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Summary Report: Resilience Executive Roundtable@MIT
The April 22nd Resilience Executive Roundtable@MIT brought together leaders across construction, insurance, fire safety, and other industries to discuss the need for stronger construction to protect homes, lives, and communities from intensifying natural hazards. The MIT CSHub has created a summary report which provides an overview of the roundtable, barriers and opportunities for achieving more…
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Research Brief: Incorporating Hazard Vulnerability and Carbon Uptake into Building Life Cycle Assessment
Our research brief led by alumna Dr. Ipek Bensu Manav examines the emissions impact of materials choices and repairs in hazard-prone areas. The Florida case study demonstrates that durable, hazard-resilient materials may contribute to lower life cycle emissions despite higher upfront emissions, thanks to savings in the repair and replacement stages. Click here to read…
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Research Brief: Life Cycle Impacts of Fully-Loaded Ready Mixed Concrete Trucks
This research brief led by Dr. Haoran Li evaluates the potential benefits and costs of increasing ready mixed concrete (RMC) truck gross vehicle weight limits beyond current federal thresholds, while remaining within the trucks’ capacity. In many cases, current weight limits prevent trucks from operating at capacity. In a modeled case study of a Pennsylvania interstate, the…
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MIT News: AI stirs up the recipe for concrete in MIT study
AI is reshaping the future of concrete. In MIT News, a CSHub and Olivetti Group team explains how they’re using chatbots and machine learning to find new materials that can replace a portion of cement in concrete. As industry looks to reduce costs and emissions, demand for traditional cement supplements is outstripping supply. The MIT…
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MIT News: Making the most of limited data to boost pavement performance
To secure a more sustainable future, we must take a careful look at the long-term performance and environmental impacts of our pavements. Haoran Li, a postdoc at the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is deeply invested in studying how to give stakeholders the information and tools they need…
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Dr. Hessam AzariJafari earns ACI Young Member Award for Professional Achievement
Congratulations to Dr. Hessam AzariJafari for earning the American Concrete Institute’s Young Member Award for Professional Achievement. He is recognized “for contributions to the advancement of life cycle assessment in the study of the sustainability of concrete, its implementation in measuring the environmental impacts of construction materials, and its use in carbon emissions policy to…
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CSHub releases briefs on emissions impact of concrete overdesign and strength testing variability
A CSHub team led by Dr. Soroush Mahjoubi has published two briefs on concrete overdesign and strength testing variability. The team finds that optimizing concrete overdesign—the intentional and required process of designing concrete to meet a higher strength than specified—can lead to savings of 80kg CO2e/m3, a 25% reduction in the GHG emissions of concrete…
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Op-ed: Policymakers Should Pursue Stronger Construction to Save Lives, Homes, Long-Term Spending
Natural disasters are projected to cost the U.S. nearly $40 billion annually by 2075, highlighting the escalating financial burden of climate-driven disasters. The mounting devastation caused by these extreme events underscores a sobering reality: inaction on current and future construction will only deepen the economic and human toll. The Trump administration and the new Congress must…
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Reducing urban heating and lifetime GHGs with concrete roads
By mid-century, two out of every three persons on the planet will be living in urban areas. These growing urban populations face two simultaneous climate challenges; extreme heat events attributed to Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects, and Global Climate Change (GCC).” These projections come from a 2021 study co-authored by MIT researchers Hessam AzariJafari, Randolph Kirchain, Xin Xu and…
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Admir Masic: Using lessons from the past to build a better future
“Roman concrete to me is fascinating: It’s still standing after all this time and constantly repairing,” said Prof. Admir Masic in his MIT News feature. Read the article.
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Research meets industry at CSHub’s Fall 2024 Advisory Meeting
On November 6 and 7, we welcomed over 50+ industry professionals from across the concrete, construction, and architecture sectors for a researcher-led poster reception, presentations, and breakout group discussions. We thank all those who attended and contributed to a great conversation.
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The New York Times: Reinventing Concrete, the Ancient Roman Way
The New York Times featured Dr. Admir Masic’s research on ancient Roman concrete’s self-healing ability and how to harness it to boost the resilience of today’s concrete. Read the new article.
