Ildiko Merta Editor

Ildiko Merta is a Professor of Civil Engineering and Senior Researcher at TU Wien (Austria), holds a Venia Docendi in Civil Engineering at the University of Maribor (Slovenia), and serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of Novi Sad (Serbia) and at other universities worldwide. Her research focuses on innovative, high-performance building materials with enhanced environmental sustainability. She was a Hertha Firnberg Fellow of the Austrian Science Fund for Outstanding Female Scientists and has received multiple awards, including the Excellent Female Scientist Award (2013), the Sustainability Award (2016), the Energy Globe Award (2019), the i²c START Academy Award (2020), and the Cluster Award (2024). She has led and participated in over 40 international and national research projects. She is a prolific author, keynote speaker, and reviewer for more than 30 high-impact journals and science foundations. Md Zia Ul Haq is an accomplished researcher and academician specializing in sustainable construction materials and geopolymer technology. He received his PhD from Panjab University (India) and is currently a researcher at United Arab Emirates University. He has also held positions at institutions like Chandigarh University (India) and IIT Indore (India), contributing significantly to academia and industry with work that integrates advanced material characterization and AI-based optimization.