Filippo Giustozzi

Professor Filippo Giustozzi

Professor

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Profile photo of Filippo Giustozzi in a blue suit, facing slightly towards the right and smiling to the camera, against a plain white-grey wall

Contact details

STEM | School of Engineering


Emailfilippo.giustozzi@rmit.edu.au


Phone: +61 39925 2035


Campus: Melbourne City


Programs

More information

Profile photo of Filippo Giustozzi in a blue suit, facing slightly towards the right and smiling to the camera, against a plain white-grey wall

Contact details

STEM | School of Engineering


Emailfilippo.giustozzi@rmit.edu.au


Phone: +61 39925 2035


Campus: Melbourne City


Programs

More information

Experienced leader in road engineering passionate about advancing the Australian infrastructure sector; focused on delivering practical and readily implementable research outcomes.

Overview

Professor Filippo Giustozzi is an accomplished expert specialising in road and airport infrastructure. He earned his second Ph.D. from Virginia Tech University (USA) and served as the Chair of the Technical Committee on Sustainable and Resilient Pavements at the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering in the USA from 2017 to 2022.

Since 2008, he has been actively involved in numerous significant road and airport construction projects worldwide. Professor Giustozzi engages in collaborative efforts with national and international government bodies, local governments, industry, and product stewardship associations. These collaborations aim to deliver projects covering a wide range of topics, primarily focusing on the sustainability of transport infrastructure and the use of recycled materials for road and airport applications.

Within RMIT University, Professor Giustozzi leads the Intelligent Materials for Road and Airport Pavements research group. He manages the largest university-based, fully-equipped asphalt, and bitumen laboratory in Australia. This state-of-the-art facility currently employs over 20 researchers with diverse backgrounds, spanning civil engineering, materials science, chemistry, and environmental science.

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Research

Prof. Giustozzi and his team are dedicated to delivering practical research outcomes that significantly advance the Australian infrastructure sector and update current technical specifications. This is achieved through nationally relevant projects focusing on the use of recycled materials in roads and airports.

In recent years, he has established the largest fully-equipped university-based laboratory in Australia for asphalt and bituminous materials, capable of conducting a variety of tests. This cutting-edge facility spans chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, and materials science, with a specific emphasis on the sustainability of transport infrastructure.

Prof. Giustozzi and his team have been pioneers in developing the first testing protocol for assessing microplastics release from road pavements, high-temperature emissions from asphalt materials, and leaching of pollutants from asphalt pavements. Prof. Giustozzi played a leading role in the national Austroads project APT6305 on Road-grade recycled plastics for sustainable asphalt pavements, funded by the Transport and Infrastructure Council, which brings together Commonwealth, State, Territory, and New Zealand Ministers for Transport.

Their research outcomes have led to several new field applications, including the construction of real roads using innovative and sustainable products. Within his team, they also possess expertise in life cycle assessment and carbon footprinting of materials, with a clear focus on the decarbonization of transport infrastructure.

Research keywords

Roads, Airports, Transport infrastructure, Pavements, Asphalt, Bitumen, Recycling, Sustainability, Life cycle assessment, Polymers, Fibres, End-of-life tyres, Recycled plastics, Rejuvenators, Carbon footprint, Net-zero transport infrastructure

Research output summary

120+

Publications

$6 million+

Projects

10

Awards

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Supervisor interest areas

  • Transport infrastructure design and maintenance
  • Recycled materials in infrastructure
  • Life-cycle assessment
  • Sustainability
  • Polymer modified bitumen and asphalt
  • Smart pavement materials
  • Pavement design
  • Permeable pavements
  • Ageing and weathering (UV radiation) of bituminous materials

Supervisor projects

  • Odours and emissions from bitumen and recycled material-modified bitumen
  • Correlation between bitumen and asphalt mixtures properties
  • Hybrid polymers for bitumen modification
  • Crumb rubber modified bitumen and asphalt specifications
  • Bitumen photo-oxidisation mechanisms (UV damage)
  • Asphalt rejuvenation via chemically modified waste cooking oil
  • Release of microplastics from polymer-modified asphalt materials
  • Anti clogging flood-resilient permeable asphalt pavements
  • Enhancement of asphalt using passenger tyres crumb rubber, pre-treatment strategies and future recyclability
  • Waste plastic modified bitumen and asphalt

Feature publications

Recycling waste plastics in roads: A life-cycle assessment study using primary data

Science of The Total Environment, 751, 141842

J Santos, A Pham, P Stasinopoulos, F Giustozzi. (2021).

Recycled plastic as bitumen modifier: The role of recycled linear low-density polyethylene in the modification of physical, chemical and rheological properties of bitumen

Journal of Cleaner Production, 266, 121988

S Nizamuddin, M Jamal, R Gravina, F Giustozzi. (2020).

Waste tyres crumb rubber as a sustainability enhancer for polymer-modified and hybrid polymer-modified bitumen

International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 1-15

IB Joohari, F Giustozzi. (2021).

Key publications by year

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Feature projects

Use of road-grade recycled plastics for sustainable asphalt pavements (APT6305)

Lead CI: Filippo Giustozzi, $1.4 mil, 24 months

2021 - 2022

Increasing Recycling Passenger Car Tyres in Crumb Rubber Modified Asphalt

Lead CI: Filippo Giustozzi, $155,000 ; 18 months

2020 - 2021

ARC Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy (TREMS)

Co-CI: Filippo Giustozzi, $12 mil, 5 years

2016 - Present

Key projects

  • LDPE and Crumb Rubber in Asphalt
    Sustainability Victoria
  • Self-Sensing Flood Resilient Smart Roads
    DELWP
  • Crumb rubber asphalt binder characterisation and specification for road pavement applications
    TyreStewardship Australia
  • Exploring the possibility to reuse Waste Cooking Oil in asphalt pavements as rejuvenator
    Cookers Oil Systems
  • SPARC - Smart Pavements Australia Research Collaboration hub
    led by Monash University, Australian Research Council
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Awards


RMIT University, Executive Dean’s Research Excellence Award - Level D (Associate Professor)

Award date: 2020

Recipients: Filippo Giustozzi

RMIT University, School of Engineering, Teaching Award

Award date: 2019

Recipients: Filippo Giustozzi

RMIT University, Certificate of Excellence in Teaching

Award date: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

Recipients: Filippo Giustozzi

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Grants

As per projects

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Public and media engagements

  • Guest speaker at Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AFPA) 2021 International Flexible Pavement Symposium
  • Featured on RMIT Twitter
  • Featured on RMIT Europe Twitter 
  • Featured in Geca
  • 2021

    • Mentioned in "Sripath Technologies, Sripath Asia-Pac establish research services agreement with RMIT University", Roads Online,  21 September, 2021 by Tara Hamid

    2020

    Web
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    Acknowledgement of Country

    RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

    aboriginal flag
    torres strait flag

    Acknowledgement of Country

    RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.