We are pleased to announce that we have expanded the UKCMB Management team to take forward the many streams of work at UKCMB.
The role of Academic Director has been taken by Hector Altamirano, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Design and Engineering at UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering (IEDE), who has a long term interest in moisture in buildings, having undertaken his PhD on mould formation as part of a UCL consultation for Part F of the Building Regulations (2010). Hector will provide overall direction for the academic research in UKCMB and will be the main contact for academics from other universities here and abroad, as we grow the network of those involved with moisture in buildings.
Supporting Hector in his role is Yasemin Aktas, a Lecturer at UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE). Yasemin recently led the project on Mould Testing and Benchmarking and has worked on flooding, wind driven rain, indoor air quality, hygrothermal characterisation of existing and heritage buildings, climate-induced and atmospheric hazards, and sustainable building and urban design. Yasemin will support Hector in his work, and also help with specific projects and bids for UKCMB work.
Colin King, is the Director of Wales for BRE, as well as BRE’s lead officer on historic structures, existing housing and building solutions pre- and post-refurbishment. He is also a well-known expert in moisture in buildings, and sits on a number of standards committees and policy bodies in this regard including BS5250, Pas 2030 and PAS2035 and e BSi Retrofit Taskforce. He is currently involved in the latest review of Part C of the Building Regulations for England. Colin is the commercial director of the UKCMB and works particularly on standards, policy work, training and commercial projects and opportunities.
Valentina Marincioni is also at UCL IEDE, completing her PhD on moisture assessment of internal wall insulation applications. Valentina has been working on moisture transfer and risk assessment of traditional and heritage buildings, both in research and consultancy, and has contributed to the development of innovative insulation systems. She has developed training on building physics and moisture in buildings. Valentina will be working as manager for the Technical Working Groups, as well as helping Peter Rickaby to develop the training modules.
The UKCMB new administrator is Marike Woollard, who is in charge of the UKCMB database, communications and events.