Events Calendar

Astani CEE Ph.D. Seminar

Speaker: Mohammad Javad Abdolhosseini Qomi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Talk Title: A Multi-scale Approach to Sustainable infrastructure

Abstract: The fledgling state of civil infrastructure can be observed in many fronts including performance, longevity, durability, resilience, and sustainability. We produce 40% of global annual CO2 emissions in buildings, about half of which is related to space heating and cooling, and still about 1 billion people live in slums. Production of concrete, the most used man-made materials on earth with 1 cubic meter per capita per annum, is responsible for 5 to 8% of global carbon emissions; and yet it suffers from excessive aging and low durability.

Standing on the intersection of engineering and physics, I use tools from statistical physics and probabilistic mechanics to study problems ranging from the molecular structure of cement paste to retrofitability of cities. At the atomic level, I discuss the interplay between chemistry and physical properties by generating a realistic database of C-S-H (the glue of concrete) molecular structures. By screening the database against Maxwell and Lagrange constraint theory, I comment on the similarity between glass physics and cement science that provides a new venue for design of cementitious materials starting from nan-scale. At the city-scale, I explain a new Big Data approach designed to find the optimal path to reduce energy consumptions. To this end, I combine data analysis and heat transfer modeling to identify buildings with the highest energy saving potentials. Overall, I present a multi-scale mechanophysical approach toward sustainable infrastructure and discuss how this defines the outline of my future research directions. "


Biography: Mr. Abdolhosseini is a PhD-candidate in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did his undergraduate studies in Civil engineering at Tehran University and earned master degree in structural engineering from Sharif University of Technology. He is the recipient of MIT’s Schoettler scholarship and Tavakkoli prize for distinguished research. His focus is on quantitative sustainability of complex materials and systems at nano- and mega-scale.

Host: Astani CEE Department

Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Cassie Cremeans