Eva Romano, researcher of IHCantabria, awarded with one of the II Smart Ports Chair Awards in the category of Best Doctoral Thesis

Eva Romano Moreno, researcher at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of Cantabria (IHCantabria), has been recognized with the prestigious award for Best Doctoral Thesis, in the “II Smart Ports Chair Awards”, granted by the Universitat Jaume I and the Port Authority of Castellón.

Her research proposes an innovative methodology that optimizes the vessel’s operability at the berthing line, through a multi-process and multivariable approach. It addresses the interaction between berthed vessels and the meteo-oceanographic conditions of the port, a key factor in the efficiency of port operations. This work presents a comprehensive model that allows to accurately characterize the physical processes involved in the response of berthed vessels, from wave propagation to the variability of port agitation and its impact on operational stability. Thanks to this new methodology, smart ports will be able to improve their predictive management capabilities, reducing operational downtime and increasing safety and logistic efficiency, in the evolution towards more resilient and sustainable ports.

Eva Romano’s doctoral thesis, entitled “Multi-process characterization of port operability“, was directed by the professors of the University of Cantabria, Gabriel Díaz Hernández and Javier López Lara, within the doctoral program in “Coastal Engineering, Hydrobiology and Management of Aquatic Systems” of the University of Cantabria (IH2O Programme). The results of Romano’s doctoral research were published in several scientific journals, such as Coastal Engineering.

II Smart Ports Chair Awards

The Smart Ports Chair aims to promote research and innovation in the port sector, promoting digital transformation and efficiency in maritime processes and services. This Chair develops research, training and dissemination activities. This third area includes the call for the Smart Ports Chair Awards, which is given to the best doctoral thesis and the best master’s and bachelor’s degree final projects that address issues related to the modernization and digitization of ports and that have been approved in Spanish universities before December 31, 2023.

In the category of the Best Doctoral Thesis Award, the contribution of doctoral theses related to intelligent ports, in any of its aspects, is recognized. As the winner of this award, Eva Romano will receive €3,000.

Among the reasons for participating in the call for the II Smart Ports Chair Awards, the following stand out: the boost to the career of new researchers in a strategic sector; the achievement of recognition and visibility in the port industry; the contribution to the transformation of ports; the promotion of research capabilities; the development of a network of valuable contacts; the recognition and prestige, also at an economic level; the improvement in the curriculum and the professional profile of the researchers who are awarded.

Biography of researcher Eva Romano

Eva Romano Moreno is a Civil Engineer, by the University of the Basque Country (2015) and Master in Coastal and Port Engineering, by the University of Cantabria (2016). After a stage in the consulting sector, in 2018 she joined IHCantabria, where she carried out her PhD at the University of Cantabria (2018-2023). Currently, she is part of the Ports and Coastal Infrastructures Group at IHCantabria, where she currently develops his research and participates in advanced port climate characterization projects and studies the operational response of moored vessels.

Her lines of research include the characterization of the maritime port climate, the analysis of the response and operability of moored vessels and the development of operational systems to support port operations.

The Smart Ports Chair: driving digital transformation in ports

Created in 2023 by the Universitat Jaume I and the Port Authority of Castellón, the Smart Ports Chair is a pioneering initiative that seeks to consolidate a link between public and private entities in order to promote research and innovation in the field of smart ports. These ports use technology to improve the efficiency of their operations and adapt to the needs of the modern maritime sector.

The chair, directed by Professor Francisco Toledo Lobo, has the support of Puertos del Estado and various organizations in the sector, in line with the digitalization strategy of the port administration promoted by the European Union and the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation.

The Smart Ports Chair Awards are part of the dissemination activities of this initiative and seek to promote the careers of new researchers in a strategic sector, as well as offering recognition and visibility to their work.

For more information on the Smart Ports Chair, please visit its website: https://www.catedrasmartports.uji.es/.