NTU-CEE Seminar Series: Assistant Professor LI Jiaqi

Organized By

CEE Seminar Committee

Host By

Associate Professor Qian Shunzhi

Topic

Towards Sustainable Cement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure

About the Seminar

Urbanization exacerbates global CO2 emissions due to the surging demand for infrastructure. Renewable energy infrastructure is critical in decarbonization, yet it introduces a paradox—the growing cement demand. Cement production accounts for ~8% of the global carbon footprint. Traditional cement decarbonization relies on cement replacement by coal fly ash. An escalating demand for sustainable feedstock in cement manufacturing is anticipated during the energy transition. These challenges highlight the need for transformative changes in infrastructure systems and materials design.

A key aspect of this transformation involves designing extremely durable, low-carbon cement using scalable approaches. Instead of relying on depleting byproducts from the conventional energy industry, this research proactively designs cement and co-products in energy infrastructure using sustainable sources. These manufacturing schemes, with renewable fuels co-production, enable carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Advanced synchrotron-based characterization techniques are key to unveiling the chemomechanical mechanisms of the materials and advancing materials design.

About the Speaker

Dr. Jiaqi Li is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His primary research interests include sustainable construction materials, renewable energy, as well as carbon capture, storage, and utilization. Prior to Michigan, he was a staff scientist and Ernest Lawrence Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, serving as a (co-)principal investigator and deputy center director of a few multi-institutional projects in sustainable cementitious materials funded by the US Department of Energy and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

He received postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He received his PhD and MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Berkeley. His BS in Civil Engineering is from Beijing University of Technology.

Registration

Registration is not required, and ALL are welcome to attend.