Dr Riccardo Maddalena
(he/him)

BEng, MSc, PhD, FHEA, CAPM, CEng, CEnv, CSci, MIMMM

Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

: Available for postgraduate supervision

#myself

Pronouns: He/Him/His; Hear my name

I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Civil Engineering at Cardiff University and Fellow of the Higher Education (FHEA). I am a Chartered Engineer (CEng), Chartered Scientist (CSci) and Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), with a focus on multidisciplinary applied research. I gained experience in the automotive industry, civil engineering consultancy and academia. Since I joined Cardiff University, I have been working on the development of self-healing and biomimetic infrastructure materials, and low-carbon concrete. Our recent project WASTEREBUILT, on the use of waste foundry sand in concrete, was shortlisted for the 2024 Sustainable Future Awards (IOM3). Read more here.

I am passionate about #equality and #diversity, especially in STEMM, and a pround member of the LGBTQ+ comunity. I am the Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the School of Engineering, Cardiff University.

#myinterests

My main research activity is associated with the REsilient Structures and COnstruction Materials (RESCOM) Research Group. My interests are on characterisation and durability of building materials, cement and concrete science, chemistry and engineering applications. I have experience in bench-scale and pilot-scale experiment design. I use analytical techniques for bulk-scale and nano-scale characterisation studies (XRD, SEM, TGA/DSC, Raman and NMR spectroscopy, calorimetry, laser light scattering technique for PSD, MIP). I am also interested in carbon offsets and life cycle assessment (LCA) of innovative infrastructure materials and engineering solutions.

I am the Director of the DURALAB, the first interdisciplinary durability testing facility in Wales, a “time-capsule”, capable of simulating hundreds of years of ageing and deterioration of materials in a matter of weeks.

I am member of the Cardiff Materials Research Network, an interdisciplinary team of academics across different Schools with a focus on materials' structure and properties.

#myresearch

Past and ongoing research activities and interests:

low-carbon cements
self-healing and bio-mimetic infrastructure materials
recycled and recyclable building materials
radionuclide immobilisation into cement minerals
life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis
novel low-carbon (geo)materials
in-situ concrete repair solutions
in-situ and ex-situ thermal treatments of polluted soils and sediments.

#myroles

Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (School of Engineering)
Director of DURALAB testing facility
Member of the University Race Equality Supervisory Panel
Member of the Cardiff Materials Research Network Steering Committee

#vacancies

I am currently recruiting a Research and Innovation Associate (Postdoctoral Research Associate) for an exciting project on the use of Lithium Slag as a partial replacement of Portlad cement. Please look at this link to read more about the job and how to apply. Deadline for application is January 22nd 2025.

#getintouch

Do you want to discuss your ideas with me? Get in touch via email or book directly a meeting (online or in person).

2025

Almutlaqah, A., Maddalena, R. and Kulasegaram, S. 2025. Optimising thermo-mechanical treatments of residual rice husk ash for cement blending. Case Studies in Construction Materials 22, article number: e04103. (10.1016/j.cscm.2024.e04103)

2024

Almutlaqah, A., Alshahrani, A., Maddalena, R. and Kulasegaram, S. 2024. Performance of self-compacting concrete with treated rice husk ash at different curing temperatures. Journal of Building Engineering 97, article number: 110652. (10.1016/j.jobe.2024.110652)
Maddalena, R., Patel, S., Jones, K. and Syrop, D. 2024. Mind the gap: A new conversation starter game for EDI practitioners. Presented at: Learning and Teaching Conference 2024, Cardiff, UK, 12-13 September 2024.
Wesgate, R. et al. 2024. Impact of artificial accelerated ageing of PVC surfaces and surface degradation on disinfectant efficacy. Journal of Hospital Infection 149, pp. 1-13. (10.1016/j.jhin.2023.12.021)
Marangu, J. M. et al. 2024. Durability of ternary blended concrete incorporating rice husk ash and calcined clay. Buildings 14(5), article number: 1201. (10.3390/buildings14051201)
Degani, I., Maddalena, R. and Kulasegaram, S. 2024. Shrinkage potential and water transport properties of self-compacting concrete at different temperatures. Presented at: Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023, Cardiff, UK, 12-14 July 2023 Presented at Spezi, E. and Bray, M. eds.Proceedings of the Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press pp. 66-69., (10.18573/conf1.q)
Binti, Q., Rudge, J., Jin, F. and Maddalena, R. 2024. Waste foundry sand (WFS) as aggregate replacement for green concrete. Presented at: Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023, Cardiff, UK, 12-14 July 2023 Presented at Spezi, E. and Bray, M. eds.Proceedings of the Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press pp. 52-54., (10.18573/conf1.m)
Neghabat Shirazi, B., Almutlaqah, A., Balzano, B. and Maddalena, R. 2024. Agricultural waste as a cementitious material — rice husk ash. Presented at: Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023, Cardiff, UK, 12-14 July 2023 Presented at Spezi, E. and Bray, M. eds.Proceedings of the Cardiff University Engineering Research Conference 2023. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press pp. 48-51., (10.18573/conf1.l)
Li, K. et al. 2024. RILEM recommendation from TC 289-DCM: guideline for designing and operating long-term marine exposure sites. Materials and Structures 57(3), article number: 44. (10.1617/s11527-024-02319-9)
Patel, S., Maddalena, R., Syrop, D. and Jones, K. 2024. Mind the gap: A new conversation starter game for EDI practitioners. Presented at: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2024: The future is now: Building EDI practice for the changing world of HE 2024, . Liverpool, UK, 6 -7 March 2024.

