Vienna, 17 November 2025 – The VCE Innovation Award for excellence research in sustainable construction has been awarded in 2025 to Dr. Lara Bettinelli. Her doctoral thesis, titled “Comparison of different modeling strategies for dynamic calculations of railway bridge vibrations”, impressed the jury with its scientific rigor, strong practical relevance, and clear contribution to the advancement of sustainable construction.
The award ceremony took place in the ceremonial hall of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). The prize was presented by DI Peter Furtner, Authorized Signatory at VCE Vienna Consulting Engineers ZT GmbH.
“The VCE Innovation Award reflects our conviction that sustainable progress in the construction industry can only emerge through research, creativity, and the courage to explore new paths,” emphasizes Peter Furtner. “Dr. Bettinelli’s outstanding work demonstrates how scientific excellence and engineering practice can come together to shape the future of construction in a safe and efficient way.”
Practice-Oriented Research: Focus on Railway Bridge Dynamics
In her Doctoral Thesis, Dr. Bettinelli investigates how different modeling strategies influence the acceleration response of single-span railway bridges with ballast tracks under high-speed rail traffic.
Her work compares several modelling approaches:
– Single moving load models and mass–spring–damper systems to represent train loading, and
– Effective Bernoulli–Euler beam models and coupled beam models for the bridge and track system.
The jury praised the dissertation as “scientifically well-founded, methodologically precise, and highly relevant for engineering practice.” The findings provide valuable insights for the safe and sustainable expansion of high-speed rail infrastructure – a topic of growing international importance.
Evaluation and Jury
Submissions were assessed based on innovation, scientific quality, practical relevance, and compliance with the award criteria. The jury consisted of:
- o. Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.phil. Dr.techn. MSc. PhD. Konrad Bergmeister, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
- Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Dr.techn. Dirk Schlicke, Graz University of Technology
- DI Peter Furtner, VCE Vienna Consulting Engineers ZT GmbH
Outstanding Submissions
A total of eight research works were submitted, covering a wide range of current topics in civil engineering – from innovative construction materials and circular structural systems to advanced modelling methods and investigations into the dynamic behaviour of built structures.
Commitment to Innovation and Young Talent
The VCE Innovation Award, endowed with € 5,000, is presented every two years for exceptional research achievements in sustainable construction. Since its launch in 2014, it has become a prominent fixture in Austria’s research and engineering landscape.
The award recognizes diploma, master’s, doctoral, and habilitation theses that make a sustainable contribution to the advancement of the construction industry – sending a strong signal for the promotion of young talent and innovative engineering excellence.
Contact information:
VCE Vienna Consulting Engineers ZT GmbH
Mag. Cornelia Riegler
criegler@vce.at
