We welcome María as a visiting researcher at our group!

María Serrano Mesa studied civil engineering at the University of Granada, including a one-year exchange at RWTH Aachen. She completed her Master's degree at Technische Universität Berlin. Since the end of 2019, she has been working as a research assistant in the department of “Structural and Conceptual Design - Structural Concrete” under Prof. Schlaich at TU Berlin.

[Translate to English:] Portraitfoto von Maria

María Serrano Mesa studied civil engineering at the University of Granada, including a one-year exchange at RWTH Aachen. She completed her Master's degree at Technische Universität Berlin. Since the end of 2019, she has been working as a research assistant in the department of “Structural and Conceptual Design - Structural Concrete” under Prof. Schlaich at TU Berlin, focusing on CFRP reinforced (and prestressed) concrete. Her doctoral thesis investigates the bond behaviour of prestressed CFRP strands in concrete. 

Outside of academia, María was responsible for the structural design of the first skate park to incorporate CFRP elements. She was also involved in the experimental validation of the first sports hall using prestressed CFRP strands. At the fib PhD Symposium last year, she won first prize for the best presentation and paper for her analytical evaluation of the bond behaviour of pretensioned CFRP strands in concrete. She is currently finalising her PhD thesis entitled "Prestress Transfer of Pre-Tensioned CFRP Strands in Concrete". 

“When I started working on the numerical analysis of the bond behaviour of CFRP, I was inspired by Prof. Preinstorfer's thesis, so I was thrilled when he agreed to collaborate with me. Since I had already done an exchange during my bachelor's and master’s studies, I thought it would be a great opportunity to work on this final part of my PhD at TU Wien. From the very beginning, I felt very welcomed here, and I am learning a lot from the research group”. 

It is scientific dialog that moves us forward. We are happy to collaborate with you on that very interesting topic!

About us

Structural concrete plays a pivotal role in modern society, serving as a fundamental material for over a century in the construction and development of urban infrastructure. Our research group is doing cutting-edge research on existing and newly built structures to transform reinforced concrete from the dull mass material it is used to be to an ingenious construction method that efficiently harnesses emerging technologies, prolongs the service life and makes sustainable use of our natural resources. One core focus of the group activities revolves around the digital fabrication of concrete structures from file to factory using advanced analytical methods and robotic tools. The group is also at the forefront of research when it comes to textile-reinforced structures. Through the exploitation of tailored yarn placement, the boundaries of traditional reinforcement concepts are leveraged for the creation of bespoke structures that are inspired by nature. A further key area of research is the development of innovative bridge and tunnel construction methods. The research group also operates a state-of-the-art laboratory in which the developed models, structural elements and construction methods can be tested for their applicability.

Group Picture of the institute

Group photo of the Research Unit Structural Concrete 2024 © Photographer Christian Husar