2023

Whitman, C. J., Maddalena, R., Prizeman, O., Walker, P., McCaig, I., Williams, J. and Gervis, N. 2023. Hygrothermal monitoring of replacement infill panels for historic timber-frame buildings: next steps. Presented at: 2nd International Conference on Moisture in Buildings 2023 (ICMB23), London, 3-4 July 2023Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Moisture in Buildings 2023 (ICMB23). ScienceOpen, (10.14293/ICMB230013)
Almutlaqah, A., Alshahrani, A., Maddalena, R. and Kulasegaram, S. 2023. The effect of temperature and ageing on the behaviour of self-compacting concrete containing supplementary cementitious materials. Presented at: synercrete23, 14-16 June 2023 Presented at Jędrzejewska, A. et al. eds.International RILEM Conference on Synergising expertise towards sustainability and robustness of cement-based materials and concrete structures, Vol. 2. RILEM Bookseries Springer, (10.1007/978-3-031-33187-9_86)
Kafodya, I., Basuroy, D., Kululanga, G., Marangu, J. M., Maddalena, R. and Novelli, V. I. 2023. Mechanical performance and physico-chemical properties of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) in Malawi. Buildings 13(3), article number: 740. (10.3390/buildings13030740)
Maddalena, R. 2023. Freeze/thaw resistance of mortar with recycled tyre waste at varying particle sizes. Materials 16(3), article number: 1301. (10.3390/ma16031301)
Nishiwaki, T., Shimizu, K., Tanabe, T., Gardner, D. and Maddalena, R. 2023. Terahertz (Thz) wave imaging in civil engineering to assess self-healing of fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (FRCC). Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology (10.3151/jact.21.58)

2022

Li, K. et al. 2022. Long-term field exposure of structural concretes in marine environment: state-of-the-art review by RILEM TC 289-DCM. Materials and Structures 55(7), article number: 205. (10.1617/s11527-022-02027-2)
Maddalena, R. et al. 2022. Applications and life cycle assessment of shape memory polyethylene terephthalate in concrete for crack closure. Polymers 14(5), article number: 933. (10.3390/polym14050933)

2021

Maddalena, R. and Wright-Syed, M. eds. 2021. Proceedings of the Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020) International Conference. Cardiff: Resilient Materials 4 Life - Cardiff University.
De Nardi, C., Gardner, D. and Jefferson, A. 2021. Advanced 3D printed mini-vascular network for self-healing concrete. Presented at: Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020) International Conference, Online/Cardiff, 20-22 Sept 2021 Presented at Maddalena, R. and Wright-Syed, M. eds.Proceedings Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020). Cardiff University pp. 292-296.
Sweeney, J. et al. 2021. Injection moulding of ‘Spheritet’ component for concrete reinforcement. Presented at: Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020) International Conference, Online/Cardiff, 20-22 Sept 2021 Presented at Maddalena, R. and Wright-Syed, M. eds.Proceedings Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020). Cardiff: Cardiff University pp. 302-305.
Sweeney, J. et al. 2021. Concrete crack closure and reinforcement using high performance shape memory polymers (SMP). Presented at: Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020) International Conference, Online/Cardiff, 20-22 Sept 2021 Presented at Maddalena, R. and Wright-Syed, M. eds.Proceedings Resilient Materials 4 Life 2020 (RM4L2020). Cardiff: Cardiff University pp. 306-310.
Maddalena, R., Taha, H. and Gardner, D. 2021. Self-healing potential of supplementary cementitious materials in cement mortars: sorptivity and pore structure. Developments in the Built Environment 6, article number: 100044. (10.1016/j.dibe.2021.100044)
Litina, C. et al. 2021. Evaluation of methodologies for assessing self-healing performance of concrete with mineral expansive agents: an interlaboratory study. Materials 14(8), article number: 2024. (10.3390/ma14082024)

