Briefing

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I am an Assistant Professor and the sustainable research coordinator at Maastricht University. I also work as an independent expert and GHG evaluator for the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), European Commission.

 

My main fields of interest are sustainability assessment, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), circular economy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I did my PhD in Engineering on "Sustainable prefabricated composite housing" under the framework of MIT Portugal program (University of Porto, Massachusetts Institute of Technology-MIT) and hold a master degree in Mechanical Engineering (Chalmers University of Technology, Polytechnic University of Catalunya-UPC).

Fields of interest

• Sustainability assessment

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

• Circular Economy

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

 

Career development

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2021-Present (Full-time):

• Assistant Professor, Sustainability group, Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

• Sustainable Research Coordinator, Sustainable UM2030, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

• Board of Admissions, Master of Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

 

2022-Present (contract based): Independent Expert/GHG evaluator, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), European Commission, Brussels, Belgium

 

​2019-2021(Full-time): Postdoctoral Researcher in Sustainability with focus on "LCA of biobased materials”, Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

 

2016-2018 (Full-time): Postdoctoral Researcher in sustainability with focus on “health, comfort and energy in the built environment”, Energy group, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), Porto, Portugal

 

2012-2016 (Full-time): PhD Researcher/Project leader, Composite materials and structures group, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), Porto, Portugal

 

2011-2011 (Part-time): Research Assistant, Metal Cutting Research and Development Centre (MCR), Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

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Education

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​2011-2016: PhD in Engineering, MIT-Portugal Program “Leaders for Technological Industries” with focus on “Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing”, Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto (FEUP) in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Porto, Portugal & Cambridge, MA, United States
         - PhD thesis: Sustainable pre-fabricated composite housing

 

2008-2010: MSc in Mechanical Engineering, Program: Prodction Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

- Master thesis, Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain

 

Teaching 

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• Qualifications

University Teaching Qualification-UTQ Certificate (Basiskwalificatie Onderwijs-BKO in Dutch), Maastricht University, Netherlands

• Examiner & Supervisor

Master thesis in Biobased Materials, 48 ECTS, Biobased Materials master program, Maastricht University, Netherlands

• Course coordinator

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Basic principles and uses, Maastricht University & Chemelot InSciTe, Netherlands

York-Maastricht Partnership (YMP) LCA training, Maastricht University & University of York, Netherlands & UK

• Lecturer

Engineering in a Circular Economy, 5 ECTS, Circular Engineering bachelor program, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Sustainability and Social-Ecological Systems, 5 ECTS, Minor in Sustainability, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Basic principles and uses, Maastricht University & Chemelot InSciTe, Netherlands

York-Maastricht Partnership (YMP) LCA training, Maastricht University & University of York, Netherlands & UK

Boost training on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL), Netherlands

• Tutor

Sustainability of Biobased Materials, 6 ECTS, Biobased Materials master program, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Biobased Materials, 6 ECTS, Biobased Materials master program, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Engineering in a Circular Economy, 5 ECTS, Circular Engineering bachelor program, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Sustainability and Social-Ecological Systems, 5 ECTS, Minor in Sustainability, Maastricht University, Netherlands

 

Supervision

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2021-2022: Examiner and supervisor, Master thesis in Biobased Materials “Sustainability assessment of processing bio-based colorants for packaging applications” by Marco Serafini, Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

2020-2021: Examiner and supervisor, Master thesis in Biobased Materials “Sustainability assessment of biobased colorants in the textile value chain” by Matilde della Fontana, Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

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Memberships

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2022-Present: International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE)

2011-2016: Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), Porto, Portugal

2010-2011: Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), Gothenburg, Sweden

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Invited talks

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​2021:

• "Life Cycle Assessment, for or against greenwashing?", Lecture series on Sustainable Development Goals, Studium Generale, Maastricht University, Netherlands

• "Greenwashing: Why did you give me the wrong number?", Green office, University of Groningen, Netherlands

• "Biodiversity, biobased and biodegradability", TSL 2021 Partner Power Summit: Protecting biodiversity, Global online forum for students aged 7 upwards

2018: 

• "Sustainability and renewable energy", National Taipei University, Taiwan

 

Honors & Awards

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2021: Menno Knetsch Award for the master thesis on 'Sustainability assessment of biobased colourants in the textile value chain’ by Matilde della Fontana (Role: Examiner and supervisor), Netherlands

2011-2016: MIT-Portugal PhD Scholarship, The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal

2010: Erasmus Mundus European Exchange Scholarship as an exceptional case, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

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Courses & Workshops

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2021: 7.5 ECTS Master's course “Introduction to Sustainability Science”, Stockholm University, Sweden

2020: Five-week course “Circular Economy and the 2030 Agenda”, United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), Online

