A number of special sessions will be organised and held within the framework of the SEMC 2025 International Conference. Special sessions, while devoted to the reporting and discussion of the latest developments on a particular theme, are expected to have international relevance. Prospective organisers are invited to submit proposals for special sessions as soon as possible, and by 30 April 2024 at the latest. The proposal (not more than 20 lines) should comprise a concise description of the special session, giving a brief background and justification of the session, and clearly indicating the aims and scope of the session, the topics covered, and the type of contributions being sought. Organisers will be expected to identify potential contributors from around the world, and invite them to submit papers for the special session. Special sessions will typically feature 10 to 30 presentations; those having in excess of 20 contributions will be scheduled as mini-symposia within the conference. Organisers of special sessions will be entitled to a discount in the conference registration fee (the amount of discount depending on the number of registered authors the special session attracts).

Authors interested in contributing a paper to a special session will be required to submit an abstract directly to the organiser of the special session, at the same time making a copy available to the Conference editor. All submissions for SEMC 2025 (including those intended for special sessions) will be processed by the conference editorial office, and allocated a reference number. The general deadlines for the submission of abstracts and full papers will also apply for contributions to special sessions.

SEMC 2025 special sessions proposed so far, including the names and contact details of their organisers, are listed below. The list includes special sessions that were successfully organised for the two most recent SEMC conferences, and that are hoped to run again at the next conference, to discuss the latest developments on the themes in question. The list will be updated as more proposals are accepted.

SS01: Advances in Structural Optimization
Organisers: Prof. Jose Madeira & Prof. Aurelio Araujo, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Emails: aguilarmadeira@tecnico.ulisboa.pt ; aurelio.araujo@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Click here for Session Summary

SS02: Structural Health Monitoring and Damage Identification
Organisers: Prof. Maria Pina Limongelli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
& Prof. Guido De Roeck, University of Leuven, Belgium
Emails: mariagiuseppina.limongelli@polimi.it ; guido.deroeck@bwk.kuleuven.be
Click here for Session Summary

SS03: Stainless Steel Connections under Static and Extreme Loading
Organisers: Prof. Leroy Gardner, Imperial College London, UK ; Dr. Sheida Afshan, University of Southampton, UK ; Dr. Katherine Cashell, University College London, UK & Dr. Marios Theofanous, University of Birmingham, UK
Emails: leroy.gardner@imperial.ac.uk ; S.Afshan@soton.ac.uk ; k.cashell@ucl.ac.uk ; m.theofanous@bham.ac.uk
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SS04: Multiscale Models of Multiphase Porous Materials
Organisers: Prof. Tim Ricken, University of Stuttgart, Germany & Prof. Jörg Schröder, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Emails: tim.ricken@isd.uni-stuttgart.de ; j.schroeder@uni-due.de
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SS05: Mechanics of Reinforced Concrete and Construction Materials
Organiser: Prof. Maria Anna Polak, University of Waterloo, Canada
Email: polak@uwaterloo.ca
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SS06: Fatigue of Concrete in an Experimental-Virtual-Lab
Organisers: Prof. S. Anders, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Germany ; Prof. L. Lohaus, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany & Prof. J. Schröder, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Emails: s.anders@uni-wuppertal.de ; lohaus@baustoff.uni-hannover.de ; j.schroeder@uni-due.de
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SS07: Advanced Technologies for Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Steel Structures
Organisers: Dr. Vittoria Laghi, University of Bologna, Italy ; Alper Kanyilmaz, Politecnico of Milan, Italy & Josephine Voigt Carstensen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Emails: vittoria.laghi2@unibo.it ; alper.kanyilmaz@polimi.it ; jvcar@mit.edu
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SS08: FRP Composites in Civil Engineering Structures
Organisers: Prof. Lawrence Bank, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA; Prof. John Myers, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA & Prof. Brahim Benmokrane, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
Emails: larry.bank@design.gatech.edu ; jmyers@mst.edu ; brahim.benmokrane@usherbrooke.ca
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SS09: Renewable Energy Structures
Organisers: Prof. Lars Vabbersgaard Andersen, Aarhus University, Denmark & Dr. Zili Zhang, Tongji University, China
Emails: lva@eng.au.dk ; zili_zhang@tongji.edu.cn
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SS10: Explosion Loading and Response Characteristics
Organisers: Prof. Genevieve Langdon & Dr. Samuel Rigby, University of Sheffield, UK
Emails: genevieve.langdon@sheffield.ac.uk ; sam.rigby@sheffield.ac.uk
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SS11: Bridge Dynamics
Organisers: Dr. Izabela Drygała, Cracow University of Technology, Poland & Prof. Chiara Bedon, University of Trieste, Italy
Emails: idrygala@pk.edu.pl ; chiara.bedon@dia.units.it
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SS12: Modern Technologies for Infrastructure Inspection and Maintenance
Organisers: Prof. Chul-Woo Kim, Prof. Kunitomo Sugiura & Prof. Yasuo Kitane, Kyoto University, Japan ; Prof. Takeshi Kitahara, Kanto Gakuin University, Japan ; Prof. Shozo Nakamura, Nagasaki University, Japan
Emails: kim.chulwoo.5u@kyoto-u.ac.jp ; sugiura.kunitomo.4n@kyoto-u.ac.jp ; kitane.yasuo.2x@kyoto-u.ac.jp ; kitahara@kanto-gakuin.ac.jp ; shozo@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
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SS13: Advanced Numerical Methods and Parametric Modeling for Digital Twins of Structures
Organisers: Dr.-Ing. Ann-Kathrin Goldbach, TU Munich, Germany ; Dr.-Ing. Christian Flack & Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roland Wüchner, TU Braunschweig, Germany
Emails: ann-kathrin.goldbach@tum.de ; c.flack@tu-braunschweig.de ; r.wuechner@tu-braunschweig.de
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SS14: ReUse of Steel and Composite Structures
Organisers: Prof. Markus Knobloch,  Anna-Lena Bours & Sara Uszball, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
Emails: Markus.Knobloch@ruhr-uni-bochum.de ; anna-lena.bours@ruhr-uni-bochum.de ; sara.uszball@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Click here for Session Summary

