About
Dr Norambuena-Contreras is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at Swansea University, UK, and a member of the Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute. His research is focused on self-healing bituminous materials for more sustainable and resilient roads. This multidisciplinary research integrates Material Science, Civil Engineering, and Chemical Engineering disciplines. Before joining Swansea, Dr Norambuena-Contreras was an Assistant and Associate Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Bio-Bio (Chile), where he founded and led the Research Group LabMAT. Prior to this, he held research and postdoctoral positions at several European prestigious institutions, including the GITECO Research Group at the University of Cantabria (Spain), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology EMPA at ETH-Zürich (Switzerland), and the Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre NTEC at the University of Nottingham (UK). He has also conducted academic stays at the Wuhan University of Technology (China), Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). In recognition of his contributions to self-healing bituminous materials, Dr. Norambuena-Contreras was awarded the 2024 RILEM Robert L’Hermite Medal by the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems, and Structures (RILEM). This prestigious award is given to a researcher under 40 years of age who has made an exceptional scientific contribution to the field of construction materials and structures.