CICE 2025 will cover all aspects of research, development and application of FRP composites in civil engineering, with particular emphasis on some of the most relevant and emerging challenges.
Conference Topics
Topics will include (but are not limited to):
- FRP materials and products
- Concrete structures with FRP reinforcement
- Strengthening of concrete, steel, masonry and timber structures
- Bond behavior
- Confinement
- Seismic retrofit of existing structures
- Textile-reinforced mortars
- Hybrid structures combining FRP with other materials
- Concrete-filled FRP tubular members
- Sandwich structures
- All-FRP structures
- Smart FRP structures
- Fire, impact and blast loading
- Durability
- Inspection, monitoring and quality assurance
- Life-cycle performance
- Sustainability and recycling
- Bio-based composites
- Thermoplastic-based composites
- Composites for wind energy
- Design codes and guidelines
- Education
- Case studies
Special Sessions – Call for proposals is open
CICE2025 Organizing Committee encourages the organization of Special Sessions to supplement the regular conference program, providing the opportunity to focus on specific emerging topics within the conference’s scope. A call for Special Sessions is now open. Proponents are invited to send an abstract describing the topic and objectives of the Special Session, together with their brief biographies to cice@cice2025.org (with “Special Session Proposal” as the subject) until September 15, 2024.
The abstracts for the Special Session proposals should be prepared following this template, where additional details are provided.
Note: Special Session proposals will be evaluated based on the relevance of the topic and the qualifications of the organizer(s). Notification of approval will be made on a rolling basis.
Special Sessions already approved:
- SS01 – Internal hybrid (FRP+Steel) reinforcement for concrete clements: Challenges and future perspectives (Organizers: Maria Antonietta Aiello, Luciano Ombres, Pietro Mazzuca)
- SS02 – New approaches, unexplored issues, and future challenges on bond-dominated problems (Organizers: Tommaso D’Antino, Francesco Focacci, Christian Carloni)
- SS03 – Inorganic composites for structural retrofitting (Organizers: Marta del Zoppo, Georgia Thermou, Marco Di Ludovico)
- SS04 – FRP reinforced concrete: On a global path from niche to mainstream (Organizers: Jan Bielak, Tamer El Maaddawy, Ehab El-Salakawy, Fabio Matta, Tao Yu)
- SS05 – Modern integration of FRP composites in heritage conservation: Engineering solutions and preservation ethics (Organizers: Alessio Cascardi, Salvatore Verre, Marianovella Leone)
- SS06 – Challenges and opportunities for end-of-life fibre reinforced polymers in civil engineering (promoted by TG2 of IIFC) (Organizers: Cristina Barris, Giovanni Terrasi, Chao Wu)
- SS07 – Hybrid FRP composites: Recent advancements and future applications in construction (Organizers: Luís Correia, Filipe Ribeiro, José Sena-Cruz)
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SS08 – Paradis Bridge: Challenges and successes in the design and realisation of a 42 m full composite foot and bicycle bridge for Bergen, Norway (Organizers: Liesbeth Tromp, Håkon Tryti Nilssen, Alf-Egil Jensen, Jon Inge BrattikÅs, Oystein Mehl Eide)
- SS09 – Advancements in reliability-based design for FRP composites (Organizers: Amirhossein Mohammadi, Sujith Mangalathu)
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SS10 – Composites for fatigue strengthening and lifetime extension of existing structures (Organizers: Angelo Savio Calabrese, Elyas Ghafoori, QianQian Yu)
- SS11 – Thermoplastic bars for internal reinforcement of concrete structures: Challenges and new developments (Organizers: Inês C. Rosa, João P. Firmo, Tommaso D’Antino)
- SS12 – Durability, lifetime, and life cycle assessment of sustainable composites (Organizers: Mário Garrido, Andrejs Krauklis)
- SS13 – Emerging challenges and innovations in sustainable composite materials [SS promoted by TG1 of IIFC] (Organizers: Francesca Roscini, Jovan Tatar)
- SS14 – FRP in extreme settings [SS promoted by TG3 of IIFC] (Organizers: Aamir Dean, P.M. Anilkumar, Sven Scheffler, Raimund Rolfes)
- SS15 – Advanced FRP manufacturing techniques [SS promoted by TG5 of IIFC] (Organizer: Baolin Wan)
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SS16 – Digitalising FRP strengthening measures for civil engineering applications [SS promoted by TG5 of IIFC] (Organizers: Dimitra Achillopoulou, Amr Maher Elnemr)
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SS17 – Regulatory assessment and technical approval of FRP materials used in civil engineering applications (Organizers: Ana Sofia Louro, Susana Cabral-Fonseca)
Keynote Speakers
Joaquim Barros
Professor
University of Minho, Portugal
Lecture: Shear strengthening of RC structures with NSM CFRP composites: Challenges and opportunities of AI and advanced numerical models
Short bio
