Ivan Marović | Strategic Decision-Making | Best Researcher Award

Prof. Ivan Marović | Strategic Decision-Making | Best Researcher Award 

Professor at University of Rijeka | Croatia 

Prof. Ivan Marović is a Professor at the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Civil Engineering, with over two decades of academic experience progressing from research assistant to full professorship. His research focuses on Project Management in civil engineering, emphasizing management information systems, multi-criteria decision analysis, and soft computing methods. He has led and contributed to numerous research projects addressing sustainable management of urban areas, adaptation of coastal structures to climate change, and performance management of construction projects using artificial intelligence and soft computing approaches. His work has resulted in 458 citations across 404 documents, with an h-index of 13. Marović has received multiple awards for his scientific contributions, including recognition for the best doctoral thesis in civil engineering, honors from the Croatian Academy of Technical Sciences, and a Global Peer Review Award for top-ranked reviewers in environmental and cross-field research. He has also been acknowledged for innovation and knowledge transfer with national awards and a silver medal at an international innovation exhibition. He has actively collaborated with leading universities and research institutions in Croatia and internationally, contributing to both academia and industry. Marović has published extensively in indexed journals, authored book chapters, and served as guest editor for special issues in reputable journals, while also participating in the scientific committees of numerous international conferences. An accomplished educator, he has mentored over 45 bachelor and master’s theses and supervised one doctoral thesis, earning multiple teaching awards. He is an active member of professional associations in construction management and operational research, promoting interdisciplinary research, industry collaboration, and sustainable practices in civil engineering.

Profiles : Scopus | ORCID | Google Scholar | Linked In 

Featured Publications : 

Ružić, I., Marović, I., Benac, Č., & Ilić, S. (2014). Coastal cliff geometry derived from structure-from-motion photogrammetry at Stara Baška, Krk Island, Croatia. Geo-Marine Letters, 34(6), 555–565.

Marović, I., Perić, M., & Hanák, T. (2021). A multi-criteria decision support concept for selecting the optimal contractor. Applied Sciences, 11(4), 1660.

Jajac, N., Knezic, S., & Marović, I. (2009). Decision support system to urban infrastructure maintenance management. Organization, Technology & Management in Construction: An International Journal.

Marović, I., Androjić, I., Jajac, N., & Hanák, T. (2018). Urban road infrastructure maintenance planning with application of neural networks. Complexity, 2018(1), 5160417.

Hanák, T., Marović, I., & Aigel, P. (2015). Perception of residential environment in cities: A comparative study. Procedia Engineering, 117, 495–501.

Reza Khalili | Strategic Decision-Making | Best Researcher Award

Mr. Reza Khalili | Strategic Decision-Making | Best Researcher Award 

Research Assistant at Stony Brook University | United States 

Mr. Reza Khalili is a graduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Stony Brook University, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a strong academic record. His educational background also includes a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Isfahan. His research primarily focuses on power systems optimization, renewable energy integration, electricity markets, and the application of advanced computational and machine learning methods in energy systems. His scholarly impact is reflected in 81 citations across 78 documents, with 6 publications and an h-index of 4. Khalili has contributed to several peer-reviewed journals and conferences, publishing impactful works on topics such as robust multi-objective optimization for electricity markets, socio-economic energy hub design, peer-to-peer energy trading, and uncertainty management in renewable energy integration. His co-authored works have appeared in respected journals including Applied Energy, Journal of Energy Storage, and Energy & Buildings, and he has contributed a book chapter published by Taylor & Francis. His conference papers include research on security-constrained optimal power flow and distribution network resilience, one of which was recognized as a best paper finalist at IEEE SmartGridComm. In his academic career, Khalili has gained valuable research experience as a graduate research assistant, working on advanced optimization techniques, contingency prediction in power systems, and uncertainty quantification methods.

Profiles : Scopus | ORCID | Google Scholar 

Featured Publications: 

Khalili, R., Khaledi, A., Marzband, M., Nematollahi, A. F., Vahidi, B., & Siano, P. (2023). Robust multi-objective optimization for the Iranian electricity market considering green hydrogen and analyzing the performance of different demand response programs. Applied Energy, 334, 120737.

Darvishi, A., Ranjbar, B., Gharibi, R., Khalili, R., & Dashti, R. (2024). Multi-objective optimization of a socio-economic energy hub with demand response program and considering customer satisfaction. Journal of Energy Storage, 100, 113624.

Gharibi, R., Khalili, R., Vahidi, B., Nematollahi, A. F., Dashti, R., & Marzband, M. (2025). Enhancing energy hub performance: A comprehensive model for efficient integration of hydrogen energy and renewable sources with advanced uncertainty management strategies. Journal of Energy Storage, 107, 114948.

Gharibi, H., Gharibi, R., Khalili, R., Dashti, R., Marzband, M., & Rawa, M. (2025). Optimizing multi-objective peer-to-peer energy trading in green homes: Robust strategies to address non-probabilistic uncertainty using IGDT with integrated demand response. Energy and Buildings, 116435.

Gharibi, R., Vahidi, B., Dashti, R., & Khalili, R. (n.d.). From electrons to solutions: Power-to-X strategies for energy systems integration. In Power-to-X in regional energy systems (pp. 201–227). Taylor & Francis.