Richard Dean Morales

Richard Dean Morales is a Research Fellow at Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and a Doctoral Researcher in the Energy and Materials in Infrastructure and Buildings (EMIB) group at the University of Antwerp.

He is conducting research about digital city modelling and building performance simulation with an aim of transforming cities towards sustainability and climate resilience. He is part of EMIB which is a multi-disciplinary research group focusing on the transformation of buildings, infrastructure, and the whole built environment in a sustainable society. Dean’s work thrives on connecting scientific research with real-world impact. He incorporates real-world case studies, such as collaborating with the City of Antwerp in Belgium, to ground his research in practical, actionable examples.

PREVIOUS WORK

Dean has a diverse background, blending experience in both industry and academia. He began his career as a Quantity Surveyor at Arcadis, a global consultancy firm, where he was involved in the pre- and post-contract stages of various construction projects, ranging in value and complexity. He handled a wide array of responsibilities, overseeing all aspects of the quantity surveying function from project inception to completion. Following this, Dean worked as a Project Manager at Ayala Property Management Corporation (APMC), the leading property management company in the Philippines. There, he collaborated with Ayala Land property managers across residential, commercial, and estate units, providing construction project management services. In academia, Dean became an instructor at the University of the Philippines, teaching civil engineering subjects and engaging in engineering research. He later transitioned to work in climate research at Sandbag Climate Campaign, a Brussels-based NGO, where he focused on policy and data analysis for the evaluation of the technical potential and costs of emissions reduction in European industry sectors, including construction, steel, and hydrogen. He has developed digital tools, still being used today, and published policy briefs, which are contributing to the ongoing decarbonisation of European heavy industries.