Joaquim A. O. Barros is Full Professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of Minho University, Director of the PhD in Civil Engineering, header of the Structural Composites Group, Fellow of ACI, active member of several ACI, fib and RILEM Technical Committees. He is the convener of the Convener of the fib WP 2.4.1-Modelling of Fibre Reinforced Concrete Structures. He was a council member of the International Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC). His research interests include structural strengthening, composite materials, fiber reinforced concrete and the development of materials constitutive models, and their implementation in software based on the finite element method. He his author of more than 900 publications (>250 in ISI journals), co-founder of FEMIX FEM-based computer program and inventor of several national and international patents. He participates(ed) in 45 research projects (24 as coordinator). Supervisor of 14 Pos-Doc (concluded), 57 PhD (44 concluded) and 40 MSc (concluded). Chairman of 10 international and 4 national conferences, and 7 Seminars/Workshops. He participates(ed) in 44 research projects (24 as coordinator). World’s Top 2% Scientist since 2020 (“Stanford Ranking”).
Marko Pavlovic
Professor
Delft University of Technology (TUDelft), Netherlands
Lecture: FRP composite/steel hybrid structures for offshore renewable energy
Short bio
Dr. Marko Pavlovic is Associate Professor of Steel and Composite Structures, working at Delft University of Technology since 2016 on resolving challenges of renewable energy support structures and infrastructure. He leads fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite structures research group at Engineering Structures department focusing on development of experiments and numerical modeling from scale of the material to the scale of full-scale structures. His aim is to bring innovative solutions and develop methods to predict behavior of bonded and bolted joints and hybrid multi-material structures under influence of static, fatigue loading and the environment. He participates in the European CEN250/WG4 and Dutch NEN standardization groups on creating design guidance for Fiber-polymer composite structures. Dr. Pavlovic is active in education of a new generation of “composites ready” structural engineers through teaching and coordination in bachelor and master programs and professional education courses at Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences in Delft. As inventor of wrapped composite joints he contributes to implementation of the technology through Dutch start-up company Tree Composites b.v. developing the design and manufacturing of composite joints for offshore renewables.
Thomas Keller
Professor Emeritus
Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Lecture: Composites in Structural Engineering and Architecture
Short bio
I obtained a Civil Engineering Degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich in 1983. Subsequently, I worked at the architecture and engineering office of Santiago Calatrava. Back at ETH in 1990, I received my doctoral degree in 1992. In 1996, I was appointed as part-time Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture of ETH, in 1998 as part-time Associate Professor, and in 2007 as Full Professor of Structural Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Lausanne. In 2000, I created the Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab) at EPFL. I was a founding member of the International Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC), and a member of the Project Team to establish the European Technical Specification “Design of fibre-reinforced composite structuresˮ, CEN/TS 19101, published in 2022. As a practical engineer, I designed one of the first composite pedestrian bridges in Europe (Pontresina Bridge, 1997) and I was responsible for the structural design of the five-storey Eyecatcher Building (Basel, 1998). I also contributed to the design of the free-form multifunctional composite sandwich roof of the Novartis Campus Entrance Building (Basel, 2006) and the hybrid Avançon (vehicular) Bridge with an adhesively bonded composite-balsa sandwich deck (Bex, 2012).
Weichen Xue
Professor
Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Lecture: Studies on the behaviour and design theories of concrete structures reinforced or prestressed with FRP rebars
Short bio
Xue Weichen is Professor at the College of Civil Engineering of Tongji University and the Distinguished Professor of Changjiang Scholars of the Ministry of Education. In the past 30 years, he has focused his research on FRP reinforced concrete (RC) structures, precast concrete structures, and prestressed concrete structures. His significant contributions to the field have been recognized with the 1st prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (Chinese national top honor). In the field of FRP-RC structures, Professor Xue has made substantial advancements in calculation theories and design methods for both prestressed and non-prestressed FRP-RC members and structures subjected to various loads, including compression, flexure, shear, torsion, as well as seismic and fatigue loading. His contributions include leadership and involvement in developing design codes and specifications of FRP-RC/PC structures in China. Professor Xue also serves as the vice director and secretary general of the Civil Engineering Composite Materials Branch of the China Composite Materials Society, of which he is one of the founders. He has also held editorial positions for over 30 Chinese national, provincial and associational technical codes and standards. With more than 200 SCI/EI indexed journal papers to his name, including 16 technical papers in the ACI Structural Journal, Professor Xue has been listed in Stanford’s Top 2% Scientists for Lifetime Impact in 2024.
