Barbara Rossi | New College

Barbara joined New College in March 2019 as a Tutor in Engineering Science (Structures & Mechanics). She is an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford and at KU Leuven. She is a renowned expert in sustainable engineering, bridging academia and industry to drive low-carbon innovation in the construction sector. Over the past two decades, she has made significant contributions to the field of sustainable structures, whole-life carbon assessment, and the resilience of materials in extreme environments. Her research has led to the publication of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, including field-defining work on the resilience of metallic structures, additive manufacturing, hot-dip galvanisation, whole-life carbon assessments, and hybrid construction systems.

Barbara is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and was awarded their prestigious Bev Waugh Medal for Productivity and Culture. In 2022, she was recognised as a Carbon Champion by the Institution, acknowledging her exceptional work leading to dramatic embodied carbon reduction in the new Gradel Quadrangles at New College.

In Oxford, she leads the Sustainable Structures Group, as well as the related laboratory, where her team focuses on full-scale testing, finite element analysis, AI-driven equation discovery, and lifecycle assessment. The group’s research has contributed to revisions of Eurocode 3, for steel and stainless steel structures - particularly those exposed to strength enhancement, lateral-torsional buckling, fatigue, and corrosive environments. Barbara also worked closely with EGGA to develop new provisions for hot-dip galvanised structures, providing much-needed technical clarity to engineers designing for durability and sustainability.

Her work currently receives funding from EU Horizon2020 Cluster 5, UKRI-EPSRC, ICE and directly from companies (Aperam, ArcelorMittal, Whittaker Engineering, DBMVircon etc). Current DPhil students’ research topics relate to additively manufactured carbon and stainless steel structures, corrosion behaviour and resistance in harsh environments, structural optimization, structures in demanding environment, AI-driven design optimisation, and environmental impacts.

In 2024, Barbara co-founded Oxford Sustainability Ltd, where she is currently the Chief Scientific Officer. The company aims at reducing the environmental impact of the construction sector by partnering with asset owners, project managers, as well as with engineering and construction companies, to develop good practices, offering high-level strategic peer reviews and proposing carbon mitigation strategies during the earliest stages of building projects.

Her leadership embeds sustainability as a primary design driver, fostering leaner, more innovative, and nature-positive solutions.

Far beyond her academical achievements, Professor Rossi is fully committed to shaping a people-centred, future-ready construction sector. She places strong emphasis on mentorship, equity, and knowledge transfer, and aspires to foster the next generation of engineering leaders by supporting a research culture that combines excellence, purpose, and integrity.

Barbara’s influence lies not only in what she has discovered, but in how she mobilises knowledge to shape the world we build. Through her integrated approach grounded in performance and powered by innovation she is redefining what it means to design for sustainability in the 21st century.

Teaching

Barbara teaches Structures & Mechanics and contributes to the lecture courses and practical classes in Civil Engineering in the Department of Engineering Science.

Research Interests

The strategic research topics that Barbara pursues with the Sustainable Structures Group are :

Resilient and sustainable use of advanced metal alloys in critical infrastructure
Lifecycle-driven structural design and whole-life carbon assessment
Hybridity and additive manufacturing for next-generation structural capabilities
Ai-augmented design and equation discovery for performance prediction in complex structural systems
Structures in extreme and corrosive environments
Structural optimization under performance and sustainability constraints
Standardisation, code evolution, and industry impact particularly for the performance of galvanised and stainless steel components under fatigue, buckling, and corrosive effects.
Policy-informed engineering for climate-positive infrastructure aligning research with national and international sustainability agendas (e.g., pas 2080, net zero by 2050),
Transformative leadership and knowledge transfer in construction championing inclusive, equitable, and mission-driven innovations.