The Evaluation Committee for the ECCOMAS awards for the best PhD theses in 2025 conducted its activities online. In response to the call for tenders, the ECCOMAS member associations nominated 17 theses. The Evaluation Committee was composed of Manolis Papadrakakis (chairman), Péter Berke (secretary), and David Pardo, Roberto Verzicco, Tadeusz Burczyński, and Vissarion Papadopoulos (members).
After informing the Committee members about the assessment procedure, all candidate theses were evaluated by the Committee members, taking into account various relevant aspects. The assessment grids of the Committee members were totaled, and a shortlist of the four best-ranked theses was again evaluated by the chairman and the secretary. Two theses ranked above the others, and the committee has therefore unanimously agreed to select them as the two winners.
The two winners are:
Dr. Mattia Corti (SIMAI, Italy) for the thesis “Mathematical Models and Numerical Methods for Neurodegenerative Diseases”,
Dr. Jana Wedel (GACM, Germany) for the thesis “Dancing with the Flow: Numerical Modelling of Non-Ideal Micro-Particles in Fluids”.
These theses are outstanding works in Computational Methods in Applied Sciences, combining excellent knowledge of both theory and practice, with special insight into the fundamental and computational aspects.
The two works advance the frontiers of ECCOMAS and open our community to new problems and methodologies. The award decision was based on the relevance of the topics, the originality of the theses, their scientific content, the innovative numerical developments, and the personal involvement of the candidates. Both theses are very well written, well-illustrated, and are accompanied by a significant scientific production.
The first thesis focuses on the mathematical modelling and numerical simulation of neurodegenerative diseases. It develops and analyses high-order discontinuous Galerkin methods on polygonal/polyhedral grids, proving stability estimates and a priori convergence results for several models, including brain poromechanics. Additional contributions include an innovative mesh agglomeration technique based on geometric machine learning and addressing patient-specific parameter calibration through inverse Uncertainty Quantification methods coupled with reduced-order solvers.
The second thesis gives an original contribution to the modelling and simulation of dispersed particle flows. It advances the paradigm of rigid, homogeneous, spherical particles to inhomogeneous, superellipsoidal, colliding, and deformable (soft) particles, extending the point-particle framework to soft particles via a pseudo rigid-body approach based on affine deformations.
All nominees will be recognized by a special diploma that will be sent directly to the candidates. On behalf of ECCOMAS we would like to thank the Members of the Evaluation Committee for their cooperative efforts in this selection procedure.
| Association | Candidate | Title of the thesis |
|---|---|---|
| AIMETA-GIMC | Luigi Greco | Isogeometric methods for the study of fracture mechanics via phase-field modeling |
| APMTAC | Rui Pedro Cardoso Coelho | Composite Bayesian Optimisation for Data-Driven Design and Analysis of Polycrystalline Materials |
| CEACM | Suljo Ljukovac | Formulation and finite element solution of control problem of wind-turbines with flexible blades accounting for inelastic dissipation |
| CSMA | Victor Matray | Physics in neurons: enriching data models with physics |
| ERCOFTAC | Thomas Monahan | Spatiotemporal Tidal Prediction and Analysis through Physics Informed ML |
| GACM | Jana Wedel | Dancing with the flow: Numerical modelling of non-ideal micro-particles in fluids |
| GAMM | Simon Boisserée | Space-time Adaptive Methods for Poroviscoelastic Flow Models |
| GRACM | Georgios Florakis | Negative Stiffness Vibration Control Systems for Seismic Protection: Mechanical Design and Optimization |
| NMC | Timo Plath | Virtual Prototyping of Wet Granulation Processes: Design and optimisation via multiscale modelling and rapid prototyping |
| NOACM | Gunnar Granlund | Design optimization of structures with path-dependent and non-linear material behavior |
| PACM | Saketh Virupakshi | Micromechanical modeling of voided FCC and HCP polycrystals in inelastic regime |
| SEMA | Kanika Rajain | S5-Axis Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Flank Milling of Free-Form Surfaces Using Straight and Custom Shared Tools |
| SEMNI | Adrián Corrochano | Innovative Data-Driven Methods for Clustering and Flow Control in Reacting Flows |
| SIMAI | Mattia Corti | Mathematical Models and Numerical Methods for Neurodegenerative Diseases |
| SMAI-GAMNI | Noé Blassel | Analysis and sampling of metastable and nonequilibrium stochastic dynamics |
| SWICCOMAS | Shashank Saxena | A Finite Temperature Atomistic Framework for Mass Transport in Metallic Alloys |
| UKACM | Ted O’Hara | Localisation in computational geomechanics: a nonlinear micropolar approach |