SS15: Structural Applications of Glass
Organisers: Prof. Jan Belis, Ghent University, Belgium & Dr. Faidra Oikonomopoulou, Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands
Emails: jan.belis@ugent.be ; F.Oikonomopoulou@tudelft.nl
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SS16: Railway Infrastructures
Organisers: Prof. Diogo Ribeiro, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal ; Dr. Fulvio Busatta, Politecnico di Milano, Italy ; Prof. Rui Calçada & Dr. Pedro Montenegro, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal ; Prof. Wanming Zhai, Southwest Jiaotong University, China
Emails: drr@isep.ipp.pt ; fulvio.busatta@polimi.it ; ruiabc@fe.up.pt ; paires@fe.up.pt ; wmzhai@swjtu.edu.cn
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SS17: Environmental Vibrations
Organisers: Prof. Lars Vabbersgaard Andersen, Aarhus University, Denmark & Dr. Peter Persson, Lund University, Sweden
Emails: lva@cae.au.dk ; peter.persson@construction.lth.se
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SS18: High Strength Steel in Research, Construction and Application
Organisers: Prof. Richard Stroetmann, TU Dresden, Germany ; Prof. Guo-Qiang Li & Prof. Yan-Bo Wang, Tongji University, China
Emails: Richard.Stroetmann@tu-dresden.de ; gqli@tongji.edu.cn ; ybwang@tongji.edu.cn
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SS19: Challenges and Opportunities for Modern Timber Engineering in a Changing World
Organisers: Prof. Robert Jockwer, TU Dresden, Germany & Dr. Johann van der Merwe, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Emails: robert.jockwer@tu-dresden.de ; vandermerwe.johann@up.ac.za
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SS20: Connections in Reinforced Concrete and Composite Structures
Organisers: Dr. Giovanni Muciaccia, Politecnico di Milano, Italy ; Prof. Akanshu Sharma, University of Stuttgart, Germany & Prof. Roman Wan-Wendner, Ghent University, Belgium
Emails: giovanni.muciaccia@polimi.it ; akanshu.sharma@iwb.uni-stuttgart.de ; roman.wanwendner@ugent.be
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SS21: Fracture and Thermo-Hydromechanical Behaviour of Wood and Timber Structures
Organiser: Dr. Rostand Moutou Pitti, Université Clermont Auvergne, France
Email: Rostand.moutou_pitti@uca.fr 
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SS22: Adaptive Structures: Design, Optimisation and Control
Organisers: Dr. Gennaro Senatore, formerly EPFL, Switzerland; Prof. Manfred Bischoff & Prof. Werner Sobek, University of Stuttgart, Germany
Emails: gennarosenatore@gmail.com ; bischoff@ibb.uni-stuttgart.de ; werner.sobek@ilek.uni-stuttgart.de
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SS23: Mechanical Characterisation of Soft Tissues
Organisers: Prof. T. Pandelani & Prof. H. Ngwangwa, University of South Africa ; Prof. F. Nemavhola, Durban University of Technology, South Africa ; Dr. D. Modungwa, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa ; Prof. D. Desai, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
Emails: epandet@unisa.ac.za ; ngwanhm@unisa.ac.za ; fulufhelon1@dut.ac.za ; dmodungwa@csir.co.za ; desaida@tut.ac.za
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SS24: Innovative Modular Construction in Extreme Dynamic Loading Conditions
Organisers: Dr. Said Elias Rahimi & Prof. Michael Beer, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
Emails: elias.rahimi@irz.uni-hannover.de ; beer@irz.uni-hannover.de
Click here for Session Summary