People
Laboratory Co-Directors
Matthew P. Adams, Ph.D., FACI
Dr. Adams is an expert in the chemistry and durability performance of cemetitious systems for use in infrastructure. He joined New Jersey Institute of Technology as an assistant professor of civil engineering in September of 2015 after completing his M.S and Ph.D. at Oregon State University. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a structural design consultant in Boston, MA for several years after graduating with his B.S. from the University of New Hampshire. His background is in the performance and chemistry of concrete materials including systems with alternative cements, supplementary cementitious materials, recycled aggregates, and fibers. Dr. Adams teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of construction materials, concrete durability, and sustainable engineering. Dr. Adams is heavily involved with the American Concrete Institute and ASTM, International, holding officer and voting memberships in both organizations. He has won the ACI Young Member Award for Professional Achievement (2015) and was named a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute. In 2019 he was awarded the Newark College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching award. In 2020 he was named a Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute for Government.
Matthew J. Bandelt, Ph.D., PE
Dr. Bandelt is an expert in the behavior and modeling of novel infrastructure materials for improved lifecycle performance, sustainability, and resiliency. He joined the John A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NJIT in July 2015 as an assistant professor.. He received his PhD in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University in 2015, and his bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering from Villanova University. Dr. Bandelt is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Fred R. Havens Fellowship, and the John A. Blume Fellowship from Stanford University. Dr. Bandelt teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of mechanics, materials, structural analysis, and structural design. Dr. Bandelt is a voting member on numerous committees of the American Concrete Institute. He received the 2020 ASCE North Jersey Branch Educator of the Year award, and the 2021 Newark College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a licensed professional engineer (PE) in the State of New Jersey and the Commonweatlh of Pennsylvania.
Current Students
Seyed Masoud Shirkhorshidi
Masoud is a Ph.D. student and a research assistant at the New Jersey Department of Technology. His background lies in the area of construction materials science and interfaces. He received his M.S. degree in civil engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran working on the interface behavior of polymer and cement concretes with sand. He has the experience of working in the research and development part of a construction chemicals company working on the concrete crack injection materials and additives. He is currently working on the corrosion performance and durability issues of ductile concretes (UHPC, HyFRC, and ECC) and different types of rebar. His research interests include concrete durability, corrosion, sustainable construction materials, polymer concrete, interfaces, and repair and rehabilitation of structures.
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
Noah Thibodeaux
From a very young age, Noah has had an appreciation for the built environment and a passion for renovation and repair. His summers growing up were spent on home renovation projects, working with disciplines such as wood framing, electrical, plumbing, masonry and roofing. In his early education, he learned the importance and methodology of research by participating in science fairs up to the regional level. Upon entering university, he gained a great appreciation for the study of materials utilized in the built world and a passion for Civil Engineering. Noah began his research in the Civil Engineering space while still in his undergraduate years via NJIT’s Undergraduate Research Showcase. Since beginning his graduate studies, his main work has involved devising test setups and testing regimes for novel repair materials. He aims to understand the relationship between freezing and thawing cycles on the durability of rapid repair materials and their bond to repaired structures.
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
Jin Fan
Jin Fan joined MatSLab in 2018 after enrolling in the Ph.D. Civil Engineering program at NJIT. His research interests are focused on the application of sustainable structural materials and numerical investigation on durability issues of ductile concrete materials. Jin earned his BS from China Three Gorges University and MS in Bridge Engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University. In his work experience as a bridge engineer, he participated in design projects for suspension bridges, large span steel arch bridges, and short span concrete bridges. Jin is the recipient of the China National Fellowship in 2011. He is also a student member of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society of Civil Engineers(ASCE).
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
Links: Google Scholar Research Gate ORCID
Aaron J. Strand
Aaron Strand graduated from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2015. From Summer 2014 through Summer 2015 he worked for multiple graduate students at OSU involved with concrete research studying topics such as Calcium Aluminate Cement (CAC), alkali-silica reaction (ASR), and corrosion. In January 2016 Aaron started at NJIT in MATSLAB under Dr. Matthew Adams studying high ettringite cement systems for use in energy storage. Other projects he has been heavily involved in at NJIT are related to CAC and corrosion. During his time at NJIT with MATSLAB he has also mentored multiple students, from the undergraduate and high school level in the labs. During his spare time, he loves to spend time in NYC enjoying the sights.
