Dr. Mª del Carmen Andrade Perdrix, Distinguished Senior Researcher at CIMNE, has been awarded the prestigious fib Medal of Merit 2024 by the International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). This accolade recognizes Dr. Andrade’s remarkable contributions to the field of structural concrete, particularly her significant impact and leadership in areas such as corrosion and the durability of materials in civil engineering.

The fib Medal of Merit is one of the highest recognitions in the field of structural concrete and underscores Dr. Andrade’s dedication to advancing concrete science. Dr. Andrade’s work has not only contributed to advancing key areas of research in this field but also to the development and activities of the fib itself. The award will be presented at the upcoming fib Symposium in June 2025 in Antibes, France.

This prestigious award adds to the significant list of honours Dr. Andrade has received throughout her scientific career, including the Robert L’Hermite Award from RILEM in 1987, the National Manuel Rocha Award (Portugal) in 2002, the Medal of the Spanish Association for Structural Engineering (ACHE) in 2017, and the Paul McIntyre Award from the Institute of Corrosion in 2020.

Born in Madrid in 1947, Dr. Andrade holds a PhD in Industrial Chemistry and has served as a Research Professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), where she directed the Institute of Construction Sciences “Eduardo Torroja” for 13 years. Her research specialty lies in the corrosion of reinforcement and the durability of concrete.

In addition to her technical and scientific achievements, Dr. Andrade has been honored with honorary doctorates from the universities of Trondheim (Norway) and Alicante (Spain), and she served as the 2021 Visiting Professor of the “Construindo a Amanhã” Chair at the University of São Paulo.