Bio
Denise Silva's research is focused on lowering the embodied carbon of building materials for new constructions and retrofits.
Denise has extensive experience in the field of construction materials with focus on cementitious materials. Prior to joining ORNL, she worked for 15 years for two major US companies (W.R. Grace/GCP Applied Technologies and Custom Building Products/The Quikrete Companies) in several positions and as Principal Scientist in the research and development of solutions to improve the performance and to reduce the carbon footprint of cement-based materials via utilization of chemical admixtures. Before working in the US, Denise was a tenured professor at the Civil Engineering department of the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil (UFSC). Denise received her BS and MSc degrees in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Brazil, and Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from UFSC. A postdoctoral appointment at the Civil and Environmental Engineering department of the University of California at Berkeley followed, where she utilized the synchrotron light-sourced soft x-ray microscope at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to visualize particles of cement while hydrating in the presence of chemical admixtures.
Denise's interest include the research, development and deployment of technologies that decarbonize cement-based materials, alternative binders, building materials containing natural materials, such as fibers and earth, and modular building systems.
She is a member of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and former chair of the Cements Division. She was the co-chair of the ACerS Cements 2021 conference and is the chair of the Cements 2022 meeting. Denise is also a member of ACI and ASTM.
Patents:
• Berodier, E.; Tregger, N.A.; Cheung, J.H.; Myers, D.F.; Zhang, L.; Kazmierczak, D.;
Roberts, L.R.; Silva, D.A.; Sibbick, R.; Thomas, J.; Roberts, M.F.; Stoppa, R.; Burns, E.
Cement production (Patent application WO2020091821A1)
• Detellis, J.; Marsay, K. Thomas, J.; Araujo, T.; Cheung, J.; Silva, D.A. Moisture
management in vertical roller mills (Patent application: WO2020159536A1)
• Silva, D.A.; Cheung, J.; Myers, D.F.; Chun, B.W.; Rocha, E.; Lai, W.F.; Buzzell, L.J. Early
strength enhancement of cements (Patent applications: WO2018147909A1,
PCT/US2017/058226)
• Silva, D.A.; Cheung, J.; Myers, D.F.; Chun, B.W.; Rocha, E.; Lai, W.F.; Buzzell, L.J. ,
Thomas, J.; Detellis, J. Grinding stabilizing additive for vertical roller mills (Patent
applications: WO2018147952A1, PCT/US2018/012632)
• Silva, D.A.; Cheung, J.; Sandberg, P.; Roberts, L.; Subramanian, D.; Gallagher, J.; Kuo, L.
Suppression of Antagonistic Hydration Reactions in Blended Cements (US Patent No US
8,518,176 B2 of August 27, 2013)
• Cheung, J; Silva, D.A.; Chun, B.W., Sato, M. Robust Polycarboxylate Alkyl Vinyl Ether
Polymers for Milling Preparation of Cementitious Materials. (Patent No EP2379630B1 of
February 19, 2020)