset management, climate adaptation and resilience strategies, physical climate risk assessments, and planning, where he has worked across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.

Since 2022, Oliver has guided Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s Climate Adaptation Strategy and has supported the technical development of the 2026 Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan for Ireland’s National Road Network. Prior to joining Arup, Oliver was a site investigation geologist supporting major UK infrastructure projects.

Abstract submission

Ben Pullen

Ben Pullen works in the bridges and civils practice (Wales and West region) at AtkinsRéalis. He has led the Swansea bridges and civils team for over six years and has over 11 years’ experience, primarily focusing on asset management and assessment of existing highway structures, including the use of innovative technologies and methods to increase the life of ageing critical infrastructure on the UK Strategic Road Network. 

Through his role as framework manager and project manager on this commission, Pullen has led the assessment programme for the M4 Port Talbot structures, where the use of upper-bound methods has permitted an enhanced load rating. This has mitigated the need for strengthening or load restrictions to be imposed on the network and offered an economical, low-carbon solution.

Abstract submission

Professor Perry Shard CEng FICE

Perry Shard is Head of Quality (UK) at John Sisk and Son and an Institution of Civil Engineers Fellow, with 28 years of wide ranging experience in infrastructure and expertise in quality, lean, improvement and sustainability. He has held multiple senior positions in large organisations and been responsible for significant and high-impact change programmes. 

He is one of those people who cannot unknow something, and when he recognises an improvement opportunity he is relentless until it reaches a resolution. He is also always glass half full, believing anything is possible if you are brave enough to try. Having made and learned from lots of mistakes, he loves challenging himself with new things, is unafraid to fail and considers himself a "professional tinkerer".

Philip Singleton

Philip Singleton has over 20 years’ experience in highways asset management, covering design, operations and maintenance experience on the UK Strategic Road Network. He has spent the past 13 years at AtkinsRéalis, specialising in structures asset management, bringing together his operational experience and applying it to the consultancy environment.

Singleton has worked with local highway authorities, national road authorities and rail asset owners, both in the UK and abroad, public and private, to help improve their asset management. His expertise in asset management principles enables him to bring useful insights into all aspects of the asset lifecycle, harnessing asset data to underpin decision-making.

Abstract submission

Swati Singh

Swati Singh is Energy and Sustainability Global Lead at CBRE Global Workplace Solutions and a Chartered Environmentalist with over 16 years of experience across infrastructure and global real estate. With a background in architecture and a Master's in Sustainable Design, she specialises in translating complex ESG mandates into long-term asset value.

Swati currently directs decarbonisation roadmaps and environmental and energy management systems for a financial services portfolio. She was previously Sustainability and Carbon Lead for the HS2 Euston Station contract with Mace and Dragados, and before that developed HS2 Ltd's Sustainability Assessment Technical Standards, the first contractual documents of their kind for a major infrastructure project, which implemented BREEAM certification standards across HS2's buildings and infrastructure assets.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals, a member of the UKAS Management Systems Technical Advisory Committee and sits on the ISEP Environmental Management Steering Committee.

Ian Slesser

Ian Slesser is Deputy Director for BPS Operations and Product at BRE, and a senior operations and product leader focused on transforming complex services through customer-focused innovation, digital capability and operational excellence. He has built a career at the intersection of technology, service delivery and strategic transformation, helping organisations modernise operations and improve outcomes at scale.

With a long-standing interest in transport, infrastructure and the built environment, Ian has contributed thought leadership on product-led organisations, customer value and digital transformation. His experience spans infrastructure management at local government and main contractor level, bringing a practical perspective on how resilient transport systems can be designed, operated and continuously improved.

Yaping Su

Yaping Su is a second year PhD student  at University College London (UCL), where her work focuses on bridge asset management and maintenance prioritisation for ageing transport infrastructure. Her research examines how bridge deterioration can be interpreted through structural response and translated into network-informed maintenance decisions. She is particularly interested in developing integrated frameworks that connect component-level damage, bridge-level vulnerability, and system-level consequence in a more coherent decision pathway. Her current work combines deterioration modelling, structural assessment, and network criticality analysis to support more defensible prioritisation under constrained maintenance budgets. More broadly, her research engages with infrastructure resilience, lifecycle performance, and data-informed decision-making in transport asset management. Through her doctoral research, she aims to contribute practical and engineering-informed approaches to the management of ageing bridge networks.

Abstract submission

Jane Naki Tetteh-Anowie

Ing Jane Naki Tetteh-Anowie is an environmental engineer with over 20 years’ experience in environmental and social impact assessment, management systems, climate risk management, transport infrastructure sustainability and occupational health and safety. She has supported major infrastructure projects in Ghana, including highways, interchanges, ports, water-supply systems and urban development. She is a Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineering and chair of Women in Engineering, Ghana. Her work promotes resilience, sustainability and social inclusion in infrastructure development.

Abstract submission

Rahul Tiwari

Prof (Dr) Rahul Tiwari has been working in transportation for almost 20 years and has diverse research and consulting experience in transportation planning, traffic engineering, road safety and public transportation. He holds a BArch from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, an MTech in transportation from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and a PhD from the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal. He is a Fellow of India’s Urban Habitat Forum and has been recognised by the World Bank for his leadership transport planning.

Abstract submission

Dr Yashi Tiwari

Dr. Yashi Tiwari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at The Bhopal School of Social Sciences (BSSS), Bhopal, India. She holds a Ph.D. in Management and is a Fellow of the Urban Habitat Forum (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India). Her research focuses on sustainable transport, urban resilience, transport governance, public policy, women empowerment and social inclusion. She has published research with Springer and Bloomsbury and has presented at leading academic forums, including IIT Roorkee and MANIT Bhopal. Dr. Tiwari's interdisciplinary work integrates management and policy perspectives to advance evidence-based and sustainable mobility solutions.

Abstract submission

Jose Villamarin

Jose Villamarin is a Chartered Civil Engineer working in the Technical Authority at Network Rail High Speed. He specialises in bridge asset management, sustainability and infrastructure resilience. 

His role focuses on the long-term strategy for the buildings and civils portfolio, including the development of railway standards and Network Rail procedures, research and development programmes, incident investigations and technical assurance. He works closely with the regional teams and leads collaboration with industry partners, including the International Union of Railways (UIC) in Europe.

He is currently undertaking a part-time PhD at University College London (UCL), focused on climate adaptation of bridges for a resilient railway network. His research aims to link structural performance with long-term investment strategy through the integration of climate-informed methods into Network Rail’s bridge degradation modelling.

Abstract submission