To celebrate Woman at Imperial week, we caught up with Dr Elham Mousania, Research Associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, to learn how her work is shaping sustainable industry, why systems thinking matters, and what inspires her both inside and outside the lab.
Can you introduce yourself and your role in the department?
I’m Elham Mousania, a Research Associate working in Professor Evina Katsou’s group. My focus is on European collaborative research projects that aim to make industrial processes more sustainable and efficient. This ranges from recovering waste heat to producing battery-grade materials in environmentally friendly ways.
What drew you to civil and environmental engineering?
I was attracted to this field because it deals with systems that are not only technically complex but also have huge social impact. Civil and environmental engineering sits at the intersection where engineering decisions shape how we use resources, how industries grow, and how environmental challenges are managed. I find the combination of technical depth and real-world relevance especially compelling.
What motivates you in your research?
I’m motivated by the idea that research shouldn’t just stay within academic journals. During my undergraduate and master’s studies in Iran, I helped start an environmental awareness initiative that grew from a small online community to activities across several regions. We focused on waste reduction, public education, and community engagement. Those early experiences showed me that research is most valuable when it helps bridge the gap between scientific understanding and real-world decisions in industry, policy, and everyday life.
“I was attracted to this field because it deals with systems that are not only technically complex but also have huge social impact.”
In simple terms, what is your research about?
My research is about evaluating industrial technologies and systems to understand how they perform environmentally and economically in real-world settings. I develop assessment tools, like dynamic life cycle analysis and techno-economic models, to analyse solutions such as advanced heat recovery systems and sustainable battery material production. The goal is to help industry and policymakers adopt technologies that are both efficient and sustainable.
What problem are you trying to solve, and who benefits?
Many industrial innovations look promising on paper but don’t always deliver in practice because their impacts aren’t fully understood. My assessment approaches help identify these gaps, making sure investments in new technologies lead to cost savings, lower emissions, and more efficient processes. By painting a clearer picture of real-world sustainability, I hope to support industries in making informed decisions and advancing towards low-carbon, resilient operations.
Policymakers can use my findings to design more effective environmental strategies. Industry partners can evaluate technologies before investing, reducing risk and improving efficiency. Researchers and planners also gain by understanding trade-offs across environmental and system-level factors, helping them develop practical and sustainable solutions.
Have any findings or moments surprised you in your research?
One insight from my PhD at the University at Buffalo really stuck with me: environmental outcomes depend much more on the structure of systems than on individual behaviour. When I studied plastic recycling in the US, I expected differences in recycling performance to be mainly due to how much waste people generate or public awareness. Instead, I found that recycling success often depends on infrastructure and policy frameworks. This experience reinforced the importance of taking a systems perspective in environmental challenges, which continues to shape my current research.
“Environmental outcomes depend much more on the structure of systems than on individual behaviour.”
Who do you collaborate with?
I work closely with other postdocs in Professor Katsou’s group. Beyond the department, my research involves collaboration with universities and companies across the UK, EU, US, and other countries. These include industrial partners like Repsol, LEITAT, ElvalHalcor, and American Energy Technologies Company, as well as academic institutions such as Brunel University, University of Oulu, and Vytautas Magnus University. Through these projects, I contribute to international efforts on sustainable industrial technologies and learn from a diverse network of experts.
How has being part of CEE shaped your work?
Being part of CEE gives me access to a collaborative environment and expertise I wouldn’t have on my own. When I first arrived—unfamiliar with the UK system—I received tremendous support from colleagues, which helped me settle in. The teamwork within my group is remarkable, making collaboration on complex projects both productive and enjoyable. The department’s focus on sustainability, innovation, and interdisciplinary perspectives inspires my research and supports my professional growth.
What developments in civil and environmental engineering excite you most right now?
I’m especially excited about the integration of AI, data-driven approaches, and digital tools into sustainability assessment and industrial process design. These tools let us test innovations virtually, optimise performance, and predict environmental impacts before implementation. This opens up new opportunities to make industrial systems more resilient, energy-efficient, and low-carbon, while reducing risks and supporting informed decision-making.
What are the next big questions in your field?
One major question is how to define and evaluate sustainability when technologies operate within complex, changing systems. A solution that looks promising in isolation may have very different outcomes when interacting with real industrial processes, energy systems, or supply chains. Another big question is how to make responsible decisions under uncertainty. Many technologies developed today will shape industries for decades, but their long-term impacts are hard to predict. Developing better ways to evaluate these technologies—considering cost, social, and environmental performance, and system dynamics together—is a key challenge for the field.
If you weren’t an engineer, what would you be doing?
I’d probably be a professional chef or a painter. Cooking, especially baking and pastry, is something I genuinely love. I enjoy the creativity it involves just as much as problem-solving in research.
If you could redesign one thing in London’s infrastructure, what would it be?
I’ve been in London for less than a year, so I’m still discovering the city. But if I could redesign one thing, I’d focus on modernising housing patterns. While London is rightly famous for its historic buildings, I think there’s room to improve residential buildings to meet modern needs while preserving the city’s historical character.