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‘Nutrition Facts’ for Emissions: Why EPA Must Account for the Whole Life Cycle in Low Carbon Labels
In their new op-ed in RealClearEnergy, Hessam AzariJafari, Ipek Bensu Manav, and Andrew Laurent explain that while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s new low-carbon labels for construction materials are an important step forward, they must account for emissions beyond production to best aid purchasing decisions. The authors propose that the EPA use life cycle…
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CSHub launches hazard-informed building LCA dashboard
What makes a building “green?” Conventional understandings of green buildings focus on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with constructing the building. However, as our new dashboard demonstrates, exterior wall material choice has a significant impact on hazard repairs, regular wear-and-tear, and operational energy usage. Dashboard prepared by Dr. Ipek Bensu Manav. Try the dashboard.
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Research Brief: Next-generation concrete: Combining loadbearing and energy storage solutions
Electron-conducting concrete combines scalability and durability with energy storage and delivery capabilities, becoming a potential enabler of the renewable energy transition. In a new research brief by the CSHub and MIT ec³ hub, we explore the mechanics and applications of this technology. Read the brief.
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MITEI selects CSHub CCUS project for funding within energy research cohort
Our project investigating how to enable widespread carbon capture, transport, and storage at scale for hard-to-abate sectors has been selected for funding by the MIT Energy Initiative’s Future Systems Center. Led by Research Scientist Elizabeth Moore, the research is exploring the potential of a large-scale pipeline network based around the location of “carbon hubs,” or…
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New framework empowers pavement life-cycle decision-making while reducing data collection burden
Roads are the backbone of our society and economy, taking people and goods across distances long and short. They are a staple of the built environment, taking up nearly 2.8 million lane-miles (or 4.6 million lane-kilometers) of the United States’ surface area. These same roads have a considerable life-cycle environmental impact, having been associated with over 75 megatons…
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RC3 Consortium releases one-pager on EPD utility for pavement decision-making
A new one-pager created by the Reduced Carbon Concrete Consortium (RC3) covers the utility of environmental product declarations (EPDs) for pavement decision-making. Key takeaways: Further reading:1. AzariJafari et al. (2023). Suitability of EPDs for Supporting Life Cycle and Comparative Analysis of Concrete Mixtures. Environmental Science and Technology, 57 (19), 7321-7327. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c05697.2. AzariJafari et al. (2021).…
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Brief: Natural carbon uptake in single-family homes: An element-level assessment approach
To create a more precise estimate for the carbon uptake of buildings, the MIT CSHub has developed a bottom-up, context-sensitive approach to estimate the uptake of different cement-based products (CBPs) in a building by estimating the uptake in individual CBPs within that building [3]. This brief describes estimates for single-family homes and the elements they…
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Interim Report: Accounting for Carbon Uptake in the EPDs of Cement-based Products
In this report, a framework is proposed to account for carbon uptake in Product Category Rules (PCRs) for creating EPDs. The proposed method elaborates the multi-level approach adopted to define carbon uptake estimation based on the information available to EPD producers and users. The report highlights the need for a probabilistic framework to account for…
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MIT CSHub Spring ’23-’24 Review
Learn about the MIT CSHub’s research, communications, and implementation impacts across sustainability, infrastructure, resilience, and workforce since Spring 2023 in our newly-released Spring Review.
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Brief: Getting scope 3 right: how building life cycle analysis enables more complete greenhouse gas accounting for materials producers
Learn how building life cycle assessment can inform scope 1-3 accounting for producers in our latest brief authored by Ipek Bensu Manav and team. Read the brief.
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MIT conductive concrete consortium cements five-year research agreement with Japanese industry
The MIT Electron-conductive Cement-based Materials Hub (EC^3 Hub), an outgrowth of the MIT CSHub, was established by a research agreement with Aizawa Concrete of Japan. The EC^3 Hub, read as “EC-cube,” will investigate the infrastructure applications of multifunctional concrete — concrete having capacities beyond serving as a structural element, such as functioning as a “battery” for…
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Brief: How can the cement industry enable widespread industrial CCUS adoption?
