A/ProfKirk Vessalas

A/Prof. Kirk Vessalas is Acting Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UTS and a globally recognised authority in decarbonisation of infrastructure materials and circular construction systems. His research advances novel low-carbon concrete formulations, mineral carbonation, geopolymer and calcined clay binders and performance-based durability - moving the construction sector toward net-zero infrastructure.

He has published 150+ scholarly works, with 2,200+ citations to date. His influential contributions span concrete durability, supplementary cementitious materials and cement chemistry.  He has attracted > $6 million AUD in competitive and industry funding, partnering with ARC, SmartCrete CRC, Transport for NSW and the Australia-Austria Industrial Decarbonisation Demonstration Program.

His work has informed and shaped technical standards in Australia and New Zealand, including contributions to QA 3211 (Transport for NSW), Standards Australia AS 3582.4:2022, Concrete New Zealand TR3 and committees within Standards Australia. Through translational, industry-embedded research and inclusive leadership, Kirk is accelerating Australia’s transition to resilient, low-carbon infrastructure solutions aligned with the UN SDGs 9, 11 and 13.