Sandra Cunha has been an Assistant Researcher at the University of Minho since May
2021, where she conducts advanced research in civil engineering and sustainable construction.
She earned her PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Minho (Portugal) in
2018, with the thesis “Development and Characterization of Mortars with Incorporation
of Phase Change Materials.”
Since 2010, her research has focused on construction materials, sustainable construction,
thermal comfort, building energy efficiency, circular economy, and the reuse of industrial
waste. Her work is particularly recognized for its emphasis on incorporating Phase
Change Materials (PCMs) into concrete and mortars to enhance performance and sustainability.
Sandra Cunha has an extensive and impactful scientific output, with more than 150
publications, including: 1 granted patent, 3 academic theses, 1 book, 6 book chapters,
77 peer-reviewed journal articles, 36 conference papers, 10 conference abstracts,
6 edited books, 11 edited journal issues, and 3 teaching notes. Her work is indexed
in leading scientific databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, where she holds
an h-index of 19 and 20, respectively.
In addition to her research contributions, she has supervised 17 completed master’s
dissertations and 6 international internship, and is currently supervising 10 master’s
and 5 PhD students, reflecting a strong commitment to mentoring the next generation
of researchers.
She is the Principal Investigator of the REBORN project, a research focused on advancing
sustainable construction solutions through the development and reuse of innovative
materials, contributing to circular economy strategies and improved environmental
performance in the built environment.
She has also served as co-editor for a special issue of Key Engineering Materials
and as guest editor for Sustainability. She is a research member of the Sustainable
Polymer-Cement Composites Project and a frequent invited speaker at international
seminars and conferences.
Furthermore, she is an editor of the journal Engenharia Civil UM and serves on the
scientific committees of several journals and conferences. She is actively involved
in the peer-review process for high-impact scientific journals, contributing to the
advancement and integrity of research in her field.