Doctor en Ingeniería Civil por la Universidad de Cantabria, España (2013). Postdoctorado en ingeniería de materiales por la Universidad de Nottingham, Reino Unido (2018). Profesor Asistente y Director del Laboratorio de Materiales (LabMAT) en el Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental de la Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chile. Ha trabajado como investigador en diversos proyectos nacionales e internacionales y es autor de más de 40 publicaciones científicas.

Sus principales áreas de investigación son:

-Desarrollo de materiales bituminosos auto-reparables.
-Valorización de residuos para nuevos materiales sostenibles.

Proyectos

1. “Investigation of the effects of capsules containing waste oil on the mechanical properties of self-healing hot mix asphalts”. Tübitak 1001 (TÜBITAK), Turquía. Co-investigador. Código: 217M570. Duración: 2018-2020.
2. “Development of self-healing asphalt mixtures using microcapsules”. Postdoctorado Beca-Chile (CONICYT), Reino Unido. Investigador principal. Código: 74170030. Duración: 2017-2019.
3. “Sustainable thermal insulation board produced from Eucalyptus bark”. Fondef (CONICYT), Chile. Investigador principal. Código: ID14i10081. Duración: 2014-2016.
4. “Development of a new fiber-reinforced asphalt mixture with self-healing properties via microwave heating”. Fondecyt (CONICYT), Chile. Investigador principal. Código: 11140103. Duración: 2014-2016.
5. “Self-healing of dense asphalt concrete via induction heating”. Empa (ASTRA), Suiza. Co-investigador. Código: 2011/012-OBF. Duración: 2012-2013.

Publicaciones

1. Norambuena-Contreras J, Gonzalez A, Concha JL, Gonzalez-Torre I, Schlangen E. 2018. “Effect of metallic waste addition on the electrical, thermophysical and microwave crack-healing properties of asphalt mixtures”. Construction and Building Materials 187:1039-1050.
2. Norambuena-Contreras J, Cartes A, Gonzalez-Torre I, Chavez M, Kanellopoulos A. 2018. “Effect of metallic waste addition on the physical and mechanical properties of cement-based mortars”. Applied Sciences 8(929).
3. Norambuena-Contreras J, Yalcin E, Garcia A, Al-Mansoori T, Yilmaz M, Hudson-Griffiths R. 2018. “Effect of mixing and ageing on the mechanical and self-healing properties of asphalt mixtures containing polymeric capsules”. Construction and Building Materials 175:254-266.
4. Norambuena-Contreras J, Quilodran J, Gonzalez-Torre I, Chávez M, Borinaga-Treviño R. 2018. “Electrical and thermal characterisation of cement-based mortars containing recycled metallic waste”. Journal of Cleaner Production 190:737-751.
5. Norambuena-Contreras J, Gonzalez-Torre I. 2017. “Influence of the microwave heating time on the self-healing properties of asphalt mixtures. Applied Sciences 7(1076).
6. Norambuena-Contreras J, Concha JL, Borinaga-Treviño R. 2017. “Evaluation of the thermophysical and heating properties of a composite rubber membrane with energy harvesting purposes”. Polymer Testing 64:145-155.
7. Norambuena-Contreras J, Silva-Robles E, Gonzalez-Torre I, Saravia-Montero Y. 2017. “Experimental evaluation of mechanical and thermal properties of recycled rubber membranes reinforced with crushed polyethylene particles”. Journal of Cleaner Production 145:85-97.
8. Norambuena-Contreras J, Serpell R, Valdés G, Gonzalez A, Schlangen E. 2016. “Effect of fibres addition on the physical and mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures with crack-healing purposes by microwave radiation”. Construction and Building Materials 127:369-382.
9. Norambuena-Contreras J, Gonzalez-Torre I, Vivanco JF, Gacitúa W. 2016. “Nanomechanical properties of polymeric fibres used in geosynthetics”. Polymer Testing 54:67-77.
10. Norambuena-Contreras J, Garcia A. 2016. “Self-healing of asphalt mixture by microwave and induction heating”. Materials and Design 106:404-414.