2020

Maddalena, R., Bonanno, L., Balzano, B., Sweeney, J. and Mihai, I. 2020. A crack closure system for cementitious composite materials using knotted shape memory polymer (k-SMP) fibres. Cement and Concrete Composites 114, article number: 103757. (10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103757)

2019

Maddalena, R., Hamilton, A., Li, K., Chater, P. and Michalik, S. 2019. Direct synthesis of a solid calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H). Construction and Building Materials 223, pp. 554-565. (10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.06.024)
Maddalena, R. 2019. Effect of silica particle size on the formation of calcium silicate hydrate using thermal analysis. Thermochimica Acta 672, pp. 142-149. (10.1016/j.tca.2018.09.003)
Maddalena, R., Taha, H. and Gardner, D. 2019. Enhanced self-healing using conventional supplementary cementitious materials. Presented at: 39th Cement and Concrete Science Conference 2019, Bath, England, 9-10 September 201939th Cement and Concrete Science Conference 2019. University of Bath pp. 43-46.
Maddalena, R. and Gardner, D. 2019. The healing touch. Construction and Civil Engineering Magazine(167)

2018

Maddalena, R., Roberts, J. J. and Hamilton, A. 2018. Can Portland cement be replaced by low-carbon alternative materials? A study on the thermal properties and carbon emissions of innovative cements. Journal of Cleaner Production 186, pp. 933-942. (10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.138)

2017

Falciglia, P. P., Malarbì, D., Maddalena, R., Greco, V. and Vagliasindi, F. G. A. 2017. Remediation of Hg-contaminated marine sediments by simultaneous application of enhancing agents and microwave heating (MWH). Chemical Engineering Journal 321, pp. 1-10. (10.1016/j.cej.2017.03.097)
Maddalena, R. and Hamilton, A. 2017. Low-pressure silica injection for porosity reduction in cementitious materials. Construction and Building Materials 134, pp. 610-616. (10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.11.016)

2016

Maddalena, R., Mali, A. and Hamilton, A. 2016. Low-pressure nano-silica injection on cement for crack-healing and water transport. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions (SAHC 2016), Leuven, Belgium, 13-15 September 2016 Presented at Van Balen, K. and Verstynge, E. eds.Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions: Anamnesis, Diagnosis, Therapy, Controls Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions. London: CRC Press, (10.1201/9781315616995)
Falciglia, P. P., Maddalena, R., Mancuso, G., Messina, V. and Vagliasindi, F. G. A. 2016. Lab-scale investigation on remediation of diesel-contaminated aquifer using microwave energy. Journal of Environmental Management 167, pp. 196-205. (10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.046)

