About Epsimon Ltd
Epsimon Ltd was founded in 2016 by researchers from the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at the University of Cambridge to provide specialist consultancy services related to instrumentation and monitoring applications for civil infrastructure. Epsimon is an industry partner of CSIC with which it closely collaborates to constantly develop and apply cutting edge sensing technology for civil infrastructure monitoring.
DIRECTORS
Dr Nicky de Battista
.A&CE
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Nicky de Battista is an architect and civil engineer with several years of experience in structural design and construction. He has an MSc in structural engineering and a PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK.
In 2009, Nicky specialised in structural health monitoring and since then he has been involved in a diverse range of infrastructure monitoring projects in several countries, both in his capacity as a researcher as well as a specialist consultant.
Between 2014 and 2023 Nicky worked as a Research Associate at the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at the University of Cambridge, where he carried out applied research in state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, with particular emphasis on fibre optic sensing technology. In addition to his role as Director at Epsimon, Nicky is currently an Academic Visitor at the University of Cambridge.
Professor Lord Robert Mair
CBE, FRS, FICE, FREng
Professor Lord Mair is Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering at Cambridge University, where until recently he was Head of Civil Engineering. He was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 2017-18 and was Chairman of the Science Advisory Council of the Department for Transport. Prior to his appointment to a Chair at Cambridge in 1998, he worked full-time in industry for 27 years.
In 1983, he founded the Geotechnical Consulting Group, an international consulting company based in London. Professor Lord Mair has advised on numerous major engineering projects worldwide and is an international research leader in geotechnical engineering.
His principal research interests lie in the development of innovative engineering solutions for the design and construction of underground space in complex ground conditions, particularly in urban environments. He has also specialised in developing new technologies for streamlining new construction and for condition assessment and monitoring of ageing infrastructure, with a particular focus on the application of fibre optic sensing technology and wireless sensor networks. He was the Founding Head of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC), funded by EPSRC, Innovate UK and industry.
Professor Lord Mair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1992, the Royal Society in 2007 and the US National Academy of Engineering in 2019. In 2015 he was appointed an independent cross-bencher in the House of Lords, where he has been a member of Select Committees on Built Environment, Risk and Science and Technology, the latter of which he is currently Chair.
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANTS
Dr Cedric Kechavarzi
Cedric Kechavarzi is a soil physicist and instrumentation specialist. He has a wealth of practical experience with fibre optic sensing systems and has led the deployment of such systems on a wide range of infrastructure and construction projects. He has contributed significantly to the uptake of fibre optic sensing in the civil engineering industry through the development of specifications, performance standards and methodologies to ensure consistency in operational functionality and system longevity.
His continued interest in fibre optic sensors is to further increase their performance while working with Epsimon’s partners to drive down the cost of ownership and make fibre the de-facto choice for infrastructure sensing. He is lead author of the book: Distributed fibre optic strain sensing for monitoring civil infrastructure - A Practical Guide, published by ICE publishing.
Cedric has an MSc in Soil and Water Engineering from Cranfield University and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Cambridge, funded under a Marie Curie Fellowship.
Dr Miguel Bravo-Haro
Dr Miguel Bravo-Haro is a Lecturer in Sustainable Civil Engineering Structures in the Department of Engineering at City St George’s, University of London. His areas of research span from digital infrastructure and condition monitoring to data-driven structural health monitoring and earthquake engineering. Among his current projects are the development of digital twins for Offshore Renewable Energy systems (fixed and floating), data-driven algorithms for early damage detection of railway bridges, the development of low-cost sensors for structural monitoring in seismic regions and probabilistic methods applied to engineering problems.
These projects are in collaboration with multiple academic and industry partners. At Epsimon, Miguel leads the development of digital infrastructure such as real-time monitoring systems and bespoke software solutions across monitoring projects.
Prior to City, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at the University of Cambridge, where he worked on digitalisation of infrastructure, structural health monitoring and data-driven solutions for better assessment of the structural integrity for a wide range of infrastructure assets.
Miguel obtained his diploma in civil engineering, as well as his MSc in Earthquake Engineering from the University of Chile. Before completing his PhD at Imperial College London on the seismic inelastic response of steel structures, he worked as a consultant structural engineer in Chile.
Dr Xiaomin Xu
Dr Xiaomin Xu is a Lecturer in Ground Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and Management at the University of Manchester. His research fields include innovative infrastructure monitoring and performance analysis, novel sensing technologies for earthworks and computational geomechanics through multi-scale numerical modelling.
He has extensive experience in fibre optic sensing for geotechnical applications and has led several projects on performance monitoring of bored concrete piles and tubular steel piles under test or during operation as well as sheet piles, D-walls during excavations, and embankments and cuttings.
Prior to Manchester, he was a Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC). Xiaomin Xu received his PhD degree from the Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Zhejiang University, China in 2012. He has been a Chartered Geotechnical Engineer in China since 2010.
Dr Haris Alexakis
Haris Alexakis has interest and expertise in smart and resilient infrastructure, combining multi-sensing information, structural analysis and advanced statistical modelling. He has developed a remote, self-sustaining, structural health monitoring (SHM) system with acoustic emission sensors, fibre optic strain and temperature sensors and high-sensitivity accelerometers for detecting deterioration in ageing railway bridges.
Haris has over a decade of experience as a consultant structural engineer, leading the restoration and seismic reinforcement of several historic structures. He is a Lecturer in Civil Engineering at Aston University and a Visiting Academic Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Before his current appointment, he was a Research Associate in infrastructure monitoring and modelling at the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) and adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida, USA.
Haris holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil and Structural Engineering, a Master’s degree in Seismic Design of Structures, and was awarded a PhD in Limit State Analysis and Earthquake Resistance of Masonry Structures from the University of Patras, Greece.
Dr Nikolaos Tziavos
Nikolaos Tziavos is a mechanical engineer with expertise in large scale structural testing and monitoring by means of acoustic emission. He holds an MSc in Renewable Energy systems from the University of Surrey, UK and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Birmingham, specialising in offshore wind structures and structural connections.
Nikolaos has participated in several research and consulting projects, including the evaluation of in-situ installation methods for offshore foundations in the North Sea. He has also worked as a lead researcher in underwater acoustics for offshore surveying applications at the University of Bath, UK.
In 2019 he joined the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at the University of Cambridge focusing on the application acoustic emission testing and fibre optic sensing for new and ageing infrastructure. Following this he joined Aston University as a Lecturer in Structural Engineering in 2021. His current work aims to drive innovation in structural engineering with cross-cutting research building on sensing technologies, computational mechanics and structural health monitoring applied to civil infrastructure.
INDUSTRIAL & ACADEMIC PARTNERS
Epsimon collaborates with a number of trusted industrial and academic partners to deliver a complete instrumentation, monitoring and consultancy service that addresses the client’s needs.
Epsimon has strong and long established ties with the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at the University of Cambridge, which benefits from unrivalled fibre optic sensing expertise and testing facilities.
Epsimon collaborates closely with and the Geotechnical Consulting Group LLP (GCG), widely recognised as one of the world's leading independent geotechnical consultants, which provides innovative geotechnical solutions for demanding engineering problems using state of the art research and developments in the understanding of soils and rock.
Epsimon partners with R L Geotechnical Ltd., a well established and respected provider of specialist manufacturing and installation services in instrumentation and monitoring in the UK.
Epsimon partners with Fibrenex, an experienced network cabling company with highly skilled telecom engineers and expertise in the installation and maintenance of fibre optic cabling systems.
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