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Profile Photo

Professor Sara Pavia

Professor In (Civil Struct & Env. Eng.)
CIVIL ENGINEERING BUILDING (NEW)
      
Profile Photo

Professor Sara Pavia

Professor In (Civil Struct & Env. Eng.)
CIVIL ENGINEERING BUILDING (NEW)

 pavias@tcd.ie

 3531896 2516


Professor in Civil Engineering 2023 to present Associate Professor Dept. of Civil Engineering. Trinity College Dublin. 2012 2021 Assistant Professor Dept of Civil Engineering. Trinity College Dublin. 2002 2012 Post doctoral Research Fellow Faculty of Built Environment, Dublin Institute of Technology. 1997 2002 Post doctoral Research Fellow Trinity College Dublin. 1994 1997 External Lecturer Trinity College Dublin, Dept. of Civil Engineering. 1996 2002 External Lecturer University College Dublin, School of Architecture. 1996 2012
  sustainable building
Project Title
 New, low-carbon cement made with bauxite refining residue (red mud).
From
October 2024
To
October 2026
Summary
Funding Agency
Enterprise Ireland
Programme
Innovation Partnership
Project Type
applied postdoctoral research
Project Title
 Commercialisation of Low Carbon Cements
From
June 2024
To
March 2026
Summary
Funding Agency
Enterprise Ireland Construct Innovate
Project Type
postdoctoral applied research
Project Title
 Transforming Irish Waste into Low-Carbon Geopolymer Cements for Sustainable Construction
From
1st March 2026
To
28 February 2030
Summary
Funding Agency
Research Ireland and SISK, FLI precast, Techcrete, McGrath Quarries, Roadstone
Programme
Innovate for Ireland
Project Type
PhD research
Project Title
 Development of alkali activated materials for sustainable construction.
From
2019
To
2023
Summary
Funding Agency
Government of Saudi Arabia.
Programme
PhD research
Project Title
 Antimicrobial photocatalytic coatings on sustainable construction materials
From
2024
To
2027
Summary
Development of low carbon cements made with waste with antimicrobial properties.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council and EU
Programme
DOROTHY H2020 MSCA COFUND
Project Type
Postdoctoral Fellowship

Page 1 of 9
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Fluent Medium Basic
Spanish Fluent Fluent Fluent
Z Lei, S Pavia, Innovative one-part geopolymerisation for efficient recovery of highly reactive alum sludge waste, Cement and Concrete Composites, 172, (106675), 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Y Pan, Z Lei, S Pavia, Retarding the set of one-part geopolymers for ready-mix concrete applications, CERI 2026 Civil Eng. Res. Ireland, Belfast, 2026, edited by Black, McPolin and Nanukuttan Eds , 2026, pp97 - 101, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Z Lei and S Pavia, Pozzolanic activity of aluminium processing sludge (APS) waste for the decarbonisation of cements, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 2026, Notes: [DOI : 10.1007/s10163-026-02537-z], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Lei, Z., Pavia, S., Potential of Bauxite Refining Residue (BR) as CEM II Replacement to Produce Low Carbon Cement, Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability. ICCEES 2025, Bari, 2025, edited by Berardi U., Antonio J., Simoes N. , 743, (Lecture Notes in Civ), Springer, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  URL  Other
G Kaur, JM Fernández, Í Navarro-Blasco, S Pavia, JI Álvarez, Evaluation of Cement Mortars incorporating Calcined Red Mud: Characterisation and Strength Development, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering (LNCE, volume 743), CEES 2025 Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Bari, edited by Berardi et al. , 1, Springer, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  Other
G Kaur, JM Fernández, Í Navarro-Blasco, S Pavia, JI Álvarez, Photoreactive red mud cementitious composites for environmental remediation, Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 30, (101153), 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
G Kaur, S Pavia, G Martinez-de-Tejada, JM Fernández Álvarez, I Navarro Blasco, JI Álvarez, From waste to wholesome: An innovative material with biocidal and pollutant abatement ability partly made with red mud waste, Engineers Ireland Magazine, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  URL
A. Rubio-Aguinaga, L. Kyriakou, J.M. Fernández, I. Navarro-Blasco, S. Pavia, J.I. Álvarez, Sustainability of PCM-lime mortars for heritage retrofitting: Carbon footprint and impact on energy demand across climates, Case Studies in Construction Materials, 23, (e05294), 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
G. Kaur, J. M. Fernández, I. Navarro-Blasco, S. Pavia, J I Álvarez, Red Mud Mortars: A Sustainable Solution for the Restoration of Contemporary Buildings, 7th Historic Mortars Conference (HMC 2025), Padova, 2-4 September 2025, edited by Bonetto, Ghiotto , Costruire nel mondo, (11), 2025, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  URL
G. Kaur, J. M. Fernández, I. Navarro-Blasco, S. Pavia, J I Álvarez, From Toxic Waste to Sustainable Building: Red mud Cementitious Composites for Environmental Remediation, Proceedings ICSBM 2025 : 4th International Conference on Sustainable Building Materials, Eindhoven, 2025, 4, (ISBN 978-90-386-6618), 2025, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  Other
  

Page 1 of 20
S Pavia and Z Lei, 'One part AS geopolymer', European Patent Agency, 25178522.6, 2025, 13 March 2026, Patent, GRANTED
S Pavia and Z Lei, 'Concrete Retarding System', European Patent Agency, 25226588.9, 2025, 13 March 2026, Patent, GRANTED
S Pavia and Z Lei, 'A binding composition and method for producing the binding composition.', European patent agency, 23215769.3, 2025, 16 March 2024, Patent, GRANTED
S Pavia, Z Lei, 'A method of producing a composition comprising calcium aluminate', European (EPO) Patent Application, European Application No 23181326.2, 2025, 16 March 2024, Patent, GRANTED

  


Award Date
Research excellence award Saudi cultural attache in the Republic of Ireland 2021 2022
'Best paper award' at ICNMTA 2019: XIII Int. Conf. on Civil, Structural and Construction Engineering, Barcelona, Dec. 16-17: An Evaluation of the Feasibility of Several Industrial Wastes and Natural Materials as Precursors for the Production of Alkali Activated Materials. O Alelweet and S Pavia. 2019
Award by the editors of the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing: Highly cited research award, in recognition to the contribution to the quality of the Journal made by the paper: Historic Building Information Modelling - Adding intelligence to laser and image based surveys of European classical architecture, M.Murphy, E.McGovern, S.Pavia, ISPRS, 76, 2013, 89 - 102 2016
Fellow of Trinity College 2013. For achievement in scholarship and research through publication, national and international contribution to my subject and College work for my discipline. 2013
Research Fellow, IER, Gobierno de La Rioja, Spain 1989
Irish bio-composites for building. Bursary award, Centre for Microscopy and Analysis, TCD. 2013
Best paper award at the 2nd Int. Conf. on Construction and Building Research, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. R. Walker and S. Pavia, Influence of binder on the properties of lime-hemp concrete, Valencia, 2012, edited by Universitat Politècnica de València. 2012
Most significant research awards: the China Scholarship Council (CSC) (2020), the Government of Saudi Arabia (2013 and 2019), the EU (Funding AgencyProgramme2018-1-ES01-KA201-050639) (2018) and the Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq Brazil (2015). 2013- present
Low carbon cements and geopolymers. Waste as a raw material. Waste activation. Pozzolanic, hydraulic, alkali and thermal activation of waste for sustainable binder production. Hemp concretes and earth materials. Ceramic technology: raw materials, production technologies. Insulation, thermohygric performance. Conservation of historic buildings. Building limes.