#funding
Title	People	Funder	Value	Duration
SENSECARB - nanostructured SENSors for Early detection of CARBonation in concrete structures	Maddalena R. (UK PI), Notargiacomo A. (Italy PI), Gardner D (Co-I), Chitez A. (Co-I), Jin F. (Co-I)	Royal Society	£12,000	11/2024-10/2026
LITHICRETE - decarbonise the concrete industry by recycling battery-grade lithium waste	Maddalena R. (PI)	EPSRC	£672,000	04/2025 - 03/2027
Reuse of fly ash and ceramic waste as sustainable building materials	Maddalena R. (PI)	Cardiff Capital Region & Porcement	£15,600	07/2024 - 12/2024
REWASCON - REgional WAste as a resource for Sustainable CONstruction materials	Maddalena R. (Cardiff PI) and Ferreira G. (UNICAMP PI)	Cardiff University - UNICAMP (Brazil) &Taith mobility fund	£4,200	06/2024 - 12/2024
Mimicrete Vascular Self-healing Solution in Railway Practice - Phase 2 Demonstration	Gardner D. (PI), Maddalena R (Co-I), Jefferson Tony (Co-I) and MIMICRETE	Innovate UK	£747,500	01/2024 - 12/2024
FUSCO - Functionalised natural fibres for sustainable Concrete	Maddalena R. (Cardiff PI), Gauss C. (Waikato PI)	Cardiff Univertsity - Waikato University (NZ)	£10,000	05/2023-01/2024
MEECE - Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence	Ahmadian R. (PI), R Maddalena (Co-I), and others	WEFO	£1,150,000	10/2021-05/2023
Decarbonising the concrete industry (PhD Scholarship)	Maddalena R. (PI), Gardner D. (Co-I)	Knights Brown, Weir Group & Carbon Upcycling	£84,000	04/2023-09/2026
WASC - Welsh Fly Ash for Sustainable Concrete	Maddalena R.	CU (ENGIN) & Celtic Minerals	£7,000	03/2023-07/2023
WasteReBuilt - Waste foundry Sand in Concrete	Maddalena R. (PI), Fei J. (Co-I)	IAA-EPSRC	£45,000	03/2023-02/2024
Hygrothermal Monitoring of Timber-Frame Replacement Infill Panels	Whitman C. (PI), Maddalena R. (Co-I)	Historic England	£50,000	01/2023-12/2024
Concrete MOT - Durability of concrete by means of electrical resistivity	Maddalena R. (PI)	CU (ENGIN)	£7,000	07/2022-06/2023
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY HUB	Hou B. (PI), Maddalena R.(Co-I), and others	HEFCW via CU	£404,000	06/2022-04/2023
Self-healing concrete structures in the context of enhancing the delivery of a major highway project	Gardner D. (PI), Maddalena R.(Co-I)	National Highways	£30,000	10/2021 - 10/2024
Waste Valorisation in Concrete Production via CO2 Sequestration (value S$279,955)	Mingshan Z.(PI), Fei J. (Co-I) Maddalena R.(Co-I), and others	Building and Construction Authority (Singapore)	£166,500	09/2022-03/2025
DURALAB (Durability and Characterisation Lab)	Maddalena R. (PI), (and others)	HEFCW via CU	£383,000	09/2021- 04/2022
Resilient Materials 4 Life (RM4L)	Jefferson T. (PI), Maddalena R. (Co-I) (and others)	UKRI-EPSRC	£4,837,625	04/2017 - 04/2022
TETCRETE 2.0	Maddalena R. (PI), Sweeney J. (Co-I)	IAA-EPSRC	£19,500	06/2021 - 02/2022
Themo-crete: thermal conductivity of building materials	Maddalena R. (PI)	CU (ENGIN)	£6,500	03/2021 - 07/2021
CCK (Circular Cement in Kenya)	Maddalena R. (PI), Latif E. (Co-I), Marangu J. (Fellow)	UKRI - GCRF	£6,100	01/2021 - 04/2021
FISH (Fibre-reinforced Self-Healing) Concrete (value ¥2,700,000)	Maddalena R. (Fellow), Nishiwaki T. (Supervisor)	JSPS	£15,000	05/2019 - 08/2019

#Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs)
Title	Student	Degree
Tetcrete for crack control and self-healing (with National Highways and Costain)	Thomas Moore	MPhil
Durability of self-compacting concrete	Ibrahim Degani	PhD
Sustainable self-compacting concrete and numerical modelling	Ayman Almutlaqah	PhD
Design and durability of low-carbon sustainable concrete	Ahmad Alhamdan	PhD
Decarbonising the concrete industry through waste valorisation	Joseph Pugh	PhD
Durability of CFRP concrete under wet/dry cycles	Nirthiha Fernando	MPhil
Mechanical properties and degradation evolution behaviours of composites reinforced by plant fibres	Xinru Liang	PhD
Biological healing in limestone calcined clay (LC3) cement systems	Tong Liu	PhD
Locking CO2 into cement: new perspectives from advanced spectroscopic techniques	Marc Massiah-Quinlan	PhD
Converting waste rubber into a valuable commodity using designed enzymes	Chris Knill	PhD
Tetcrete as a novel plastic reinforcement for concrete (Tohoku University, Japan)	Chihiro Kobayashi	Visiting
Durability of ladle furnace slag mortars (UniCamp, Brazil)	Everton de Freitas	Visiting

Do you want to discuss your ideas with me? Get in touch via email or book directly an online meeting.

