DrEvzen Korec

I am an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering Materials working in the Materials Section of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. My interdisciplinary research focuses on the chemo-mechanical degradation of engineering materials. My work bridges the gap between traditional civil engineering, mechanics, and chemistry research by combining physics-based computational continuum modelling with experiments. Through this approach, I explore ways to: 1) predict the long-term degradation of materials in current and heritage structures in order to prevent excessive degradation and catastrophic failure; and 2) harness the power of engineered chemo-mechanical transformation in order to pioneer new methods of improving material properties and recovering resources (e.g. from concrete waste).     

Vacancies

PhD and student opportunities: I am currently establishing a new interdisciplinary research group focusing on the chemo-mechanical degradation of engineering materials and therefore have opportunities for motivated PhD, MSc, and MEng students of science and engineering in conducting their PhD research or final Master-level projects with us. Projects can focus on experiments, numerical modelling, or a combination of the two according to the applicant's particular strengths and preferences. A funded PhD position (including fees on 'Home' level and scholarship) is currently available; find more details here.

Postdoc and academic visitor opportunities: I can host academic visitors and postdoctoral researchers who are funded externally. To highly motivated postdoctoral applicants, I can offer personalised support with preparing their funding proposal. We are also currently running a fully-funded mentorship scheme to support two highly motivated candidates planning to apply for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 to join us (details here). Interested applicants are encouraged to contact me by email, attaching a CV and a brief motivation letter describing their situation and reasons for applying. Specificity and personality in the letter will be highly valued. Individuals with a passion for their subject and a curious nature are particularly welcome to apply!

Education

Born and raised in Prague, Czech Republic, I joined Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), graduating with a first-class BSc (2018) and MSce (2020) in Structural and Transportation Engineering. During this time, I was lucky to be supervised by Prof Ivana Pultarová from the Department of Mathematics (2015-2016) and Prof Milan Jirásek, an inspiring mentor who filled me with enthusiasm to study mechanics.  During my Master’s studies, I had the privilege of joining Prof Garth N. Wells and his group at the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge as an academic visitor in 2020. Working with Wells, we developed mathematical methods to enforce contact boundary conditions in exascale problems for the ASiMoV project, which aimed at creating a multiphysics model of a Rolls-Royce jet engine in operation. Supported by the President’s Scholarship, I pursued a PhD (2020-2024) at Imperial College London’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. There, I was supervised by Prof Emilio Martínez-Pañeda, Prof Hong S. Wong, and Prof. Milan Jirásek, working on the computational modelling of corrosion-induced cracking in reinforced concrete. After completing my doctorate, I joined the Mechanics of Materials Lab at the University of Oxford’s Engineering Department as a postdoctoral researcher (2024-2025). There, I worked within the multi-institutional Safe, Sustainable and Swift Reconstruction of Ukraine (S3RU) project aiming to recycle rubble from the Russian invasion of Ukraine into low-energy and low-carbon building materials by developing novel chemo-mechanical methods that increase the efficiency of concrete crushing and aggregate recovery. In 2026, I was privileged to join Imperial as an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering Materials, working in the Materials Section at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.