How can the cement industry enable widespread adoption of carbon capture, utilization, and storage? In this research brief, Elizabeth Moore and team investigate a model carbon transport network to serve the cement industry. Pipeline design scenarios were analyzed to investigate the location of “carbon hubs” of nearby industrial facilities that could tap into pipelines at…
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Whitepaper: Reducing Carbon Emissions in the Built Environment: A Case Study in 3D Printed Homes
Whitepaper: “Reducing Carbon Emissions in the Built Environment: A Case Study in 3D Printed Homes” In this whitepaper, Hessam AzariJafari and Randolph Kirchain join Francesca Lolli, Sean Monkman, and Bungane Mehlomakulu of ICON to present a comparative analysis of the life cycle performance of 3D-printed and stick frame homes in various U.S. climate conditions. Read…
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Hessam AzariJafari to be a panelist at the Transatlantic Institute for Sustainable Trade’s roundtable in Washington, D.C.
Hessam AzariJafari will be a featured panelist at the Transatlantic Institute for Sustainable Trade’s roundtable on 1/31, “Creating a Market for Green Cement and Concrete on Both Sides of the Atlantic,” in Washington, D.C. The roundtable will discuss how regulatory frameworks can support the market uptake of cleaner cement and concrete technologies and accelerate decarbonization…
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Research Brief: Accessible Multi-scale Flood Modeling via the 3D Lattice Approach
Danial Amini and Johannes Kalliauer describe an accessible and inexpensive flood modeling approach accounting for city texture. Click here to read more.
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Franz-Josef Ulm and Pete Buttigieg for TRB panel: “New Materials for Infrastructure: Reinventing the Roadway, Runway, & Railway”
Link to the panel here Learn more about our research: https://cshub.mit.edu/
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The Hill: We’re overhauling our cars in the name of energy efficiency — why not our roads?
In their new op-ed in The Hill, Randolph Kirchain and Hessam AzariJafari explain why road improvements enhancing pavement stiffness and smoothness are essential to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of all vehicles. The majority of vehicles on the road are projected to be powered by traditional engines up through 2050, making it essential for…
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Franz-Josef Ulm sits on TRB USDOT panel with Pete Buttigieg
Franz-Josef Ulm sat on a panel with Pete Buttigieg at the Transportation Research Board’s 2024 meeting yesterday. The panel was part of a U.S. Department of Transportation-led workshop titled “New Materials for Infrastructure: Reinventing the Roadway, Runway, and Railway.” Learn more about the panel.
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Transforming the Role of the Concrete Delivery Professional: Executive Report
In this report, Randolph Kirchain, Frank Field, Beth Unger, and Liz Moore summarize the MIT CSHub’s work to date to understand and mitigate the concrete delivery professional (CDP) shortage. Many thanks to the Concrete Advancement Foundation for sponsoring this special project. Read the report.
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Happy Holidays from the MIT CSHub!
Happy Holidays from the MIT CSHub! A hearty thank you to everyone in our community for your support. From our researchers to our industry partners, everyone in and around the Hub has helped progress our vision of realizing a carbon neutral industry, enabling more sustainable infrastructure with finite resources, and creating more resilient communities. We…
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Two CSHub articles make MIT News’ Top Stories of 2023 list
Two articles of ours were among MIT News’ most popular of 2023. Why was Roman concrete so durable? Researchers discovered ancient concrete-manufacturing strategies that gave Roman concrete its famed durability. The work may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia. A supercapacitor made from ancient materials: A new kind of supercapacitor could…
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Webinar: Analyses from MIT CSHub Streamlined Pavement LCA Tool
During this webinar, we show the use of surrogate modeling to enable pavement design optimization and refine long-term performance forecasting. The presentation also includes the role of enhanced pavement design and strategic maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) planning in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the pavement’s life cycle. Additionally, the webinar will address the practicality…
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MIT CSHub December Newsletter
From a successful PhD defense to a new research brief, it has been an eventful month at the Hub. Some highlights from our December Newsletter: Join Randolph Kirchain, Hessam AzariJafari, and Haoran Li, PhD as they discuss findings from our recently-developed streamlined life cycle assessment tool for pavements during a public webinar at 11am. RSVP…
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Ipek Bensu Manav successfully defends PhD thesis
A warm congratulations to Ipek Bensu Manav for her successful PhD defense! Dr. Manav presented on “Assessing the Intersectional Risks Associated with the Full Life Cycle of the U.S. Housing Stock” before her doctoral committee last week. We appreciate your hard work and look forward to seeing where your research takes you!
