Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials

Prof. dr. ir. Wouter Botte

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Name: Wouter Botte
Title: Prof. dr. ir.
Function: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)
T +32 9 264 54 80
Wouter.Botte@UGent.be

Secretariat:
Mrs. Anabelle Michiels (T + 32 264 55 35), Mrs. Christel Malfait (T + 32 9 264 55 36)

Overview

Wouter Botte is assistant professor in Structural Strengthening at Ghent University (UGent) since 2024 and one of the technical directors of the Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory for Structural Engineering and Building Materials of Ghent University.

Wouter Botte received his M.Sc. Degree in Civil Engineering form Ghent University in 2013. From 2013 to 2017 he was a Research Assistant of the FWO Research Foundation - Flanders, focussing on the reliability and robustness of new and existing concrete structures. From 2018 to 2024 he was a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University. He currently is Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) leading research in the field of strengthening techniques and performance optimization, combining advanced numerical modelling, experimental validation, and probabilistic analyses.

Research interests

  • Structural assessment and strengthening of existing concrete structures
  • Probabilistic methods and Bayesian updating in structural engineering
  • Durability and residual capacity of deteriorated structures
  • Robustness and redundancy in structural systems
  • Hybrid numerical modelling approaches (LDPM, FEM, engineering models)
  • Optimization strategies using performance-based and life-cycle approaches
  • Large-scale testing

Publications

Committees and working groups

  • Member of fib Commission 3 ‘Existing Concrete Structures’
  • Technical Secretary of fib TG3.1 ‘Reliability and safety evaluation’
  • Member of fib TG 8.8.2 WP ‘ULS&SLS’

Current teaching activities

  • Steel Construction I
  • Structural Analysis Calculation Techniques I
  • Structural Analysis Calculation Techniques II
  • FEM and Constitutive Material Laws in Structural Engineering
  • Multidisciplinary Project Building Technology