Summer School
Summer School
Viscoelastic Behavior of Green Polymers and Composites
ICSAAM 2026 will offer a Summer School providing state-of-the-art lectures on the viscoelastic characterization and modeling of green polymers and composite materials. The course will be delivered by leading researchers in the field of viscoelasticity and advanced materials, offering participants a rigorous and up-to-date scientific foundation in this rapidly growing area.
Although the course is especially addressed to MSc. and PhD students as well as early-stage postdoctoral researchers, all conference participants are welcome to attend. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a certificate of attendance.
The dates and location of the Summer School will be announced alongside the conference programme!
Main Topics
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the Summer School, participants should be able to:
Professor Emeritus
George C. Papanicolaou
Seminar 1
Introduction to Viscoelasticity (2 hours)
Prof. George Papanicolaou received his degree in Physics from the National University of Athens (1971) and his PhD in Applied Mechanics from the National Technical University of Athens (1980). He served as Lecturer and subsequently Assistant Professor at the National Technical University of Athens before joining the University of Patras, where he was appointed Associate Professor (1988) and Full Professor of Mechanics of Polymers and Composites (1992). He was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus by the University of Patras in 2016.
Prof. Papanicolaou is the author or co-author of over 250 journal and conference papers and has delivered more than 150 presentations at international conferences, seminars, and symposia. He holds a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University Politehnica of Bucharest (1998) and has received numerous distinctions, including Honorary Membership of the Hellenic Society of Thermal Analysis and the Hellenic Society of Biomaterials. He is a founding member of several scientific societies and has organized and chaired numerous national and international conferences in polymers and composites.
His research spans polymer physics and engineering, mechanics of composite material structures, viscoelasticity, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermal analysis, fracture mechanics, adhesion, and environmental effects on composites. He has made seminal contributions to the micromechanical modeling of interfaces and interphases in composite materials, the prediction of viscoelastic behavior of polymers and composites, and the assessment of residual properties in composites subjected to impact, fatigue, and aggressive environments.
Selected publications in Viscoelasticity:
G.C. Papanicolaou, S.P. Zaoutsos, “Viscoelastic constitutive modeling of creep and stress relaxation in polymers and polymer matrix composites,” in Creep and Fatigue in Polymer Matrix Composites, pp. 3–59, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102601-4.00001-1
S.P. Zaoutsos, G.C. Papanicolaou, A.H. Cardon, “On the non-linear viscoelastic behaviour of polymer-matrix composites,” Composites Science and Technology 58, pp. 883–889, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(97)00195-4
G.C. Papanicolaou, S.P. Zaoutsos, A.H. Cardon, “Further development of a data reduction method for the nonlinear viscoelastic response of CFRP laminates,” Composites Science and Technology 59, pp. 1311–1317, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(98)00171-7
G.C. Papanicolaou, S.P. Zaoutsos, A.H. Cardon, “Prediction of the non-linear viscoelastic response of unidirectional fiber composites,” Composites Part A 30, pp. 839–848, 1999.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-835X(99)00004-4
Seminar 2
Superposition Techniques (2 hours)
Prof. Rui Miranda Guedes received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering (1988), MSc in Structural Engineering (1992), and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (1997), followed by his Habilitation in Mechanical Engineering from the same institution in 2012. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, and an integrated member of the Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aerospace (LAETA) and the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI).
His research focuses on the viscoelastic and viscoplastic characterization of polymer-based composite materials, with particular emphasis on constitutive modeling, creep and relaxation analysis, time-temperature superposition, and long-term failure prediction of polymer matrix composites. He has authored and co-authored an extensive body of publications in leading international journals, including Composites Science and Technology, Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials, Polymer Testing, Composites Part A, and Mechanics of Composite Materials. He is the editor of the book “Creep and Fatigue in Polymer Matrix Composites” (2011; 2nd Ed., 2019). He has delivered plenary lectures at major international conferences on the time-dependent failure of composite structures.
More recently, his work has extended to the viscoelastic characterization of biodegradable polymers and composites for biomedical applications, including the development of biodegradable devices for ligament repair. Prof. Guedes is among a select group of researchers worldwide with deep and sustained expertise in the viscoelasticity of polymer composites, spanning fundamental theory, experimental characterization, and long-term durability prediction.
Selected publications in Viscoelasticity:
R.M. Guedes, J.L. Morais, “Comparison of the performance of nonlinear time-dependent constitutive models calibrated with minimal test data applied to an epoxy resin,” Materials 18(2), 404, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18020404
R.M. Guedes, “A practical model to predict the time-dependent behaviour of angle-ply laminates from limited creep data,” Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials 27, pp. 1043–1067, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11043-022-09544-1
R.M. Guedes, “A systematic methodology for creep master curve construction using the stepped isostress method (SSM): a numerical assessment,” Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials 22, pp. 79–93, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11043-017-9353-0
R.M. Guedes, A. Singh, V. Pinto, “Viscoelastic modelling of creep and stress relaxation behaviour in PLA-PCL fibres,” Fibers and Polymers 18, pp. 2443–2453, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12221-017-7479-y
Professor
Rui Miranda Guedes
Lykourgos C. Kontaxis, PhD
Seminar 3
Viscoelastic Behavior of Green Polymers and Composites (2 hours)
Dr. Lykourgos C. Kontaxis received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics from the University of Patras (2014) and his PhD from the same institution (2023), under the supervision of Prof. G.C. Papanicolaou. His doctoral work focused on the mechanical and viscoelastic behavior of polymer matrix composite materials. He is currently a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Energy Systems, University of Thessaly, where he is involved in the NerveRepack project (KDT-JU/Horizon Europe) on intelligent neural systems for bidirectional connection with exoprostheses and exoskeletons.
His research interests include the mechanical and viscoelastic characterization of polymer matrix composites, additive manufacturing of composite structures, Joule-effect curing of epoxy systems, bio-based and biodegradable composites, and 3D-printed scaffolds for biomedical applications. He is the author of over 20 journal publications in international peer-reviewed journals including Polymers, Polymer Engineering & Science, Advanced Functional Materials, and Biomedicines, and has presented his work at numerous international conferences including ICSAAM, IEEE EMBC, and the European Society for Biomaterials Annual Conference. He was awarded the Prize for Best Oral Presentation at the 10th National Conference of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2024).
Selected publications in Viscoelasticity:
G.C. Papanicolaou, D.V. Portan, L.C. Kontaxis, “Interrelation between fiber–matrix interphasial phenomena and flexural stress relaxation behavior of a glass fiber–polymer composite,” Polymers 13(6), 978, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13060978
G.C. Papanicolaou, A.E. Manara, L.C. Kontaxis, “Experimental and prediction study of displacement-rate effects on flexural behaviour in nano and micro TiO2 particles-epoxy resin composites,” Polymers 12(1), 22, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010022
G.C. Papanicolaou, L.C. Kontaxis, A.F. Koutsomitopoulou, S.P. Zaoutsos, “Stress relaxation behavior of starch powder-epoxy resin composites,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science 132(12), 2015. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.41697
L.C. Kontaxis, D. Zachos, A. Georgali-Fickel, D.V. Portan, S.P. Zaoutsos, G.C. Papanicolaou, “3D-Printed PLA mechanical and viscoelastic behavior dependence on the nozzle temperature and printing orientation,” Polymers 17(7), 913, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17070913