On Thursday, January 23rd, a seminar titled “The Impact of Extreme Floods on Infrastructure: Is it just water?” will be held in the Grandori Room (Building 4) starting at 11:30 AM.

The seminar will be conducted by Dr. Davide Wüthrich, Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

The seminar can also be attended via Webex at the following link.

Abstract:

All recent studies consistently predict a future characterised by more frequent and extreme natural hazards. The catastrophic floods of summer 2021 in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands clearly demonstrated the devastating consequences of such events, underscoring the urgent need for effective measures to ensure safety, mitigate damage and reduce reconstruction costs. This seminar begins with first-hand observations collected during field surveys of recent extreme events, emphasizing their complex multiphase nature, including large volumes of floating debris. Recognizing that these phenomena remain poorly understood, the seminar will then explore ongoing research on the accumulation of large floating debris at bridges and other critical water conveyance structures. This shows the need to combine innovative research, high-quality education and interdisciplinary collaboration to meet the challenges that current and future infrastructure are facing.

Speaker’s bio:

Davide Wüthrich is a civil engineer specialized in hydraulic structures, currently Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, and Honorary Lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia. He earned his Bachelor degree at Politecnico di Torino (Italy) followed by a Master and PhD at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland), focusing on the impact of extreme events on structures. Building upon previous experience as Post-Doc in Japan and Australia, his current research at TU Delft focuses on the impact of extreme events on infrastructure, including post-flood forensic surveys, laboratory experiments, and prototype measurements.