Ana Carolina Constâncio Trindade

Holds a Civil Engineering degree from the Catholic University of Petrópolis (2013), a Masters (2017), and a Ph.D. (2021) in Civil Engineering from PUC-Rio. Her doctoral research focused on the thermal, mechanical, and long-term behavior of geopolymer composites reinforced with natural and polymeric fibers.She completed a research internship (sandwich Ph.D.) at TU Dresden, Germany (20182019), in Professor Viktor Mechtcherine's group through a CAPES/DAAD partnership, investigating advanced cementitious composites (SHCC). In 2018, she also worked as a visiting researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), under Professor Waltraud Kriven, studying the use of viscosity modifiers in basalt fiber-reinforced geopolymers.Following her Ph.D., she carried out a postdoctoral fellowship at UIUC (20212023), funded by a U.S. Army contract, researching fiber-reinforced geopolymer composites and evaluating their performance under various mechanical demands for large-scale applications. During this time, she supervised undergraduate, master's, and Ph.D. student research projects and was a guest lecturer in Professor Kriven's Ceramic Processing course, teaching advanced concepts in geopolymer technology.Currently, she is a Professor in Materials Science and Engineering (ENCIMAT) at FZEA-USP and a FAPESP Young Investigator. She leads a research group focused on the production of low-carbon alkali-activated materials, using agro-industrial residues, waste management processes, and decarbonization strategies to develop sustainable materials.She teaches the courses ZEM 5012, ZEM 5020, and ZEM 5025. She is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Ceramic Engineering and Science and serves on the Early Career Board of Construction and Building Materials.She is a member of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) since 2021, participating in the Young Professionals Network (YPN), the Brazilian Young Ceramists Network, and the ACerS International Brazil Chapter. Additionally, she is a young member of RILEM, contributing to committees 309-MCP (Accelerated Mineral Carbonation), CUC (CO#8322; Uptake in Concrete), and MBB (Mechanical Behavior of Bio-Aggregate-Based Materials). (Source: Lattes Curriculum)