Advisor: Adams
Former Graduate Researchers
Hasan Tariq, Ph.D.
Graduated: May 2020
Projects:
Current Position: Associate, Exponent
Advisor: Bandelt
Marwa Korayem, Ph.D.
Graduated: May 2020
Projects:
Current Position: Structural Associate, Michael Baker, International
Advisor: Adams
Anuruddha Jayasuriya, Ph.D.
Graduated: May 2020
Projects:
Current Position: Staff Engineer, DR Pilla
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
Mandeep Pokhrel, Ph.D.
Graduated: May 2020
Projects:
Current Position: Senior Engineer, Thornton Tomasetti
Advisor: Bandelt
Daniel Calabro, M.S.
Graduated: May 2021
Projects:
Current Position: Job Seeking
Advisor: Bandelt
Co-Advisor: Adams
Zachary Keator, M.S.
Graduated: December 2020
Projects:
Current Position: Job Seeking
Advisor: Bandelt
Co-Advisor: Adams
Stephen George, M.S.
Graduated: May 2019
Projects:
Current Position: Director of Labs, John A. Reif, Jr. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NJIT
Advisor: Adams
Co-Advisor: Bandelt
Adam Baba Abdulai, M.S.
Graduated: May 2016
Projects:
Current Position: Project Engineer, AECOM
Advisor: Bandelt
Bushra Islam, M.S.
Graduated: May 2017
Projects:
Current Position: Structural Engineer @ Development Design Consultancy, Ltd.
Advisor: Adams
Vujjaini Gottimukkala, M.S.
Graduated: May 2016
Projects:
Current Position: Engineer at SunPower by VentureSolar
Advisor: Adams
Christopher Dinallo, M.S.
Graduated: May 2016
Projects:
Current Position: Project Manager, Terminal Construction
Advisor: Bandelt
Former Undergraduate Researchers
Conan Cullen
Graduated: Spring 2021
Current Position: Geotechnical Engineer, ANS Geo
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
Tiffany Sayey*
Graduated: Spring 2021
Current Position:
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Luke Araza
Graduated: Spring 2021
Current Position: Job Seeking
Research Topics:
Advisor: Bandelt
Sebastian Mercado
Graduated: Spring 2021
Current Position: Job Seeking
Research Topics:
Advisor: Bandelt
Matthew Laub
Graduated: December 2020
Current Position: Geotechnical Engineer, ANS Geo
Research Topics:
Awards: CEE Leadership Award 2020
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
George Ullerio II
Graduated: Spring 2021
Current Position: Graduate research assistant, UT Austin
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Tola Chen
Graduated: Spring 2020
Current Position: Civil Design Engineer, Gladstone Design, Inc.
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Emily Shibata
Graduated: Spring 2019
Current Position: Engineer, Mott Macdonald
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Herbert Opoku*
Graduated: Spring 2019
Current Position:
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Marco Fernandez
Graduated: Spring 2019
Current Position: Capital Programs Project Coordinator, NJ Transit
Research Topics:
Awards: Undergraduate Research and Innovation Award, Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program
Advisor: Adams and Bandelt
Tyler McVeigh
Graduated: Spring 2019
Current Position:
Research Topics:
(Seton Hall University)
Advisor: Dr. Jose Lopez at Seton Hall University
Co-Advisor Adams and Bandelt
Hiroaki Okazaki
Graduated: Fall 2018
Current Position: Transportation Engineer, Connecticut DOT
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Anna Casey
Graduated: May 2017
Current Position: Engineer at T.Y. Lin International
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams
Martin Lopez
Graduated: Spring 2016
Current Position: Geotechnical Engineer, AECOM
Research Topics:
Advisor: Adams