Eugénio Rodrigues
Assistant Professor, DEM, FCTUC
Head of CURA Lab
CIÊNCIA CV: 8617-2E18-19EE; ORCID: 0000-0001-7023-4484; Scopus: 8856428300.
Eugénio Rodrigues is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC), where he leads research and education in building performance simulation, generative design, and climate-resilient architecture. He is the Founder and Head of the CURA Lab – Climate and Urban Resilience in Architectural Engineering Laboratory, an interdisciplinary research space dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and technological innovation at the intersection of buildings, climate, and society. In addition, he serves as Subdirector for Installation, Maintenance and Modernization of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (2025-2027), contributing to the strategic development and infrastructural modernization of the department.
His research explores the coevolution of buildings and society under climate change, particularly how the built environment can adapt to changing climatic conditions, urban transformations, and emerging energy constraints. He investigates resilience-based design strategies, thermophysical optimization, climate-dependent building guidelines, and machine learning approaches for predicting future performance. A central objective of his work is to understand the complex interactions between climate–society–building systems, enabling the design of future-ready constructions that ensure energy efficiency, comfort, health, and equity.
Eugénio Rodrigues is the Principal Investigator of the CLING project – Climate change-based building design guidelines, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. His research portfolio also includes participation and coordination in several competitive national and international projects, spanning deep renovation technologies, sustainable community design, resilience in global south regions, and the integration of machine learning, BIM, and generative algorithms into architectural practice.
His work is strongly collaborative and international, integrating partners from universities and research centres in Europe, Brazil, Africa, China, and North America. He has developed and maintains several open scientific datasets and software tools, including a widely adopted Future Weather Generator for climate change research. He has published extensively in leading journals, including Applied Energy, Energy and Buildings, Building and Environment, and Journal of Cleaner Production, and has been distinguished with research awards.
In addition to his research leadership, Eugénio has a longstanding commitment to academic service, postgraduate supervision, and scientific community engagement. He has chaired and organized conferences, serves on editorial boards, and reviews for major journals and research agencies. His teaching activities integrate interdisciplinary perspectives in energy systems, sustainable built environments, and climate adaptation, promoting a scientifically rigorous and socially grounded approach to engineering education.
Through CURA Lab, he is developing a research ecosystem built on openness, international cooperation, and societal impact, focusing on preparing cities and buildings for an uncertain climatic and socio-technical future. His vision is to contribute to a world where design decisions today anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and where the built environment becomes a catalyst for resilience, sustainability, and human well-being.
