Cattaneo Sara

Full Professor of Structural Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano. She is currently Scientific Director of the Materials Testing Laboratory at the Politecnico di Milano and Deputy Head of the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (ABC) for the three-year term (2026–2028). Since 2017, she has been affiliated with ITC-CNR. She is a member of the EOTA Fixing Expert Group and of the committee for the revision of the Italian Technical Standards for Construction of the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti.
Her research activity focuses on the development and application of experimental, theoretical, and computational techniques for the characterization and optimization of the mechanical response of materials, technological systems, and structures, with particular reference to quasi-brittle materials, reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, connection systems, structural glass, and rehabilitation techniques.

Career

Degree in Civil Engineering - Structures, Politecnico di Milano, 1996
Ph.D, in Structural Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 2001.

Research

Materiali cementizi e quasi-fragili, comportamento delle strutture in calcestruzzo armato e presollecitato, ancoraggi preinstallati e post-installati, vetro strutturale, riabilitazione strutturale, progettazione e sviluppo di sistemi sperimentali di prova.

Cementitious and quasi-brittle materials, Behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, Pre and post-installed anchor, Structural glass, Structural rehabilitation, Design and development of experimental testing systems.

Selected Publications

1. Cattaneo S., Crespi P., Scamardo M., Vafa N., Cyclic behavior of masonry walls retrofitted with post-installed twisted bars or bonded rebars, Construction and Building Materials, 2023, 79, 134026
2. Cattaneo S., Mahadik V., Genesio G., Hofmann J., Influence of edge proximity on concrete breakout failure in post-installed RC columns foundation joints, Materials and Structures, 2023, 56,119
3. Cattaneo S., Scamardo M., Assessment of the tensile behavior of twisted steel connectors for masonry retrofitting, Construction and Building Materials, 2023, 392, 131771
4. Cattaneo S., Crespi P., Bonati A., Scamardo M., Tensile behavior of different anchor channel connection, Journal of Building Engineering, 2022,45,103438
5. Cattaneo S., Zorzato G., Bonati A., Assessing method of shear strength between old to new concrete interface under cycling loading, Construction and Building Materials, 2021, 309, 125160
6. Biolzi L., Cattaneo, S., Orlando M.; Piscitelli L.R.; Spinelli P., Constitutive relationships of different interlayer materials for laminated glass, Composite structures 2020, V.244, htps://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2020.112221
7. Cattaneo S., Giussani F., Mola F., Flexural behavior of reinforced, prestressed and composite self-consolidating concrete beams, Construction & Building Materials, 36, 2012, pp. 826-837
8. Piccinin R., Ballarini R., Cattaneo S., Pullout Capacity of Headed Anchors in Prestressed Concrete, J. Eng. Mech., ASCE, Vol. 138 No 7, 2012, pp. 877-887, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0000
9. Biolzi L., Cattaneo S., Rosati G., Progressive Damage and Fracture of Laminated Glass Beams, Construction & Building Materials, 24, 2010, pp. 577–584, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2009.09.007.
10. Cattaneo S., Rosati G., Bond between steel and self-consolidating concrete: experiments and modelling, ACI Structural J., Vol.106, 2009, pp. 540-550, DOI: 10.14359/56620

Community Service

From 2004 to 2012, Technical Director – Structural Anchors Division – Materials Testing Laboratory – Department of Structural Engineering, Politecnico di Milano.
From 2013 to 2018, Member of the Scientific Committee – Department ABC, Politecnico di Milano.
Since 2014, Technical consultant of the Materials Testing Laboratory, Politecnico di Milano.
From 2016 to 2018, Member of the PhD Board in Civil-Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Università degli Studi di Trieste.
From 2019 to 2025, Member of the PhD Board – Department ABC, Politecnico di Milano.
Since 2025, Scientific Director of the Materials Testing Laboratory, Politecnico di Milano.
Since 2026, Deputy Head of the ABC Department, Politecnico di Milano.