DrAlalea Kia

I am a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and a Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Associate Research Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

My research interests are focussed on cleantech, mitigation of the damaging effects of climate change and the transformation of the construction sector towards net-zero. My work encompasses urban flood mitigation and adaptation, sustainable drainage systems, permeable concrete pavements and their application in extreme weather and loading scenarios, additive manufacturing, multi-scale experimental and numerical modelling methods, durability of cement-based materials and the development of new low-carbon cementitious materials.

I was chosen as one of the ‘Top 50 Women in Engineering’ in 2022 by the Women’s Engineering Society, received the ‘Hawley Award for Engineering Innovation’ by the Worshipful Company of Engineers and Engineering Council, and the Imperial College London President’s Medal for Excellence in Research in 2023. In 2024, I was selected as a RAEng Young Engineer of the Year and received the Sir George MacFarlane Medal.

I am a Fellow of the CIHT, a member of DfT’s College of Experts, Institute of Concrete Technology, PIARC and RILEM, and a graduate member of the ICE. I am a current technical committee member of PIARC TC 4.1 Pavements, RILEM APS and APD, and a former committee member of RILEM 279-WMR. I have also been selected to be a member of the UK-Academic Alliance for Pavement and Highway Engineering to address the challenges and opportunities facing future road infrastructure.

Outstanding students and researchers are always welcome to reach out about potential PhD, postdoc, visiting researcher, MEng and MSc research project opportunities the Resilient Sustainable Infrastructure Group that I lead. We continuously recruit candidates for our fully funded positions. I also support applications to Fellowship schemes, including EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship and Imperial College Research Fellowship schemes.