Neryvaldo Galvão, a graduate of the University of Minho’s School of Engineering, was awarded the Cape Verde Prize for Young Scientists for having the best doctoral thesis defended in the last year by a Cape Verdean citizen up to the age of 35. The award, worth 15,000 euros, was presented by the country’s Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, at a ceremony in Praia.

In his thesis ‘The impact of human error on the performance to failure of concrete bridges’, Neryvaldo Galvão showed how the collapse of bridges all over the world in the last 50 years was mainly caused by human error. ‘I’m delighted with the award, which motivates young people and represents the government’s commitment to science,’ he said.

‘My research has applications in many countries, including Cape Verde, because it involves all things construction, such as buildings, bridges, tunnels, roads… and one day I intend to help the state manage its infrastructure better, in a more efficient and sustainable way,’ he added.

Born on the island of Santiago and living in Europe since the age of 17, Neryvaldo de Jesus Galvão Pereira holds a master’s and doctorate in Civil Engineering from UMinho, is a collaborating researcher at its Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE) and a member of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE). He has published two dozen scientific articles and specialises in the reliability of reinforced concrete structures and bridges, currently collaborating with the Swiss federal government and the city of Strasbourg (France), among others.

The School of Engineering congratulates Neryvaldo on this recognition!