Meet the team
Meet the University of Salford team involved in the Reconmatic project
Dr Juan A. Ferriz-Papi is a Spanish building engineer, academic, and construction professional with experience across practice, consultancy, and university teaching in Spain and the UK.
He holds a PhD from the University of Alicante, and his professional career includes construction management and quality supervision, with involvement in the delivery of more than 1,000 new apartments and homes, as well as building condition surveys and other renovation works.
His expertise in sustainable construction and materials, whole life carbon and circular economy has brought him to participate and coordinate national and European research projects, as well as representation in industry associations and contribution to the development of sectorial, UK-national guidance and strategies on construction circular economy, life cycle assessment and digital transformation. Dr Ferriz-Papi is currently a lecturer and researcher at the University of Salford, and director of a new start-up.
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Professor Jason Underwood is an academic and industry professional with a background in civil/structural engineering, BIM and digital built environments, and psychology.
He has over 30 year's research and industry engagement experience leading in the areas of product and Building Information Modelling, digital built environments and transformation, collaborative working and behaviours, digital twins/twinning, engineering better social outcomes, education and upskilling in the development of BIM/digital capabilities.
Jason continues to be actively engaged in the digital transformation of the UK construction and wider built environment industry through affiliations at international, national, and regional levels.
Professor Jason Underwood is currently a Professor at the University of Salford and a member of CInstCES, BPS, and MAC.
Dr Theo Theodoridis is an Associate Professor in Robotics and Intelligent Systems, and the former Head of the Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering group.
He received the BEng degree in Automation Engineering from the University of West Attica, Greece, the MSc degree in Embedded Systems and Robotics, and the PhD degree in Intelligent Crime-Recognition Surveillance Robots from the University of Essex, UK. He worked as a postdoctoral senior research officer (EPSRC grant) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), focusing on multimodal human-robot interfaces and visual guidance, as well as pattern recognition control methods.
TT is a member of the Autonomous Vehicles and Advanced Robotics (ASAR) research group, former leader of the Intelligent Mobility area at North England Robotics Innovation Centre (NERIC).
His research has been funded by Innovate UK, Horizon Europe, and and the Reginal Growth Fund (RGF) with a total grant income of over £2.1M. TT has excellent development experience collaborating with the industry, and a significant research contribution of various publications and research outputs in Robotics and AI.
Angel Jimenez-Aranda is an Associate Professor of Digital Transformation at the University of Salford and a member of the Centre for Sustainable Innovation at Salford Business School.
With expertise in digital transformation, he has a strong track record of integrating emerging technologies to drive innovation and efficiency across industries. His experience spans health, manufacturing, and enterprise environments, where he has successfully navigated the complexities of digital adoption. Angel is passionate about helping organisations harness digital technologies to unlock growth opportunities, accelerate innovation, and gain a competitive edge. His work bridges the gap between research and real-world application, ensuring businesses can fully capitalise on digital transformation.
Vahid holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering and is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Salford. He works on designing and developing a digital information management system for construction and demolition waste management in RECONMATIC project.
His research focuses on Supply Chain Management, System Optimization, and the integration of Smart Technologies to improve operational efficiency and sustainability.
Vahid has extensive theoretical and practical experience in sustainable supply chain modelling. Additionally, he has more than four years of experience in IT companies where he applied technical skills to create optimized systems tailored to business needs.
His work bridges the gap between theoretical research and practical application, driving forward innovative solutions for complex industrial challenges.
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Dr Ali Saad is a construction management academic and researcher with industry experience in civil engineering and project management across the UK and the Middle East. He holds a PhD from the University of Salford, specialising in Digital Information Management Systems to support Construction and Demolition Waste Management and the Circular Economy.
His professional background includes construction supervision, information management, budgeting, risk management, and stakeholder coordination, which informs his research and teaching. His work focuses on sustainable construction, material flow analysis, and the integration of digital technologies to improve decision-making in the built environment.
Dr Saad has contributed to the RECONMATIC project and is currently a Lecturer in Construction Management, having taught at institutions including Coventry University.
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