Rita Bento elected for a third term on the EAEE Executive Committee

Rita Bento, Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and a CERIS member, has been elected to the Executive Committee of the European Association for Earthquake Engineering (EAEE) for the 2026–2030 term. The election took place by secret ballot at the association’s General Assembly on 17 September, with 11 candidates competing for five seats.

This will be her third consecutive term, following those of 2018–2022 and 2022–2026. With committee members elected every four years, this election was the most competitive of the three in which she has participated.

The only Portuguese member of the Executive Committee, Rita Bento will also serve as Secretary for the first time. Her responsibilities include supporting the association’s operations, monitoring the implementation of committee decisions, ensuring institutional communication and helping coordinate the activities of EAEE working groups.

For Rita Bento, the role represents "a great honour and, at the same time, a significant responsibility". She sees it as an opportunity to strengthen international cooperation, support scientific and technical advances, and raise the visibility of earthquake engineering research and practice in Portugal.

During the new term, she aims to help bring the association closer to its members, improve transparency and strengthen scientific and technical collaboration across countries. Her priorities also include encouraging the participation of younger engineers and researchers, promoting knowledge exchange and addressing the challenges of seismic risk reduction.

Her re-election strengthens CERIS and Instituto Superior Técnico’s international representation in earthquake engineering, a field central to the safety of communities and infrastructure and the development of more resilient societies.

CERIS warmly congratulates Professor Rita Bento on her re-election and wishes her every success in her new term and in her role as Secretary of the EAEE Executive Committee.