Dr. Piervincenzo Rizzo received his Laurea (5-years degree equivalent to M.Sc.) in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Palermo, Italy in 1998. After serving in the Italian Army Corps of Engineering and working in the management and maintenance of the Army helicopters, Dr. Rizzo moved to the U.S.A. where he earned a Master (2002) and a Ph.D. (2004) in Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. In September 2006 he became assistant professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2012, and to Full Professor in 2018.
Dr. Rizzo’s research interests are in the areas of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) using methods such as ultrasound, acoustic emission, solitary waves, infrared thermography, and electromechanical impedance. Applications of these techniques span from civil engineering structures to composites materials for lightweight structures used in aerospace. Dr. Rizzo’s research has been supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT).
Dr. Rizzo published about 130 referred papers, 13 books proceedings and book chapters, and more than 250 conference proceedings and technical reports. He is the recipient of several accolades. From the ASNT, he received the 2002 Fellowship Award, the 2007 Faculty Grant Award, several Fellowship Research Awards, and two Outstanding Paper Awards (in 2013 and 2017). Dr. Rizzo is the first person worldwide who has received both the Achenbach Medal (in 2012) and the SHM Person of the Year Award (in 2015). The Medal recognizes one young individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the field of SHM. The Award recognizes accomplishments within the past year or the past few years. Both honors are selected by the editors and associate editors of Structural Health Monitoring: An International Journal, the top academic journal on the subject. He is also the recipient of the 2016 University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Junior Scholar Award.
He regularly teaches a pillar CEE course and a cross-listed course in NDE and SHM for civil, mechanical, and aerospace applications.
