Professional profile

Full Professor of Solids and Structural Mechanics at Sapienza University of Rome and President of the MSc programme in Project and Construction Management. His academic work integrates analytical, computational and experimental methods for structural dynamics, nonlinear mechanics, vibration control, structural identification, monitoring and reliability, with extensive applications to bridges, cultural heritage, civil infrastructure and digital twins. He has coordinated national and international research programmes, developed monitoring and inspection systems for strategic infrastructure and monumental structures, and contributed to technology transfer through patented solutions, automated inspection procedures and decision-support tools for infrastructure management.

Current academic positions

Since 2020 Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics, Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering (DISG).

Current President, MSc in Project and Construction Management, Interfaculty Degree Programme in Engineering and Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome.

Current teaching Structural Mechanics and Computational/Structural Modelling for engineering and architecture programmes.

Education and professional qualifications

1996 PhD in Structural Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome.

1994 Master of Science in Civil Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA.

1991 Licensed Professional Engineer, Italy.

1990 Five-year Degree in Civil and Building Engineering, cum laude, Sapienza University of Rome.

1990–1991 Officer, Italian Army Corps of Engineers.

Academic appointments

Visiting Scholar, followed by Research Assistant, National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER), State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo), USA, 1992–1994.

Assistant Professor, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering (DISAT), University of L'Aquila, Italy, 1996–2002.

Associate Professor, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering (DISAT), University of L'Aquila, Italy, 2002–2016.

Italian National Scientific Qualification for Full Professor in Solid and Structural Mechanics, 2014.

Italian National Scientific Qualification for Full Professor in Structural Engineering, 2015.

Associate Professor, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering (DISG), Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, 2016–2020.

Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics, University of L'Aquila, Italy, April 2020 – September 2020.

Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering (DISG), Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, September 2020 – Present.

Academic Service and Impact

Chair, ISDAC 2023 – Third International Symposium on Dynamics and Aerodynamics of Cables, Rome, Italy, 15–17 June 2023.

Chair, ANCRiSST 2019 – 14th International Workshop on Advanced Smart Materials and Smart Structures Technology.

Chair, Asia–Pacific–Euro Summer School on Smart Structures Technology (APESS 2019).

Co-Chair, EURODYN 2017 – 10th International Conference on Structural Dynamics, Rome, Italy, September 2017.

Member of the Scientific Committee of numerous international conferences.

Member of the Editorial Boards of international scientific journals.

Reviewer for international research funding agencies and peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Invited Lecturer at the Asia–Pacific–Euro Summer School on Smart Structures Technology (APESS).

Invited Keynote Speaker at international conferences and invited speaker at seminars hosted by universities and research institutions worldwide.

Research Interests

Since 1990, Professor Vincenzo Gattulli has pursued research integrating analytical, computational, experimental and data-driven approaches to structural mechanics, with applications ranging from civil infrastructure and bridges to cultural heritage and critical facilities. His work combines fundamental developments in structural dynamics, nonlinear mechanics and computational modelling with innovative methodologies for structural health monitoring, digital twins, reliability assessment and infrastructure management. His main research interests include:

Computational Mechanics and Structural Analysis

• finite element modelling and advanced computational mechanics;

• linear and nonlinear analysis of complex structural systems;

• soil–structure and fluid–structure interaction;

• hybrid physics-based and data-driven computational models.

Structural Dynamics, Nonlinear Mechanics and Vibration Control

• nonlinear dynamics and stability of structures;

• cable dynamics and cable–structure interaction;

• critical and post-critical behaviour of self-excited structural systems;

• passive, semi-active and active vibration control;

• adaptive control systems and tuned mass dampers.

Structural Health Monitoring, System Identification and Digital Twins

• modal and operational system identification;

• finite-element model updating;

• vibration-, image- and sensor-based damage detection;

• long-term monitoring and automated structural assessment;

• data fusion from heterogeneous sensing systems;

• physics-informed and artificial-intelligence-based structural identification;

• hybrid Digital Twins for civil infrastructure and cultural heritage.

Reliability, Resilience and Management of Existing Structures

• reliability and risk assessment of existing structures;

• seismic assessment of reinforced-concrete, steel and masonry structures;

• infrastructure resilience and life-cycle management;

• decision-support systems for maintenance and asset management;

• bridge management systems and monitoring-informed maintenance strategies.

Digital Technologies for the Built Environment

• robotics and automated inspection of civil infrastructure;

• computer vision and intelligent sensing technologies;

• BIM–FEM interoperability and digital workflows;

• digital twins for strategic infrastructure and monumental heritage;

• monitoring platforms supporting predictive maintenance and infrastructure management.

International exchanges and collaborations

1992–1994 — Visiting Scholar and Research Assistant at the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER), State University of New York at Buffalo, USA. Research on active structural control in collaboration with Professor T. T. Soong.

1997 — Visiting Researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Research on structural identification and control in collaboration with Professor R. Ghanem.

2000 — Visiting Researcher at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Research on cable–structure interaction in cable-stayed systems in collaboration with Professor C. Taylor and Dr J. Macdonald.

March 2006 — Visiting Lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal. Research and teaching activities on the identification and monitoring of the International Guadiana Cable-Stayed Bridge, in collaboration with Professors E. Caetano and A. Cunha.

Invited Seminars

Invited seminars delivered at Columbia University, New York; the University of Bristol; the Joint Research Centre, Ispra; the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto; and the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées, Nantes, TNO Delft.

Selected Invited Lectures

·    Eleventh International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing, St Julian’s, Malta, 18–21 September 2007.

·    Ninth International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Athens, Greece, 2008.

