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Re-AIM Lab

Responsive and Adaptive Infrastructure Materials  Research Group

Welcome! 

The Re-AIM research group is a diverse, collaborative, and determined team of multi-disciplinary research students from Architectural, Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Nuclear Engineering, and Materials Science. Our group serves as a growth space for the next-generation of engineering and science leaders that can help achieve harmony between the built and natural environments through reduced concrete material environmental impacts (i.e., lower CO2 emissions) for the building, infrastructure, and construction-related industries. Our research focuses on discovering links between the chemistry of low-CO2 cements and their properties and degradation performance over time with experimental and computational methods. We invite you to explore these pages to learn more about our research, current lab members, job opportunities, and more!

Our Vision + Mission

We focus on the sustainability of the built environments

Vision

Achieve harmony between the natural and built environments with low-CO2 cementitious materials. 

Mission

To develop the future scientific leaders in the field of cement and concrete by conducting value-driven, excellent, and collaborative research on low-CO2 cementitious materials for infrastructure end-users, operators, and owners. 

Our Research Responds to…
UN Sustainable Development

Our projects support the use of new local materials for sustainable and resilient building (Goal 11. Target C).

 

Global Grand Challenges

Our projects are at the intersection of sustainable cementitious material science, and automated construction. 

 

NSF 2026 Big Ideas

Our projects are multi-disciplinary and re-envision a resource-independent urban infrastructure.

 

Our Research

We consider the life-cycle of the built environment

Our research focuses on understanding and predicting the properties as well as degradation performance over time of sustainable cementitious materials by mapping their low-CO2 cement chemistry with experimental and computational methods. 

The main goal of our research is to create a unifying theory of modern and low-CO2 cementitious materials that can be used to predict the material properties and degradation performance relevant to multiple engineering applications (from 3D printing and general durability to extraterrestrial construction). By achieving this goal, we can “re-aim” current concrete specification practices and achieve better harmony between the natural and built environment by specifying project-appropriate concrete materials.

In the pursuit of achieving this main research goal, our scientific innovations will underpin the development of responsive and adaptive materials for new and existing construction applications, respectively. More specifically, by leveraging the linkages between cement chemistry with their property and performance over time we can engineer materials that can respond to conditions during construction (construction phase) or adapt to existing conditions (rehabilitation phase) to extend the service life of critical infrastructure.

Join our Team

We are always looking for team members from multiple disciplines 

As a part of the Re-AIM research team, you will form part of an exciting community of scientists and engineers dedicated to advancing innovative concrete technologies to solve our most pressing societal challenges (e.g., global climate change). You will advance your career by benefiting from both a world-renowned education as well as state-of-the-art facilities on advanced characterization, simulation, and applications of novel concrete technology at the Materials Research Institute (MRI), Sustainability Institute (SI), Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) as well as the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), among others.

We are seeking highly motivated students from a wide variety of fields to join the team (Architectural, Civil, or Environmental Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Geochemistry, Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemistry).  If this research is exciting to you, please email us your CV, a short description of your specific research interests, and your goals in pursuing a Ph.D. or M.S. 

Explore Penn State with us!