Liedi Bernucci

Biography

She holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (1981), a master's degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of São Paulo (1987), having done research for her master degree at the Institut fuer Grundbau und Bodenmechanik - Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETHZ, Switzerland, where she remained from 1984 to 1986. She returned to the same Swiss institution for her exchange doctor programme with a scholarship from FAPESP (1988-1989) and obtained her doctor degree in Transportation Engineering at the University of São Paulo (1995). In 2006 became Full Professor at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. She started as a faculty member of the Engineering School in 1986. She has been the Head of the Laboratory of Pavement Technology since 1995 until 2021. She has been the first woman who occupied the position of the Head of the Department of Transportation Engineering at the Polytechnic School of USP for 7 years in total, position that she held until March 2014. She was the first woman elected vice-dean (Vice-director) of the Polytechnic School of USP in 2014 and she was the first woman elected dean (director) of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, in 2018, after 124 years since its foundation. She was the dean of Polytechnic School from 2018 to 2021. The University of São Paulo is considered the best university of Brazil and the best university in Latin America. She was the CEO of the Institute of Technological Research of the State of Sao Paulo from 2022-2024. Her research areas of transportation infrastructure engineering are: Urban Roads, Highways, Airports and Railways. She supervised several undergraduate, more than 50 master's and doctoral students; as well as post-doctors. She is the first author of the book Asphalt Pavements: Basic Learning for Engineers, with Laura M.G. Motta, Jorge A P Ceratti and Jorge B. Soares as co-authors. 20,000 books were distributed free to Brazilian Engineering Schools libraries, faculty members, engineers and students. More than 100,000 downloads of her book have been already recorded. She published more than 200 works; she was editor of Transportes, the Brazilian journal of transportation engineering, from 1999 to 2003. She participates and coordinates research projects financed by funding agencies and public and private companies; she was coordinator of the Asphalt Commission of the IBP-Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuel in 2007. She is the director in Brazil of the Abertis Foundation Chair, Spanish Foundation for Transportation Management and the director of Vale's Underrail Chair for the area of railroad infrastructure. She participates in several engineering associations and national standardization work groups and international studies. She was member of the Superior Council of FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) (2018-2024), was member of the Board of Directors of IPT (Institute of Technological Research of the State of São Paulo), she was a member of the Board of FUVEST (University Foundation for Vestibular) from 2019 to 2023, was member of the Administration Council of ANPEI (Research and Development National Association of Innovative Industries) from 2022 to 2024; was member of Deliberative Council of SEBRAE - Brazilian Foundation for Micro and Small Companies) from 2022-2024. She is member of the Board of CIETEC - Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology of USP/IPEN, Member of the board of Liceu de Artes e Oficios, Member of The National Engineering Academy (ANE) since 2021. Member of the Unidade de Acompanhamento (Council) of LNEC - National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Portugal since 2024.