Biography
Dr. Cruz Rios is a built environment scientist who is fascinated by complex systems, multidisciplinary research, sustainability, and climate resilience. Her professional background in Architecture, Urban Planning, and Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering gives her a unique perspective of the complex challenges of buildings and cities as they adapt to climate and resource constraints. Dr. Cruz Rios runs the Circular Innovations for Resilient Communities and Livable Environments (CIRCLE) lab at Drexel, which publishes work on circular economy, climate resilience, and engineering education, with methods ranging from interviews and qualitative data analysis to life cycle assessment, machine learning, and computer vision.
Degrees / Education
- PhD, Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State University, 2018
- BS, Architecture and Urban Planning, Universidade Federal da Bahia (Brazil), 2012
Research Areas
Areas of Study
Select Publications
-
Cruz Rios, F. (2026). Resilience in Building Life Cycle
Assessment: A Critical Review and Framework for Time-Integrated
Functionality. Journal of Industrial Ecology.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s44498-026-00152-7
-
Rajbhandari, M., Cruz Rios, F., Singh, K., Montalto,
F., Payab, A. H., & Carneiro Marques, A. (2026). Understanding the
impacts of decentralized circular water strategies for combined sewer
overflow and urban flooding. Urban Climate, 67.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2026.102887
-
Cruz Rios, F., El Asmar, M., Grau, D., & Parrish,
K. (2026). Institutional Failures and Missed Opportunities: Insights
from Engineering Administrators on Native Faculty Hiring.
Frontiers in Higher Education
2026, 11.
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1677398
-
Keles, C., Cruz Rios, F., Hoque, S. (2025). Digital
Technologies and Circular Economy in the Construction Sector: A Review
of Lifecycle Applications, Integrations, Potential, and Limitations.
Buildings, 15(4), 553.
https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15040553
-
Marzani, G., Tondelli, S., Kuma, Y., Cruz Rios, F., Hu,
Rongbo, Bock, T. (2025). Embedding Circular Economy in the Construction
Sector Policy Framework: Experiences from EU, US, and Japan for Better
Future Cities. Smart Cities, 8(2), 48.
https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities8020048
- Temizel-Sekeyran, S., Cruz Rios, F., Geremicca, F., & Bilec, M. (2023). Circular Design and Embodied Carbon in Living Buildings: The Missing Potential. Journal of Architectural Engineering, 29(3): 04023013-1.
- Babbitt, C., Athaf, S., Graedel, T., Cruz Rios, F., & Bilec, M. (2021). The role of design in circular economy solutions for critical materials. One Earth (Cell Press), 4 (3), 353-362.
- Cruz Rios, F., Panic, S., Grau, D., Khanna, V., & Bilec, M. (2021). Exploring circular economies in the built environment from a complex systems perspective: A systematic review and conceptual model at the city scale. Sustainable Cities and Society, 103411.
- Berry, B., Farber, B., Chakraborty, S., Haedicke, M., Lowden, S., Cruz Rios, F., Bilec, M., & Isenhour, C. (2021). Just by Design: Exploring justice as a multidimensional concept in U.S. circular economy discourse. Local Environment.
- Cruz Rios, F., Grau, D., & Bilec, M. (2021) Barriers and Enablers to Circular Building Design in the U.S.: An Empirical Study. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 147 (10), 04021117
- Cruz Rios, F., Berry, B., Zappitelli, J., Khanna, V., Isenhour, C., Bilec, M. M. (2021). Why Bother? Environmental and social implications of using durable building products. 4th PLATE 2021 Conference Proceedings, Product Lifetimes and the Environment.
- Cruz Rios, F., & Grau, D. (2020). Design for Disassembly: An analysis of the practice (or lack thereof) in the United States. Construction Research Congress 2020. American Society of Civil Engineers.
- Cruz Rios, F., Grau, D., & Chong, W. K. (2019). Reusing exterior wall framing systems: A cradle-to-cradle comparative life cycle assessment. Waste Management, 94, 120–135.
- Cruz Rios, F., Chong, W. K., & Grau, D. (2015). Design for Disassembly and Deconstruction - Challenges and Opportunities. Procedia Engineering, 118, 1296–1304.