The SUBLIME project is proud to celebrate the achievement of PhD researcher Elena Zancato, who received the Best Innovative Research award at the M2i/MaterialenNL Conference 2024. This two-day event, held at the National Sports Centre Papendal in Arnhem, brought together researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to explore advancements in materials innovation.
The first day was dedicated to fostering community engagement within the materials science field through presentations, posters and pitch sessions. Elena’s award-winning research stood out during these sessions, earning top recognition in the poster evaluation and pitching event. The second day of the conference opened its doors to a broader audience, offering technical presentations and discussions to share innovations and insights with the wider public.
Elena’s research addresses the pressing issue of aging steel bridges, many of which are nearing the end of their designed service life. Her work focuses on developing a probabilistic framework for fatigue assessment by integrating Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) with predictive models. Utilizing Bayesian inference and fracture mechanics, her approach updates predictions of a bridge’s structural reliability based on data gathered form the structure. This method enhances life-span predictions, reduces uncertainty, and ensures safer, more sustainable infrastructure management.
Through collaborations with industrial partners, Elena’s research optimizes the placement and type of sensors, balancing cost and accuracy while providing actionable insights for large-scale infrastructure applications. The tools and methodologies she develops aim to extend the service life of critical infrastructures, reduce material wastage, and support circular economy goals.
This year M2i Conference presented awards in three categories: Best Applicable Research, Best Innovative Research, and Best Public Relations. Elena’s recognition in the Best Innovative Research category underscores the significance of her contributions to sustainable engineering.
The SUBLIME team congratulates Elena on this well-deserved award and looks forward to the continued impact of her work on advancing sustainable and reliable infrastructure solutions.
Smarter Cameras from Fewer Views — A Sparse-View Pose Estimation
How do you recreate a 3D scene using just a few pictures from different angles? That’s a challenge many fields face — from drone-based inspections to 3D mapping for remote sensing or structural health monitoring. Qingyu Xian, PhD researcher at the University of Twente, is tackling this challenge head-on in the SUBLIME project with a novel tool that’s already showing strong results: the T-Graph module.
Smarter Testing for Steel Bridges: How Few Tests Can Tell Us More
Many steel bridges across Europe are reaching the end of their intended service lives, raising critical questions about how to assess and extend their safe use. Within the SUBLIME program (“Sustainable and Reliable Macro Steel Infrastructures”), our mission is to ensure that these critical structures remain safe, sustainable, and serviceable for decades to come. One of the program’s key objectives is developing smarter assessment tools that help us better understand the condition of ageing steel — particularly when data is limited. That’s where the work of Elena Zancato, PhD researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), comes into focus.
Researchers Get-Together-Day at DDC
On 9 October 2025, researchers from the SUBLIME project came together to explore how digital twins and drones can make our steel infrastructures more sustainable and reliable. The Get Together Day featured visits to the Dutch Drone Company (DDC) and the RDM innovation campus in Rotterdam — connecting research with real-world innovation and strengthening collaboration within the SUBLIME community.