Biography

Dr Emmanouil Kakouris is Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering in the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick.

He received his PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2019. His doctoral research project was on computational modelling of fracture in materials and structures. After his PhD, he continued in the University of Nottingham as a research associate for a collaborative research project with Schlumberger, to investigate the injection-induced vibrations due to hydraulic fracturing process.

He also holds a MEng in Civil Engineering (2012) and a MSc in Analysis and Design of Earthquake Resistant Structures (2014) from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, where he graduated with distinction.

Following completing his PhD, he spent 4 years in the industry as a Research & Design Engineer at Roughan & O’Donovan (ROD) Consulting Engineers, Ireland, working on European and International research projects and large scale transport infrastructure commercial projects in Ireland and the UK.

He is also a peer reviewer for a number of top ranking research journals in his field such as Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering (Elsevier), International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering (Wiley), Archives of Applied Mechanics (Springer) and Computational Methods in Structural Engineering (Frontiers).

He teaches modules in the subjects of civil engineering design. His research interests focus on computational science with an emphasis on computational mechanics and data science in engineering as well as the development of automated civil engineering systems.

Research Interests

• Computational mechanics
• Damage modelling in materials
• Multiscale modelling (computational homogenization)
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning methods
• Intelligent engineering systems
• Asset management
• Probabilistic evaluation of systems and their uncertain behaviour
• Resilience, vulnerability and risk assessment of critical infrastructure

Teaching Interests

Teaching for full time undergraduate students and Degree Apprentices.

• ES3G8 Integrated Project (Module Leader)

Selected Publications

• Connolly L., Bernardini I., Kakouris E.G., Kelly J., (2022), "Bridge and tunnel strikes by oversized vehicles", Technical note: World Road Association (PIARC).
• Triantafyllou S.P., Kakouris E.G., (2020), "A generalised phase‐field multi‐scale finite element method for brittle fracture", International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 121, pp. 1915-1945.
• Egger A., Pillai U., Agathos K., Kakouris E.G., Chatzi E.N., Aschroft I.A., Triantafyllou S.P. (2019), "Discrete and Phase Field Methods for Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics: A Comparative Study and State-of-the-Art Review", Applied Sciences, 9(12), 2436.
• Kakouris E.G., Triantafyllou S.P. (2019), "Phase-field material point method for dynamic brittle fracture with isotropic and anisotropic surface energy", Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 357, 112503.
• Kakouris E.G., Triantafyllou S.P. (2018), "Material point method for crack propagation in anisotropic media: a phase-field approach", Achieve of Applied Mechanics, 88(1-2), pp. 287-316.
• Kakouris E.G., Triantafyllou S.P. (2017), "Phase-field material point method for brittle fracture", International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 112, pp. 1750-1776.

Research Projects

• Artificial Intelligence driven multi-physics phase field fracture simulations for composites. funded by PSRC; 2024 - 2028.
• Artificial Intelligence driven multiscale material damage modelling. Funded by EPSRC; 2024 - 2028.
• Blending ultrasound data with physics-based models to predict damage in structural systems. Funded by EPSRC; 2023 - 2027.
• Infrastructure climate change risk considering interdependencies and cascading hazards (INFRALIC). Funded by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland; 2022; €70,000.
• Bridge and tunnels strikes by oversized vehicles. Funded by World Road Association (PIARC); 2021; €40,000.
• Friction After Polishing (FAP)/ Network Safety Assessment. Funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII); 2020 - 2021; €50,000.
• Advanced options for authorities in light of Automation and Digitalisation Horizon 2040 (DIRIZON). Funded by European Conference of Directors of Roads (CEDR); 2018 - 2020; €500,000.
• Safety of Transport Infrastructure on the TEN-T Network (SAFE-10-T). Funded by European Commission (EC) under Horizon 2020; 2017 - 2020; €3,000,000.
• Predictive modelling of Injection-Induced vibrations due to Fracking (I²FRAC). Funded by Hermes Fellowship, University of Nottingham; 2018; £20,000.
• Hybrid multiscale methods for nonlinear dynamic processes. Funded by University of Nottingham; 2015 - 2018; £45,000.

Prospective Collaborators

I am always looking for high quality PhD students or collaborators to work on current or new research projects. Please directly contact if interested.

Please also check the PhD scholarships for 2025-26 entry:

1. Chancellor’s International Scholarships (CIS). Details in this link.
Deadline 9th December 2024

2. China Scholarship Council (CSC). Details in this link.
Deadline 13th December 2024

3. Monash Warwick Alliance Joint PhD Scholarships. Details in this link.
Deadline 6th January 2025.

4. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, SJTU- Warwick Joint PhD Scholarships. Details in this link.
Deadline 28th November 2024.

Vacancies

For those seeking the next step in their postgraduate journey, our research group at the University of Warwick offers two doctoral projects starting in 2025. Both projects bring together a cross disciplinary team in the confluence of computational mechanics and artificial intelligence themes.

Ph.D. position 1: Artificial intelligence-assisted computational modelling of fracture
This PhD project will apply advanced computational techniques and artificial intelligence to improve understanding of material failure and fracture processes, integrating physics-based modelling with AI methodologies to tackle challenges in simulating dynamic loading conditions.

Ph.D. position 2: AI-driven decision-support analytics for structural life-cycle assessment
This PhD project, supervised by Dr. Emmanouil Kakouris and Dr. Charalampos Andriotis from the AiDAPT Lab at TU Delft, will enhance AI-driven decision-support analytics for structural life-cycle assessment, focusing on optimising sustainability, resilience, and long-term performance of civil infrastructure using advanced machine learning and probabilistic methods.

Further details can be found in this link.

The successful candidates will also benefit from great training opportunities offered at the University of Warwick.

Deadline 15^th December 2024.

Any questions, please send me an email at: Emmanouil.Kakouris@warwick.ac.uk