2015: Two-week workshop "Innovation”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, United States

2011: Two-week summer course "Sustainability", University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

2010: Two-week spring course "Theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ)", Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

2008: Two-week winter course "Control & Robotics", University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain

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Reviewer

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• Elsevier: 

  • Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews

  • ​Journal of Cleaner Production

  • Energy

  • Applied Energy

  • Energy and Buildings

  • Energy Policy

  • Energy Conversion and Management

  • Sustainable Production and Consumption

  • Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries

  • European Journal of Operational Research

  • Safety Science

• Springer:

  • The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment

  • Energy, Ecology and Environment

  • Waste and Biomass Valorization

• Emerald:​

  • Journal of International Education in Business​

 

Scientific committee

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2022:​

• The 5th International Conference on Sustainable Development of Water and Environment (ICSDWE2022), March 2022, Shanghai, China

2021:​

• The 6th International Conference on Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development (CEESD 2021), December 2021, Singapore

• The 7th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2021), November 2021, Xi’an, China

• International Conference on Resources, Environment and Green Economy (CREGE 2021), September 2021, Kunming, China

• European Academy of Management Conference on Reshaping Capitalism for a Sustainable World (EURAM 2021), June 2021, Montréal, Canada

• International Conference on Frontiers of Smart Materials and Structures (CFSMS 2021), January 2021, Singapore

2020:​

• The 5th International Conference on Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development (CEESD 2020), December 2020, Xishuangbanna, China

• The 3rd International Conference on New Energy and Environment Engineering (ICNEE), June 2020, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

• The 1st International Conference on Frontiers of Smart Materials and Structures (CFSMS), Athens, Greece

2019:

• The 2nd International Conference on New Energy and Environment Engineering (ICNEE), May 2019, Singapore

2018:

• The 2nd International Conference on Sustainability, Human Geography and Environment, November & December 2018, Kraków, Poland

• The 1st International Conference on New Energy and Environment Engineering (ICNEE), May 2018, Singapore

2017:

• Chairman of the Energy/Biomechanics session, IV LAETA young researchers conference, November 2017, Covilhã, Portugal

 

Computer skills

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• LCA::SimaPro

• ENERGY: EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, SketchUp, HOMER

• PHOTOVOLTAICS: PVsyst

• MATERIALS: CES Selector

• General: MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), MS Project, Visual PROMETHEE

 

Publications

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• Samani, P., García-Velásquez, C., Fleury, P., & van der Meer, Y. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on climate change and air quality: four country case studies. Global Sustainability. Download

• Samani, P., & van der Meer, Y. (2020). Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on flame retardants: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 123259. Download

• Samani, P., Gregory, J., Leal, V., Mendes, A., & Correia, N. (2018). Lifecycle cost analysis of prefabricated composite and Masonry buildings: comparative study. Journal of architectural engineering, 24(1), 05017012. Access

• Samani, P., Mendes, A., Leal, V., & Correia, N. (2017). Pre-fabricated, environmentally friendly and energy self-sufficient single-family house in Kenya. Journal of Cleaner Production, 142, 2100-2113. Access

• Samani, P., Leal, V., Mendes, A., & Correia, N. (2016). Comparison of passive cooling techniques in improving thermal comfort of occupants of a pre-fabricated building. Energy and Buildings, 120, 30-44. Access

• Samani, P., Mendes, A., Leal, V., Guedes, J. M., & Correia, N. (2015). A sustainability assessment of advanced materials for novel housing solutions. Building and Environment, 92, 182-191. Access

• Samani, P. (2016), Sustainable pre-fabricated composite housing, PhD thesis, MIT Portugal, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto. Download

• Santos, H., Samani, P., & de Oliveira Fernandes, E. (2018). Energy sufficiency in buildings, a synonym for passive and low energy architecture (PLEA). Architectural Science Review, 61(5), 292-297. Access

• Samani, P., Guedes, J. M., Mendes, A., Leal, V., & Correia, N. (2014). Assessment of sandwich-structured composite as green building material. 4th Congress of Innovation on Sustainable Construction–CINCOS, Porto, Portugal. 

• Samani, P., Santos, H., & de Oliveira Fernandes, E. (2017). Energy sufficiency, a synonym for passive and low energy architecture (PLEA), PLEA conference, Edinburgh, Scotland.

• Sousa, S., Samani, P., Gomes, C., & Correia, N. (2018). Compósitos avançados aplicados no setor da construção (in Portuguese), Construção 2018, Porto, Portugal

• Sans, J., Samani, P. (2010). Riesgo y territorio,¿una cuestión pendiente? (in Spanish and Catalan), Revista Catalana de Seguretat Pública, 1, 1-24