Rate My Professor Igor Chaves

Associate Professor Igor Chaves serves in the School of Engineering (Civil Engineering) at the University of Newcastle, where he holds the position of Associate Professor of civil structural materials engineering. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil, in 2007; Master of Engineering (Structural) from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2009, with research contributing design guidelines for cold-formed composite steel and concrete beams incorporated into the Brazilian Standard for Steel Design; and PhD in Civil Surveying and Environmental Engineering from the University of Newcastle in 2013, titled Development of Behaviour Models for Pitting Corrosion of Mild Steel Pipeline Welds in Marine Environment. His professional journey began in Brazil with trainee positions in civil construction, structural engineering, and academic programs from 2004 to 2006, followed by industrial research at ALUSTEEL Engineering Solutions and Consulting Ltd. At the University of Newcastle, he advanced from Casual Academic (2009-2012), Research Assistant and Associate (2012-2013), Research Academic (2014-2018), Senior Lecturer (2019-2022), to Associate Professor. He is Program Convenor for the Bachelor of Civil Engineering since 2020, course coordinator for Reinforced Concrete Design and Civil Engineering Materials, and holds roles as Deputy Director (Research) of the Centre for Innovative Energy Technologies, Theme Leader (Green Infrastructure), and Deputy Leader of the Critical Infrastructure Performance and Reliability research group.

Chaves specializes in corrosion and deterioration modelling for long-term structural service life prediction, infrastructure engineering and asset management, numerical and computational methods in structural engineering, experimental methods and material analysis, and structural stability of steel elements and composite systems. His fields of research include infrastructure engineering and asset management (40%), structural engineering (40%), and metals and alloy materials (20%). Key publications comprise the book Corrosion and Protection of Steels in Marine Environments: State-of-the-Art and Emerging Research Trends (2022, co-authored with P. Refait); chapters Service Life Estimation of Concrete Infrastructure in Eco-Efficient Repair and Rehabilitation of Concrete Infrastructures (2018 and 2024, with R.E. Melchers); and articles Estimating stability and resilience of ageing masonry walls for enhanced infrastructure management and public safety (2024, Australian Journal of Structural Engineering), and Corrosion of the interior steel surfaces of offshore monopiles (2024). He has received awards including C.T. Grimm Best Paper Award (Canadian Masonry Society, 2025), AC Kennet Best Paper Award (Australasian Corrosion Association, 2023), Australia China Young Scientist Award (2019), Early Career Research and Innovation Excellence Award (2016), and multiple University of Newcastle excellence awards in research supervision, teaching, industry engagement, and student experience. His work influences design standards, secures funding from ARC and industry, and advances sustainable infrastructure practices through international collaborations.