Visiting Scholars

Sergio Luis Gonzalez Assias is currently completing a Ph.D. degree in metallurgical and materials engineering at COPPE/Universidad Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He earned his master’s degree in metallurgical and Material Engineering in 2021 at COPPE/UFRJ, and his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 2018 at Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS). He spent a semester as an international exchange student at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in 2017. Sergio’s research focuses on the characterization of the mechanical behavior of metals, including experimental characterization of fracture toughness, fatigue, and structural integrity. His research aims to develop criteria to assess the fracture toughness of ferritic steels with splits at the upper shelf of the ductile-brittle transition. Currently, he is also involved in research projects in partnership with Oil & Gas companies focused on the fabrication of load-bearing components by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing.

Claudio Ruggieri is a Professor of Structural Engineering and Fracture Mechanics at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil and principal investigator of the Fracture Mechanics and Structural Integrity Research Group (NAMEF) at USP. He received his Ph.D. from Osaka University in 1994 and was a research assistant and visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from 1994-1997. He was a visiting researcher at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) from 2014 to 2015 and at the University of Manchester (UK) supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2018. He is currently a visiting researcher at the Dept. of Ocean Engineering, at Texas A&M University. Prof. Ruggieri has published extensively in the areas of fracture mechanics and structural integrity contributing more than 75 papers in strongly refereed journals and more than 180 articles in national and international conferences. He has also received some research awards, most notably from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and is currently a Research Fellow with the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq 1A). Prof. Ruggieri is a member of various committees and editorial boards, including Committee E08 (Fracture and Fatigue) of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Editorial Advisory Board for Engineering Fracture Mechanics, the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) and the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences (ABCM).

Diego Sarzosa Burgos got a position as a professor at the Naval and Ocean Engineering Department, University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. Prof Diego Sarzosa has published extensively in the areas of fracture mechanics, fatigue, and structural integrity of pipelines contributing with more than 50 publications between papers in strongly refereed journals and articles in national and international conferences. Prof. Diego Sarzosa’s research focuses on numerical modeling and experimental characterization of fracture and fatigue failure models for metallic and nonmetallic materials. His efforts in these fields are translated directly into more reliable and fail-safe operations of high-performance structures such as welded steel structures, pressure vessels, pipelines, and offshore structures.