IHCantabria receives two awards from the Professional Association of Civil Engineers of Cantabria
The Professional Association of Civil Engineers of Cantabria values the work done by researchers at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria (IHCantabria), who have been recognized this year by obtaining two of the awards granted in the second edition of the Cantabria Civil Engineers 2026 Awards. The awards ceremony was held on Saturday, May 16 at the Cantabria Civil Engineers Gala in the Palacio de la Magdalena on the occasion of the feast of its patron saint, Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
The researcher of the Coastal Engineering and Management Group of IHCantabria ─EricaPellón de Pablo─has been awarded the Research Award for her thesis entitled “Nature-based solutions to accelerate beach recovery”. For his part, ─EduardoSantamaría Cruces─, predoctoral researcher of the Climate Risk, Adaptation and Resilience Group at IHCantabria, has received the Award for the Best Master’s Thesis entitled “Development of a methodological framework for climate risk assessment in ports using a systemic approach”.
The Research Award granted to Erica Pellón by the Cantabria Region contributes to promote the role of research developed by civil engineers in the teaching and professional field, for the benefit of the advancement of knowledge, the improvement of the practice of the profession and the progress of society. Pellón affirms that “As a civil engineer, it is a tremendous honor to receive this research award granted by my professional colleagues”.
Erica Pellón’s doctoral thesis, directed by Raúl Medina (General Director and Head of the Hydraulic and Coastal Engineering Area of IHCantabria) and Mauricio González (Head of the Coastal Engineering and Management Research Group of IHCantabria) and developed in collaboration with the researcher César Vidal (Honorary Life Professor Emeritus of the Universidad de Cantabria affiliated to IHCantabria), analyzes two innovative assisted reclamation techniques, which allow obtaining wider beaches for tourism and coastal protection against erosion and flooding, analyzes two novel techniques of assisted reclamation, which allow to obtain wider beaches for tourism and coastal protection against erosion and flooding. The techniques studied are nature-friendly and provide economical solutions to improve the resilience of our beaches. For Pellón, receiving this award means “that after so many years of effort, we have achieved one of the main objectives of the thesis: to develop new engineering methods that improve the quality of beaches and bring benefits to society”.
The Award for the Best Master’s Thesis in the academic year 2024-2025 given to Eduardo Santamaría, recognizes the quality and excellence of his FMT. Santamaría receives the award with great pride and is very grateful for the recognition of the effort invested. Santamaría adds that “above all, it is a great motivation for the future. Climate change poses serious challenges in infrastructures such as ports, and I believe that tools that help in decision-making to manage these risks will be increasingly necessary. This recognition reinforces the motivation to continue working in this direction. This award gives visibility to Santamaría as an author, since in this work he has demonstrated the multiple skills and knowledge he has acquired during his training in climate risk assessment in ports.
As a novelty, in this second edition of the Cantabria Civil Engineers 2026 Awards the categories have been modified, including a total of five categories with which we want to highlight the collegiate professionals of Cantabria and their actions in various areas: project design, execution of works, conservation, research, innovation, sustainability and solidarity, contributing directly to social improvement.
Cantabria Civil Engineers Awards ceremony on May 16 at thecerGala at the Magdalena Palace.