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CSHub November Newsletter
From presentations at ACI to our Fall Advisory Meeting, it has been an eventful month at the Hub! Some major updates: Thank you to all who attended the November 1+2 Fall Advisory Meeting. We had great discussions and presentations on all things concrete, not to mention an excellent poster session inviting industry to engage directly…
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Research Brief: Accessible Multi-Scale Flood Modeling via the 3D Lattice Approach
In this research brief by Johannes Kalliauer and Danial Amini, we explore a computationally inexpensive method to model urban flooding on different scales. Click here to read.
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MIT CSHub Presentations at the American Concrete Institute Concrete Convention 2023
Thank you to everyone who attended our presentations at ACI. We had eight presentations covering diverse topics. We are looking forward to the next Concrete Convention in New Orleans! Please find the list of presentations below: i. Randolph Kirchain, “Incorporating Climate Vulnerability into the Study of the Embodied Carbon of Buildings” ii. Marcin Hajduczek, “Chemically…
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Elsa Olivetti featured in MIT News article
“I think to make real progress in sustainability, materials scientists need to think in interdisciplinary, systems-level ways, but at a deep technical level,” said Prof. Elsa Olivetti, who recently began working with the CSHub. Read the article to learn how Prof. Olivetti leans on MIT’s collaborative culture to work on complex climate resilience and mitigation…
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Industry Meets Research at the Fall 2023 CSHub Advisory Meeting!
Thank you to all who attended the November 1st and 2nd Fall Advisory Meeting. We had great discussions and presentations on all things concrete, not to mention an excellent poster session inviting industry to engage directly with the researchers making our work possible. Looking forward to the next Advisory Meeting!
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CSHub hosts UANL and CEMEX Mexico visitors
A hearty thank you to the folks from organizations like the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León and Cemex México who recently came to visit us at MIT. We had great presentations, discussions, and even a lab tour led by research scientist Damian Stefaniuk. We look forward to collaborating and staying in touch with you!
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Webinar: Embodied/operational tradeoffs in equiv. buildings design w/ various structural materials
On October 26th, Hub alum Lucy Lyu provided an overview of CSHub research to assess the embodied and operational impacts of design decisions for equivalent structures. Click here to watch.
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CSHub presents at ACLCA 2023
Thank you to the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) for having us at their 2023 Conference! Randolph Kirchain, Gregory Norris, Ipek Bensu Manav, and Miaomiao Zhang gave presentations at this event last week in Burlington, VT.
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Franz-Josef Ulm and Admir Masic talk carbon-cement supercapacitors on G-Town Radio
CSHub is taking to the airwaves! At 4pm ET today, Franz-Josef Ulm and Admir Masic will be featured on G-town Radio to discuss the potential of carbon-cement supercapacitors to solve energy storage problems. Click here to listen.
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Franz-Josef Ulm presented for UofM distinguished lecture series
Franz-Josef Ulm presented for the University of Michigan’s “Building the Future” lecture series on September 29. He focused on how carbon-cement supercapacitors could serve as the future of bulk renewable energy storage. Click to watch.
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Randolph Kirchain presents before MA Senate
Randolph Kirchain presented before the Massachusetts State Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change yesterday. His presentation focused on considerations for low-embodied emissions legislation (including the importance of embodied emissions across the life cycle) as well as how to drive supply chain innovation. Click the link to watch Dr. Kirchain’s presentation, which starts at…
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“Transforming the Role of the Concrete Delivery Professional” webinar now on YouTube!
Our webinar “As the Drum Turns: Transforming the Role of the Concrete Delivery Professional” is now live on YouTube! During this presentation, Beth Unger, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Moore provided an update on our special project to understand the concrete delivery professional (CDP) shortage and explore ways to boost recruitment and retention.
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Building Resilience Coalition features CSHub article on carbon uptake in concrete
To secure a more sustainable and resilient future, we must look carefully at the life cycle impacts of humanity’s most-produced building material: concrete. Carbon uptake, the process by which cement-based products sequester carbon dioxide, is key to this understanding. Hessam AzariJafari, the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub’s deputy director, is deeply invested in studying this process…
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CSHub September Newsletter
From story placements in Boston Globe Media and the World Economic Forum to high-profile presentations, it has been an eventful month at the Hub. Click to learn more in our newsletter.
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Meshkat Botshekan successfully defends PhD thesis
Today, we are celebrating the successful PhD defense of Hub researcher Meshkat Botshekan! Dr. Botshekan presented on “Unveiling Roadway Network Safety: Application of Statistical Physics to Crowdsourced Velocity Data” before his doctoral committee. We look forward to seeing where your research and hard work takes you!
