Fernanda Cruz Rios

University of Pittsburgh | Pitt · Civil and Environmental Engineering

Circular economies are often framed as addressing a trio of problems: environmental degradation, economic stagnation, and social ills, broadly defined. Our paper centers on this last claim – that circular economies promise social benefits. There is a dearth of literature focused on the social dimensions of circular economies (Geissdoerfer, Martin,...

As one of the globe's leading sectors for resource use and carbon emissions, the built environment could play a vital role in the circular economy (CE). This study aimed to understand and map the complex systems inherent to CE interventions in the built environment. We conducted a systematic literature review and thematic analysis to identify CE ca...

As one of the globe’s leading sectors for resource use and carbon emissions, the built environment could play a vital role in the circular economy (CE). This study aimed at understanding and mapping the complex systems inherent to CE interventions in the built environment. We conducted a systematic literature review and thematic analysis to identif...

The accelerating pace of resource consumption threatens long-term availability of critical materials: those resources that play an essential role in modern society but are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. Established resource management strategies have struggled to reduce the risks of metal criticality, and the demand for these materials con...

Despite past and present research on planning and delivery methods, the construction industry is still characterized by endemic cost and schedule overruns that are often accompanied by disclosures of actual performance late in the project delivery. As a response to such major shortcoming, this study investigated the novel and undocumented practice...

Construction consumes more resources and generates more solid waste than most industries. Recycling building components and their materials is not enough to eliminate solid waste and promote resource efficiency. The circular economy (CE) prioritizes reuse over recycling and proposes systemic changes in the way we build. Designing out waste is the c...

Engineering schools, including construction engineering and management programs, have been generally unable to recruit Native American (NA) faculty in the United States. Consequently, NA construction and engineering students lack role models in academia, and research universities miss the opportunity of producing research that is relevant to NA iss...

This poster illustrates a proposed framework on the role of universities in improving Native American recruitment, retention, and success in engineering education, from undergraduate to faculty.

The construction industry consumes 40% of the global materials and produces one of the largest waste streams in the planet. In a circular economy, the reuse of building components in multiple life cycles aims at increasing resource efficiency and eliminating waste. But can reuse offset the environmental impacts of materials with high embodied energ...

Today, we use resources faster than they can be replaced. Construction consumes more resources than any other industry and has one of the largest waste streams. Resource consumption and waste generation are expected to grow as the global population increases. The circular economy (CE) is based on the concept of a closed-loop cycle (CLC) and propose...

The Construction sector uses 40% of the earth’s resources, much of which ends up as “wastes” from our civilization. We can reduce resource use and eliminate demolition waste by simply reusing building materials. Some building components are easy to take apart and reuse while others require additional costs and effort. Some generate more environment...

Introduction: The female work in population is growing in the United States, therefore the occupational health and safety entities must start to analyze gender-specific data related to every industry, especially to nontraditional occupations. Women working in nontraditional jobs are often exposed to extreme workplace hazards. These women have their...

The intimate relationship between energy consumption and climate change demands attention. More energy will be needed to run cooling systems if the annual global temperature continues to rise. The urban heat island would also increase the demand for cooling. As global energy demand continues to grow, the utility sector would face a continuous incre...

As female's participation in the US labor force continues to grow, there is a need to separate workplace injuries suffered by men and women. Statistics showed that women faced different types of injuries compared to men, especially on workplace violence. For example, women faced more fatality from workplace violence, and murders by personal acquain...

Small and medium office buildings consume a significant parcel of the U.S. building stock energy consumption. Still, owners lack resources and experience to conduct detailed energy audits and retrofit analysis. We present an eight-steps framework for an energy retrofit assessment in small and medium office buildings. Through a bottom-up approach an...

Construction waste management has become extremely important due to stricter disposal and landfill regulations, and a lesser number of available landfills. There are extensive works done on waste treatment and management of the construction industry. Concepts like deconstruction, recyclability, and Design for Disassembly (DfD) are examples of bette...