Professor Barbara Zanuttigh is a member of the Coastal Engineering Research Council

Barbara Zanuttigh, Professor of Coastal Hydraulics at the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering at the University of Bologna, has been invited to join as the sole Italian member of the Coastal Engineering Research Council of ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers). ASCE is a prominent American organisation dedicated to promoting the most innovative solutions in coastal and maritime engineering on an international scale.

Since its founding in 1950, CERC has mostly been made up of American members. Today, CERC includes twelve scientists, among whom are two Americans, one Australian, one Canadian, one Chilean, one Taiwanese, one Japanese, and five Europeans.

Professor Zanuttigh becomes a member of CERC due to her interdisciplinary research activities in the field of coastal and maritime engineering. Her studies on coastal risk assessment and wave-structure interaction are particularly noteworthy, leading to her inclusion in the EurOtop team.

Her significant contributions include research on offshore platform conversion and the study of devices for marine renewable energy production. She led the SMART-COASTS project and was one of four recipients of the Horizon Impact Award 2019, presented by the European Commission to recognise research projects with significant societal impact in Europe and worldwide.

Through a holistic and person-centred approach, the project developed effective strategies to enhance coastal resilience, protect against flooding and erosion, and address the impacts of climate change. These efforts aimed to preserve the vulnerable coastal ecosystem and manage resources sustainably.