The Concrete Infrastructure Research Group (CIRG) has recently welcomed Sam Cocking as a Research Associate. Sam adds valuable expertise on sensing technology and on his appointment, Sam provided his thoughts:
"I am delighted to join the Concrete Infrastructure Research Group and contribute to its research on functionally graded concrete structures. I am particularly interested in leveraging the potential of novel sensing technologies in this work - building on my previous research, which used detailed monitoring data to gain new insights into the behaviour of ageing masonry infrastructure. At CIRG, my first aim will be to explore the evolution of thermal properties of functionally graded concrete through both computational modelling and lab tests using embedded fibre-optic sensors. I am also keen to support research by other group members into the mechanical behaviour of functionally graded concrete structures - for example, by integrating distributed sensing to better understand the structural performance of interlayer boundary zones"