Danai Kalama

Danai Kalama is a PhD fellow at the Sustainable Pavement and Asphalt Research (SuPAR) group of the University of Antwerp, funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). With a strong background in civil and pavement engineering, she is now specializing in bitumen rheology and chemomechanics with a focus on bio-modified binders. During her master’s thesis at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Danai familiarized with the rheo-mechanical performance of algae-modified bitumen. This enabled a smooth transition to her current role, where she explores the synergy of lignin and waste cooking oil with bitumen via a novel chemo-rheological perspective.

 

Danai has presented her work at the International Workshop on the Use of Biomaterials (2024) and AIS 2022 & 2023, while her contributions to research projects have been presented at ICONFBMP 2024. She is also an essential member of the organizing committee of EATA 2027 and an active member of young scientific groups, such as YAC and YMC, as well as international research communities, such as RILEM TC APD-323.

At the Asphalt Symposium she will present her research insights on the chemical characterization of lignin and waste cooking oil employing, among others, GC-MS, as well as the interlinkage, via multivariate statistics, with the bio-modified binders’ response realized by DSR. Her research results contribute to a deeper understanding of innovative, greener asphalt materials and constitute the basis for eco-friendly industrial applications. 

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