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CSHub makes “top story” in NEU newsletter
We made “top story” in NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete’s newsletter! In the highlighted piece, postdoc Damian Stefaniuk explains carbonation in cement-based products and its importance in assessing environmental impacts. Click to read the story.
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CSHub publishes video on carbon-cement supercapacitors
In this short video, learn how carbon-cement supercapacitors could serve as a future solution for bulk energy storage, particularly for renewable sources like solar and wind. In their paper in PNAS, researchers from the CSHub and other institutions discuss the potential for this technology to be applied to residential and industrial applications like self-charging roads…
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Boston Globe features CSHub carbon-cement supercapacitor work
Boston Globe Media features our work on carbon-cement supercapacitors in a new article exploring how the technology could be a bulk energy storage solution for renewable sources like solar. “‘Energy storage is a global problem,’ said Franz-Josef Ulm, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT and one of the creators of the supercapacitor.…
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CSHub featured in LinkedIn article
In the vast expanse of human history, few materials have shaped our built environment as profoundly as concrete. From towering skyscrapers to sprawling highways, concrete stands as a testament to human ingenuity. Yet, as we stand at the precipice of a climate crisis, the very foundation of our modern world is under scrutiny. Can this…
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Randolph Kirchain presents at CMHA Midyear Meeting
Thank you for having us at the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association Midyear Meeting! Here, Randolph Kirchain introduces our research on how to reduce the carbon footprint of the cement and concrete industries.
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Hessam AzariJafari to present at PaveWise Concrete Conference
“The PaveWise Concrete Conference has multiple sessions including a focus on Paving a Sustainable Future. Hessam Azarijafari from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub will present on the US Decarbonization through Pavement Life Cycle Strategies.” Original LinkedIn post.Register for the conference.
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World Economic Forum features CSHub article on carbon uptake
“Here’s how concrete can serve as a natural ‘carbon sink’ MIT researchers have developed a new method to boost concrete’s ability to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This could help to mitigate the climate impact of the construction industry, which is a major emitter of greenhouse gases.” Original LinkedIn post Article
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Admir Masic to present for NRMCA Concrete Innovation series
Admir Masic will lead a presentation on multifunctional concrete for the Concrete Innovations webinar series on September 13th. The talk will cover topics ranging from “new formulations that act as carbon sinks, to Roman-inspired self-healing concretes, and electrically-conductive cements.” The session, Innovative Cements, begins at 11am EST. Click to register.
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CSHub, IGGA, and CPAM release Fuel/Carbon Savings Calculator
“Check out our fuel/carbon savings calculator! Developed in partnership with CPAM and MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, it assesses fuel efficiency related to pavement roughness and calculates the fuel and associated CO2 savings which can be achieved with concrete diamond grinding.” Original LinkedIn post Link to calculator
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Tables and figures: Why are graphics taken for granted in research writing?
“At the Concrete Sustainability Hub, I am notorious for being a stickler about quality figures. I am always commenting on my fellow researchers’ charts and tables while offering to help make them better. I feel that it’s my responsibility toward them to help make their work as accessible as possible, so that we can all…
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3 Questions: Boosting concrete’s ability to serve as a natural “carbon sink”
Damian Stefaniuk unpacks new research to bolster concrete’s natural carbon sequestration potential by adding sodium bicarbonate in mixes in our new Massachusetts Institute of Technology News piece. “Overall, [chemically-induced pre-cure carbonation] demonstrates the potential for more efficient and controlled CO2 sequestration in concrete. It represents an important development in concrete sustainability, emphasizing the need for further research and considering…
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MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
Two of humanity’s most ubiquitous historical materials, cement and carbon black (which resembles very fine charcoal), may form the basis for a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study. The technology could facilitate the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and tidal power by allowing energy networks to remain…
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CSHub August Newsletter
Groundbreaking research on concrete as an energy storage solution, high-profile news stories, and more are featured in our August newsletter. Click to read it!
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The Hill: EPA must prioritize life-cycle emissions in building materials policy
In order to prevent global temperatures from rising by two degrees Celsius this century, the United Nations estimates that annual global emissions must drop by 30 percent by the decade’s end. Meeting this urgent goal will be difficult for all sectors, even those which have a clear path to decarbonization. For instance, we know that we must…
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New Scientist features CSHub work on concrete supercapacitors
Franz-Josef Ulm and Admir Masic discuss how concrete supercapacitors could store renewable energy for residences and wirelessly charge electric vehicles in New Scientist. “The materials are available for everyone all over the place, all over the world,” said Dr. Ulm. “Which means we don’t have the same restriction as with batteries.” Read the article.
