During Ms. Larissa Ribas’ ongoing doctoral research in collaboration with Dr. Jamilla Teixeira and her team, Ms. Ribas explored innovative solutions to enhance the thermal performance of asphalt pavements by integrating thermochromic materials, aiming to reduce heat absorption and contribute to more sustainable urban environments. The seminar will focus on the main developments achieved during her stay at UNL which includes material synthesis, laboratory characterization, and initial findings on the performance of thermochromatic coatings in asphalt applications. It will also highlight the potential of this technology in addressing urban heat islands and discuss future research directions within this collaboration.

Ms. Larissa Ribas is a PhD candidate in the Transportation and Environment Research Group (TRAMA) within the Graduate Program in Transportation Engineering (PETRAN) at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC, Brazil). She also holds an assistant professor position in the Department of Transportation Engineering and Geodesy at the Polytechnic School of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA, Brazil). She has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree in Environmental Technology and Water Resources.