Dr Asal Pournaghshband

I was born in Iran. I hold a BSc in Civil Engineering (Sharif University of Technology, 2007), and MSc in Civil Engineering (Amirkabir University of Technology, 2011). I worked as an assistant structural civil engineer from 2007 to 2008 at Gomez Ltd in Tehran, Iran and at Lar Ltd from 2008 to 2012 as a structural engineer in Tehran, Iran. I obtained my PhD degree in 2016 from the University of Warwick in the UK by defending a thesis on form-finding of arch structures. During the course of my PhD period, I rigorously analysed and compared the structural performance of the different arch forms under static loads. I showed the importance of structure forms on its behaviour and developed an innovative analytical method to find the geometry of optimal two-pin arch shapes. I worked as a part-time civil engineer from 2015 to 2017 at Nordex Ltd in Manchester UK. I joined as research associate at the Dept. of Civil Engineering of Brunel University in 2017 in the UK and I worked there as an adjunct lecturer for indeterminate structural analysis. The focus of my research as a research associate at Brunel University was investigating the structural behaviour of stainless-steel structures at elevated temperature. I was awarded the Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (FHEA) since June 2019. I am a graduate member of ICE and awarded my CEng and titled Chartered engineer by ICE in August 2021. I joined University of West London as a visiting lecturer in Civil Engineering in 2019 and became a senior lecturer in Civil Engineering at University of Hertfordshire in 2023.

The sustainable and resilient civil infrastructure services and/or materials is the main research area I am pursuing. I am particularly interested in sustainable materials and innovative methods of construction that contributes to the Net Zero target. 

• Numerical investigation of sustainable structural components/materials
• Numerical investigation of the ductile fracture of structural stainless steel at elevated temperatures
• Minimising the environmental impact of structural materials by reducing the amount of cementitious material needed, thereby lowering carbon emissions. (to deliver significant environmental and economic benefits to the construction sector and enable this industry to achieve its net-zero target.)
• Reliability and stability analysis, and design of innovative hybrid structural components (e.g. CLT-steel, steel-concrete, CLT-concrete)
• Comparative analysis of carbon emission of concrete using different percentages of additives
• Application of AI perspectives for CO2 emissions reduction in construction

• CAD in Civil Engineering
• Further Math for Construction
• Math for Construction
• Advanced Structural Design
• Principle of Structures
• Science and material
• Construction technology
• Personal and Professional Development
• Alternative Methods for Construction