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Randolph Kirchain participates in CII annual conference panel
Thank you to the Construction Industry Institute for the opportunity to join a panel on Impacts and Opportunities for Key Construction Materials.
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Ask MIT Climate: What can cities and towns do to lower extreme temperatures?
Randolph Kirchain and Hessam AzariJafari are featured in a new Massachusetts Institute of Technology Climate Portal piece discussing how green spaces and reflective pavements/rooftops can help cities mitigate the impacts of extreme heat. “[With] the billions that we spend to maintain our urban surfaces,” Kirchain says, “we need to make sure we’re adding in climate…
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The Globe and Mail: Cool pavement is like sunscreen for streets. Can it take the heat out of concrete cities?
In The Globe and Mail, Randolph Kirchain discusses cool pavements, which can help cities mitigate the impacts of extreme heat and the urban heat island effect. Cool pavements like concrete stay cooler in the sun, helping reduce air temperatures in comparison to conventional pavements. Kirchain notes that this technology is currently “underappreciated” and is important…
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Research Brief: Chemically Induced Pre-Cure Carbonation
In this brief, postdoc Damian Stefaniuk and research assistant Marcin Hajduczek outline how their method for carbonation before curing can offer a new solution for concrete sustainability. Read the brief.
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Randolph Kirchain presents at MIT CRE World Real Estate Forum
We were excited to join the MIT Center for Real Estate at their World Real Estate Forum. Randolph Kirchain presented on circularity in the built environment, and how concrete is an essential part of it. Learn more about the forum.
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Webinar: Carbon Uptake of Cement and Concrete Construction: From Single Element to National Level
During this webinar, Hessam AzariJafari led a presentation of a new CSHub framework for modeling the lifetime CO2 uptake of cement-based products at the national scale. Click here to watch.
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Research Brief: Kinetic Temperature for Resilience Assessment
The growing threat of climate events like hurricanes makes the value of resilient construction clear. To help us understand resilience where fragility curves may fall short, Hub alum Konstantinos Keremidis, Sc.D. has developed a model to quantify damage for any building design for structural and nonstructural elements. Read the brief.
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MIT CSHub hosts Concrete Delivery Professional workforce conference
On March 29th and 30th, 2023, we welcomed industry and academics to MIT to discuss the state of the professionals that keep the world moving: concrete delivery professionals (CDPs). During the workshop, the assembled experts identified innovative solutions to CDP recruitment and retention as well as the future of the profession. We deeply appreciate the…
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3 Questions: Leveraging carbon uptake to lower concrete’s carbon footprint
“Carbon uptake is one more piece of the puzzle that makes concrete a sustainable choice for building in many applications.” In this MIT News story with Hessam AzariJafari, we cover the implications of uptake for life cycle assessment, including how it can be accelerated (where prudent). Read here.
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NPR: Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they sure had strong concrete
“It went kind of viral, inasmuch as a materials science paper can captivate the internet.” NPR’s Emily Kwong and KimBerly McCoy join Hub researcher Admir Masic and Linda Seymour, Ph.D. to discuss groundbreaking research revealing the mechanisms behind ancient Roman self-healing concrete. Listen to the interview.
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Study: Carbon-neutral pavements are possible by 2050, but rapid policy and industry action are needed
“If we are to meet climate goals such as the Paris Agreement, which demands that we reach carbon-neutrality by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we — as well as industry and governmental stakeholders — must come together to take a hard look at the roads we use every day and work to…
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Hessam AzariJafari presents for Payette’s YDC Knowledge Series
Hessam AzariJafari presented at Payette’s YDC Knowledge Series today, discussing the significance of carbon uptake, an intrinsic process of concrete, in assessing the environmental footprint of buildings and infrastructure. Architectural decisions significantly influence the ability of a given concrete structure to sequester CO2.