·    IUTAM Symposium on Nonlinear Stochastic Dynamics and Control, Hangzhou, China, May 2010.

·    Asia-Pacific Summer School on Smart Structures Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA, August 2015.

·    Invited Lecturer, Dalian University of Technology, China, October 2015.

·    Invited Lecturer, University of Innsbruck, Austria, and University College London, United Kingdom, July 2016.

·    Asia-Pacific-Euro Summer School on Smart Structures Technology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2016.

·    Asia-Pacific-Euro Summer School on Smart Structures Technology, Yokohama National University, Japan, July 2017.

·    Asia-Pacific-Euro Summer School on Smart Structures Technology, Qingdao University of Technology, China, July 2018.

·    Asia-Pacific-Euro Summer School on Smart Structures Technology, Politecnico of Turin, Italy, July 2026.

Research activities and projects

·    NCEER, SUNY Buffalo, 1992–1994 — Experimental studies on an actively controlled shear-type structural model tested on a shaking table.

·    University of L’Aquila, 1996–2020 — Experimental, analytical and numerical studies on cables and cable-supported structures; nonlinear dynamics, structural identification and vibration control; development of reliability-based bridge management systems.

·    Researcher in projects funded by the Italian National Research Council, including EOLICA, 1997, and in several PRIN projects on the dynamic behaviour of structures during the periods 1997–1999, 2000–2001, 2001–2002, 2003–2004 and 2004–2005.

·    Co-Principal Investigator and Unit Coordinator in successive national ReLUIS research programmes on semi-active structural control, seismic engineering, structural identification and monitoring: 2007–2009, 2010–2013, 2014–2017, 2019–2021, 2022–2024 and 2025–2026.

·    Principal Investigator and Coordinator of PRIN projects on structural identification and monitoring:

o Structural Identification, 2006–2007;

o Damage and Dynamics, 2012–2015;

o AID-STRU, 2022–2026.

·    General Secretary, SICON — Stability, Identification and Control in Nonlinear Structural Dynamics, 2006–2009, funded by the European Commission under the Marie Curie Actions of the Sixth Framework Programme. Keynote lecturer at the TC2, TC3 and TC4 project events.

·    Principal Investigator, MIVIS — Innovative Methods for the Evaluation of Structural Integrity and the Seismic Protection of Monumental Heritage in the L’Aquila Area, funded by Fondazione Carispaq, 2007–2011.

·    Laboratory Coordinator, RICOSTRUIRE, RIDITT programme, 2010–2013, focused on technology transfer and the development of new enterprises based on advanced ICT technologies in the post-earthquake area.

·    Principal Investigator, designer and coordinator of the wireless structural health monitoring system installed at the earthquake-damaged Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, L’Aquila.

·    Structural engineering contribution to the seismic retrofit of Building A of the Faculty of Engineering, University of L’Aquila, using nonlinear viscous dampers.

·    Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator of the strategic projects RICOSTRUIRE, INCIPICT and SICURA, funded by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

·    Principal Investigator, DESDEMONA — Detection of Steel Defects by Enhanced Monitoring and Automated Procedures for Self-Inspection and Maintenance, European Union Research Fund for Coal and Steel, Grant Agreement No. 800687, 2017–2022.

·    Principal Investigator, IRIS — Inspection, Maintenance and Security Pursued by Innovative Robots, Enhanced Data Communication and Infrastructure Digital Twins, NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, Grant No. SPS G5924, 2022–2024.

·    Principal Investigator, ERIS — Nano-Loaded Strain Gauges Deployed by Robots for Monitoring Monumental Structures, funded by POR FESR Lazio 2014–2020, 2022–2023.

Scientific and professional memberships

Member of the European Association for the Control of Structures, AIMETA — Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, ANIV — Italian Association for Wind Engineering, ASCE — American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute, EUROMECH and SISCo — Italian Society of Structural Mechanics.

Current teaching

At Sapienza University of Rome, he currently teaches Structural Mechanics in the Energy Engineering programme, with approximately 150 students per year, and Computational Mechanics and Structural Modelling in the Project and Construction Management programme at the Faculty of Architecture, with approximately 80 students per year.

Professional Practice, Consultancy and Technology Transfer

Since 1990, Professor Vincenzo Gattulli has carried out technical consultancy in structural engineering, with specific expertise in the modelling of complex nonlinear structural problems and in the analysis of design-related structural issues.

He has provided structural engineering and consultancy services to major companies and public institutions, including RFI, MAIRE Engineering (formerly FIAT Engineering), the Italian Ministry of Defence, the Bank of Italy and INPS. Through these activities, he has developed extensive expertise in complex structural modelling, visual-inspection management and the maintenance of civil infrastructure.

He conceived and developed DOMUS, the bridge management system adopted for RFI, and has coordinated the development of structural models using different computational platforms. He has also carried out numerous seismic assessments of major reinforced-concrete, steel and masonry buildings.

For ANAS S.p.A., he has been responsible for the development and implementation of a decision-support tool for the project-verification activities of the Inspection Body.

He has served as a member of public procurement evaluation committees, as a court-appointed technical expert, as Commissario ad acta for the Regional Administrative Court of Abruzzo, as technical consultant to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rome, and as technical consultant for private clients.

He is a member of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of BEST Design, a Sapienza University start-up, where he coordinates research and development activities.

Professional memberships

Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI-ASCE), European Association for the Control of Structures (EACS), EUROMECH, Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (AIMETA), Italian Association for Wind Engineering (ANIV), and the Italian Society of Structural Mechanics (SISCo).

Languages

Italian: native. English: full professional and academic proficiency.