Scientific Program
Further information will be available soon.
Technical Visits
Two technical visits will be organized to the experimental laboratories of the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) and, to the Civil Engineering Department of Técnico – University of Lisbon.
Laboratories of LNEC
Duration: 2,5 hours
Audience: students & researchers
Laboratories of Técnico
Duration: 1,5 hours
Audience: students & researchers
Short Courses
After the conference, on the 17 July, 2025, the following three short-courses will be organized, targeted to designers, contractors, manufacturers and researchers:
Course 1
Title: “Future Eurocode for the Design of FRP Structures”
Duration: Half-day
Target audience: Designers, Contractors, Manufacturers, Researchers
Course 2
Title: “Second Generation of Eurocode 2 for the Design of Concrete with FRP”
Duration: Half-day
Target audience: Designers, Contractors, Manufacturers, Researchers
Course 3
Title: “Advanced Finite Element Modelling of FRP Materials and Structures”
Duration: One day
Target audience: Post-graduate Students and Researchers
Further information will be available soon.
Student Benchmark Competition
The CICE2025 Organizing Committee invites student teams to participate in the Student Benchmark Competition, an exciting event that will complement the regular conference program. This competition challenges students to predict the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with NSM-CFRP laminates under serviceability (SLS) and ultimate limit states (ULS).
A call for participation is now open! Teams must include at least one PhD student in a Civil Engineering program and a tutor registered for CICE2025. Participants are encouraged to submit their predictions based on numerical simulations or analytical formulations.
All the documents (registaration form and report) must be submitted to cice@cice2025.org (with “Student Benchmark Submission” as the subject).
Detailed guidelines, including the report template and submission instructions, are available here
Competition Highlights:
- Key Objective: Verify the performance of models in predicting RC beam behavior under SLS and ULS conditions.
- Important Dates:
- 15 March 2025: Submission of the Registration Form
- 16 March 2025: Release information about the material properties
- 15 June 2025: Submission of the report
- 23 June 2025: Experimental testing at the University of Minho
- 16 July 2025: Winners announced during the closing ceremony of CICE2025
- Awards: 750 EUR and a two-year IIFC membership for the best teams in the FEM and analytical categories, with honorable mentions for outstanding proposals.
Evaluation Criteria:
Submissions will be assessed based on prediction accuracy and report quality. Teams are encouraged to propose innovative modeling approaches to stand out in this international competition.
Take this opportunity to show your expertise, collaborate with peers, and gain recognition in the global FRP composites community. We look forward to seeing your submissions!
| Name of the Team | Acronym | Institution | Country |
| Beyond Limits | B-LMT | Northumbria University | UK |
| Blind Insightful Engineers | BIE | University of Coimbra | Portugal |
| Composite Materials in Construction – Politecnico di Milano | MC2 | Politecnico di Milano | Italy |
| HTWK Leipzig | HTWK | HTWK Leipzig | Germany |
| Mysterious Eastern Power | MEP | Changsha University of Science & Technology | China |
| NC STATE UNIVERSITY | NCSU | North Carolina State University | USA |
| Padova – FRP on RC elements | P-FoRCe | University of Padua | Italy |
| Smart NSM Simulators | SNS | University of Minho | Portugal |
| StrenghtMinds | StrMinds | Universidade Federal de São Carlos | Brazil |
| Tsinghua University Team 1 | THU T1 | Tsinghua University | China |
| Tsinghua University Team 2 | THU T2 | Tsinghua University | China |
| PolyUer | PolyUer | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | China |
| MA-CICE2025-UMinho | MA-UMinho | University of Minho | Portugal |
Awards
In addition to the institutional IIFC awards (IIFC Medal, IIFC Distinguished Young Researcher Award, President’s Award and IIFC Best PhD Thesis Award), the following prizes will be awarded in the conference:
- Best paper in “FRP in new construction”
- Best paper in “FRP strengthening of existing structures”
- Student competition award
Further information will be available soon.