Natalia Pires Martins

• Alternative cements
• Ettringite-based binders
• Waste valorization in cement and concrete

Natália holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (2016) from Universidade Federal da Paraiba, Brazil, and a Master’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering (2019) from the same institution. As an undergraduate, Natália spent one exchange year at the University of Leeds, UK (2014-2015). In both institutions, she developed research activities on supplementary cementitious materials addressing microstructure and mechanical properties of slag mortars. Between 2012 and 2016, she joined tutoring programs and internships in private and public civil engineering offices in Paraiba, Brazil.

Her master’s research was conducted on the field of crystallography of hydrated cement phases. Her master’s thesis was entitled "Bond length and bond valence study of ettringite-like phases" and it investigated the currently available structural models that describe the crystal structure of ettringite and its analogues.

Between 2017 and 2019, she worked for two NGOs that promote environmental education and implement sustainable engineering solutions in vulnerable communities in Brazil. As a consultant civil engineer for IECUUS, she worked on the design, planning and construction of a sustainable education center in Fortaleza, Brazil, by implementing earth construction techniques and eco-friendly sanitation systems. As a project manager and environmental educator for the Engineers without Borders, she promoted workshops on waste management in public schools in João Pessoa, Brazil.

In February 2019, Natália joined the Chair of Sustainable Construction at ETH Zürich as a PhD student and she is one of the early stage researchers at the EU H2020 MSCA-ETN SULTAN project. Her work focuses on the development of a green cements based on sulfidic mine tailings.