#2024/25

Module Leader of Fundamentals of Civil Engineering (Year 1)
Structural Engineering and Design (Year 2) - Concrete design and testing
3rd Year project supervision
MSc project supervision

Do you need help with calculations or tutorials? Get in touch via email or book directly a meeting (online or in person).

My Studies

2018: PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, UK
2018: PGCert in Researcher Professional Development, University of Strathclyde, UK
2013: Laurea Magistrale (MSc equivalent) in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Catania, Italy
2011: Laurea in Civil and Environmental Engineering (BEng equivalent), University of Catania, Italy

Honours and awards

2023: Outstanding Contribution Award (OCA) for my work in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Cardiff University, UK
2022: Outstanding Contribution Award (OCA) for excellence in research, Cardiff University, UK
2019: JSPS Fellowship at Tohoku University, Japan
2017: Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (GREAT Project), Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2014: Remediation Technologies (REMTECH) Best MScThesis Award, Ferrara, Italy
2009: Vulcanus in Japan, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.

Professional memberships

Chartered Engineer (CEng), UK Engineering Council
Chartered Scientist (CSci), UK Science Council
Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), UK Society for the Environment
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI)
Member (MIMMM) of the Institute of Mineral, Materials and Mining (IOM3) since 2016
Member (MIET) of the Intitution of Engineering and Technology (IET) 2016 - 2023
RILEM Senior Member since 2020
Ingegnere Civile ed Ambientale (Chartered Civil Engineer equivalent, Italian Engineering Council).

Academic positions

2024 - present: Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at Cardiff University, UK
2020 - 2024: Lecturer in Civil Engineering at Cardiff University, UK
2019: JSPS Postdoctoral fellow at Tohoku University, Japan
2017 - 2020: Research Associate and RM4L Project Manager, Cardiff University, UK
2017 - 2018: Visiting Researcher, University of Strathclyde, UK
2017: Research Assistant, University of Strathclyde, UK
2017: Visiting Researcher, Tsinghua University, PR China
2011-2012: Civil Engineer, Technoside Srl, Italy
2009-2010: Materials Engineer, Akebono Brake Co. Ltd, Japan

Committees and reviewing

Member of the UK Cementitious Group, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).
Member of Cardiff University Race Equality Supervisory Panel (RESP)
Co-Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) Committee of School of Engineering, Cardiff University, UK
Member of the EPSRC Reviewers College, JSPS London and Horizon EU
Member of the EPSRC Engineering Early Career Forum
Guest Editor and Journal Reviewer for Elsevier, Springer, MDPI, ASCE, ICE journals.

#SupervisedAreas

I am available to supervise PhD, MPhil students, project students (undergraduate and postgraduate), interns and visiting students on the following topics:

Self-healing concrete
Re-use of waste into concrete and mechanical behaviour
Thermal analysis and thermal imaging of cement and concrete
Chemistry of cement mortar and concrete
Water transport in concrete
Green low-carbon concrete
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint of infrastructure materials
...I am also open to other topics.

Note: Prospective research students (PhD, EngD, MPhil, MRes) should investigate potential funding and/or scholarships before getting in touch. The UK Government has made available the Doctoral Student Loans (up to £26,000 for UK and EU students). Explore also the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) PhD scholarships.

Do you want to discuss your ideas with me? Get in touch via email or book directly a meeting (online or in person).

Current supervision

Ahmad Alhamdan

Academic

Joseph Pugh

Ayman Almutlaqah

Ibrahim Mohamed Degani

Nirthiha Fernando

Tong Liu

Chihiro Kobayashi

Everton De Freitas Cordova De Souza

Tom Moore

Marc Massiah-Quinlan

Contact Details

MaddalenaR@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29208 76150
Queen's Buildings - Central Building, Room Room C/4.09, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA

Research themes

Specialisms

Civil engineering
Life cycle assessment
Construction materials
Cement and Concrete Science
circular economy

Dr Riccardo Maddalena (he/him) BEng, MSc, PhD, FHEA, CAPM, CEng, CEnv, CSci, MIMMM

Overview