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Paper: Carbon-neutral pavements possible by 2050; rapid policy and industry action needed
In our new paper in the Springer Nature Group International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Deputy Director Hessam AzariJafari, Director Randolph Kirchain, and Fengdi Guo modeled embodied impact of future pavements materials demand for the U.S. road network. Lessons learned:1) When currently scaled solutions are accelerated and adequate carbon capture technologies are available, carbon neutrality can be achieved by 2050.2) GHG emissions…
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Research Brief: The Critical Role of Dynamic Modeling in Forecasting Flood Risk
Urban communities have a higher risk of flooding than current models suggest, making it more vital than ever to ensure that our pavements, buildings, and infrastructure are built to withstand the stresses of future flooding events. Read the brief.
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Research Brief: Inequitable Cost Burden of Hurricane Repairs
Hurricane repairs disproportionately burden socially vulnerable communities according to new research by Ipek Bensu Manav, the first quantitative analysis of its kind. The research brief prompts stakeholders to distribute their mitigation grants carefully and invest in stronger construction to better protect vulnerable communities. Read the brief.
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Research Brief: Recycling Waste Glass as an SCM in Concrete
Due to glass’ valuable role in advancing civilization and global sustainability, the United Nations deemed 2022 the “International Year of Glass.” Glass is used intensively. In fact, approximately 12 million tons of waste glass are generated in the United States annually, representing more than 4% of municipal solid waste. Unfortunately, on average, just 33% of…
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Extreme heat kills inequitably: Reflective pavements can help, but city action is required
Extreme heat is the deadliest natural hazard in the United States. Between 1992 and 2021, it killed an average of 148 people every year. In the same 30-year period, floods killed about 88 annually while hurricanes killed 45 yearly. This figure is likely an underestimate, as potential problems have been found with the way deaths…
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Hurricane-resistant construction may be undervalued by billions of dollars annually
In Florida, June typically marks the beginning of hurricane season. Preparation for a storm may appear as otherworldly as it is routine: businesses and homes board up windows and doors, bottled water is quick to sell out, and public buildings cease operations to serve as emergency shelters. What happens next may be unpredictable. If things take a…
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Studying floods to better predict their dangers
“My job is basically flooding Cambridge,” says Katerina “Katya” Boukin, a graduate student in civil and environmental engineering at MIT and the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub’s resident expert on flood simulations. You can often find her fine-tuning high-resolution flood risk models for the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, or talking about hurricanes with fellow researcher Ipek Bensu Manav. Flooding represents one…
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From bridges to DNA: civil engineering across disciplines
How is DNA like a bridge? This question is not a riddle or logic game, it is a concern of Johannes Kalliauer’s doctoral thesis. As a student at TU Wien in Austria, Kalliauer was faced with a monumental task: combining approaches from civil engineering and theoretical physics to better understand the forces that act on DNA. Kalliauer, now…
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Franz-Josef Ulm elected to National Academy of Engineers
MIT engineers John Cohn and Franz-Josef Ulm and are among 111 new members and 22 international members elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2022. Nineteen MIT alumni were also elected as new members. John Cohn ’81, an IBM Fellow in the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, was honored for improving design productivity of high-performance analog…
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Research Brief: Improving America’s Road Infrastructure by Embracing Uncertainty
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act represent a unique opportunity to transform America’s infrastructure. Nevertheless, it closes less than half of the investment gap needed to build a world class infrastructure within the United States. As such, policymakers still need to spend funds wisely to get the most from their investment. In this research brief, the MIT CSHub…
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Our 2021 Annual Report
MIT CSHub had an eventful 2021, spearheading successful research and communications initiatives in the spheres of infrastructure, decarbonization, and sustainability. Read more in our 2021 annual report.
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Research Brief: Improving America’s Road Infrastructure by Embracing Uncertainty
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act represent a unique opportunity to transform America’s infrastructure. Nevertheless, it closes less than half of the investment gap needed to build a world class infrastructure within the United States. As such, policymakers still need to spend funds wisely to get the most from their investment. In this research brief, the MIT CSHub…
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2021 Annual Report
MIT CSHub had an eventful 2021, spearheading successful research and communications initiatives in the spheres of infrastructure, decarbonization, and sustainability. Read more in our 2021 annual report.
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Research Brief: Solutions for Carbon-neutral Concrete in U.S. Pavements
How can concrete pavements reach carbon neutrality? In this research brief, we outline the various strategies to reduce the emissions of concrete and present a pathway by which the concrete in the U.S. pavement network could attain carbon neutrality by 2050. Click here to read.