My research has focussed, in the main, on traditional and advanced CE materials, including fibre reinforced concrete, engineered cementitious composite and low-carbon concretes.  Multi-functional (i.e., self-sensing) cement composites and alkali-activated binders represent a new direction in my research.  I am also interested in the application of electrical property measurements as a testing methodology for assessing the long-term performance and durability of concrete.  I also have expertise in damage monitoring and nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete structures, focusing, in the main, on the links between material deterioration and structural performance.

My current research projects include:
- application of electrical property measurements for studying hydration and
    microstructure development in cement-based systems
- development of a testing methodology for assessing concrete performance
- performance of concrete in marine environments
- practical test method and structural application of ductile concrete
- multifunctional (i.e. self-monitoring) cement composite
- moisture movement within the cover-zone of concrete
- bond and achorage of steel reinforcement in concrete
- nonlinear analysis of deteriorated structures, and
- application of digital image correlation for material and structural testing

Benny joined the Institute for Infrastructure and Environment at Heriot-Watt University as an Assistant Professor in late 2012, after working for three years as a PDRA at the University of Tokyo (Hongo campus) in Japan (funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science).  He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018.

Benny has won numerous awards for his research in concrete materials and structures, including two best paper awards from the Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology (2010 & 2012), two prestigious awards from the Japan Concrete Institute (2011 & 2013), Wen-Jei Yang prize in 2005 and best paper prize (ICDCS) in 2018, along with several others domestic awards.  He was also awarded the 2018 Teaching and Learning Oscar.

Academic Biography
2015 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Heriot-Watt University.

2009 PhD in Nonlinear Mechanics of Concrete, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Thesis entitled 'Nonlinear mechanics of high performance fibre reinforced concrete'. Supervisors: Dr Kohei Nagai and Prof Koichi Maekawa.

2005 MEng in Structural Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Thesis entitled 'Adaptive forced based pushover analysis of reinforced concrete frames'.

2003 BEng in Civil and Structural Engineering, Petra Christian University, Indonesia, specialised in performance based assessment of reinforced concrete structures.