Building Engineering – (Ph.D.)

Contents

The formative programme generally develops in the following way:

* The first year is dedicated to the formulation of the research problem, to the development of the first mastery in the field, to covering possible formative debts and to the attendance of basic and specialized courses.
* The second year is dedicated to the mastery of the research problem through the extension of the knowledge concerning the objectives of the thesis.
* The third year constitutes the most intense period of autonomous and original elaboration of the thesis and its argument.

In the development of the thesis, the relations with other researchers and the periods of study and internship at Italian and foreign research centres (stages) are fundamental. Such experiences are highly appreciated and favoured by the doctorate.

The thesis is carried out with the support of an assistant and its whole course is monitored by the teaching staff through semi-annual disputations.

At the end of the doctorate the staff admits (or not) the doctoral candidate to the final disputation, on the basis of the thesis’s scientific validity and originality.

The doctorate activities are strengthened by the systematic and operative contact with:

* the most advanced manufacturers of the sector;
* research centres and particularly ITC/CNR in Italy, CSTB in France, CIB (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction) at an international level, the doctorate is member of the CIB Students Chapter;
* the Italian (UNI) and International (ISO, CEN, EOTA, IAI) Headquarters of normative elaboration;
* the public administrations system;
* the industrial and professional associations that operate in the sector.

In the last years internships and study periods have been made possible at these institutions:

* University of Gävle (HIG), Sweden
* BRE Building Research Establishment – London
* CSTB Centre Scientifique et Technique du Batiment - Paris
* Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - California -USA
* Aalborg Universitet - Denmark
* Fraunhofer Institute für Solar Energy Systems ISE - München
* Werner Sobek Engineering and Design - New York

Main topics

The topics, that have prevalently been developed through multidisciplinary support, draw from the following research areas:

1. Technological and planning innovation in the construction sector, both for the section of new building and of refurbishment, is orientated at facing urgent problems, particularly those deriving from the environmental sustainability and energy strategies:

* through the analysis and study of high efficiency building components;
* through the analysis and study of building systems that mainly use renewable energy sources;
* through the analysis and study of the reactivity of the systems and components towards deterioration agents and mechanisms, with the goal to optimize their life cycle.

2. The innovation of the productive and managerial processes of the industry, the companies and the public administrations involved in the building sector, for new buildings as well as for the management and refurbishment of existing buildings:

* through the study of the operative, procedural, managing methods and tools
for the optimization, qualification and validation of such processes, as for example project and construction management, project financing, value engineering, interoperability.

Faculty

PolitecnicodiMilano is one of the top European Universities in Engineering, Architecture, and Design. In 1963 a Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Giulio Natta, professor at the PolitecnicodiMilano.

At the PhD School of the PolitecnicodiMilano, 25 high-quality programmes in engineering, architecture, and design offer the possibility of studying and performing research in qualified laboratories and research groups.