People

Principle Investigator:

Yaghoob (Amir) Farnam, PhD
Associate Professor, Drexel University

Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
Department of Materials Science & Engineering (Affiliated Faculty Member)
Phone: (215) 865-6152
Fax: (215) 895-1363
Email: yfarnam@drexel.edu

Group Members:

Postdocs & Research Scientists:

Dr. Mohammad Balapour
PhD in Civil Engineering

Mohammad is a research scientist in the Drexel Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. He received both his M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from the Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He obtained his second MS degree and PhD under Dr. Farnam supervision at Drexel. He is currently working on producing "reactive light-weight aggregate from coal combustion ash".

Graduate Students:

Parsa Namaki Araghi
PhD Candidate, Civil Engineering

Parsa is a Ph.D. student in Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. He received both his M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering from the Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. For his M.Sc., he worked on "Synthesis and Surface Modification of Polycaprolactone Nanofiber Scaffold for Using in Neural Tissue Engineering". At Drexel, he is currently working on bio-inspired advanced manufacturing of fiber reinforced concrete for infrastructural applications. Furthermore, he will study the effects of using different polymeric materials and their architectural design used as fiber reinforcement in concrete on mechanical properties.

Angela Mutua (Wavi)
PhD Student, Civil and Materials Engineering

As part of the ASIM lab, Angela is currently building and testing an efficient system within cementitious composites for a better heat transfer. This is a part of the phase change materials (PCM) project, in which chemicals prevent freezing on concrete surfaces through releasing large amounts of stored latent heat.

Mohammad Houshmand Khaneghahi
PhD Student, Civil Engineering

Mohammad received his B.Sc. from Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran, and MSc from the Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, both degrees in Civil Engineering. Mohammad’s research background is categorized into two major topics, which are “Experimental Investigation of Composite Materials” and “Uncertainty Quantification of Infrastructures.” In his experimental studies, he conducted research on the mechanical properties of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) material under elevated temperatures. In addition, he utilized probabilistic modeling and machine learning approaches to develop predictive models for the behavior of FRP materials at different loading conditions. In the uncertainty quantification projects, he developed a reliability-based framework, coded in MATLAB and Python, to quantify the epistemic randomness involved in the structural performance analysis of infrastructures. At Drexel, along with other collaborators, he is performing research on cementitious material with the focus of incorporating light-weight aggregate produced from waste coal bottom ash in the concrete mixture. Furthermore, he is conducting research on Phase Change Materials with the purpose of increasing the thermal inertia of pavements, which reduces the number of freeze-thaw cycles experienced by pavements

Robin Deb
PhD Student, Civil Engineering

Robin is a Ph.D. student in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. He received his B.Sc. from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Bangladesh, and Master’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware (UDel), USA. He has been working with construction materials as a part of research from his undergraduate years. For his Master’s degree, he worked on “Investigation of workability and durability of concrete mixes incorporated with expansive cement, poly-carboxylate admixtures, and lightweight aggregates”. At Drexel University, along with other collaborations, he is performing research on incorporating Phase Change Materials (PCM) in concrete to reduce the number of freeze-thaw cycles and prevent snow formation on the surface.

Sharaniya Visvalingam
PhD Student, Civil Engineering

Sharaniya Visvalingam is a Ph.D. student in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department at Drexel University. Her research interest is investigations on innovative and sustainable construction materials. Sharaniya received her bachelor’s degree in BSc. with Honors in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. For her undergraduate research, she worked on “Effect of waste rice husk ash from rice husk fueled brick kilns on strength, durability and thermal performances of mortar”. After her BSc., she joined SIIT, Thammasat University, Thailand for her MSc. degree in Civil Engineering and Technology working on the topic of “Effects and limitations of free lime and SO3 contents in cement-fly ash mixtures.”

Yousif Alqenai
PhD Student, Civil Engineering

Yousif is a PhD student in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from Dalhousie University, Canada and his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering) from Kansas State University, USA. His Master’s research consisted of experimental and analytical analyses of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete in bridge design. Yousif's interest in the built environment also led him to pursue a second Master’s Degree in Architecture with an environmental focus from Temple University, USA.

Undergraduate and Masters Students:

Sarah Sowah
BS Student, Civil Engineering

I am in my third year of undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Civil Engineering. I am a transfer student from Rutgers University-Camden. As part of the ASIM Research Group, I am working on the microbial self-healing concrete project. I am working with fiber reinforced concrete and bacteria. This project aims to add reinforcements and bacteria to concrete so that it is able to heal and repair itself if/when cracks occur.

Nishant Shrestha
BS/MS Student, Civil Engineering

Nishant is a BSMS student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with a Master’s degree in Structural engineering. As part of the ASIM research group, he is helping to perform research on incorporating Phase Change Materials (PCM) in concrete to reduce the number of freeze-thaw cycles and prevent snow formation on the surface.

Joshua Perez
BS Student, Civil Engineering

Josh is a BS student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering . As part of the ASIM research group, he is helping to perform research on Spherical Porous Lightweight Aggregate made using waste coal combustion ash.

Mohamed Cissao
BS/MS Student, Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering)

Mohamed Cissao is an international student from Mali. He is currently pursuing a BSMS degree in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering). Mohamed is working on the incorporation Phase Change Materials (PCM) in concrete to reduce the number of freeze-thaw cycles and prevent snow formation on the surface

Mohammadamin (Amin) Zooyousefin
BS/MS Student, Civil Engineering

Amin is a BS/MS student pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees both in Civil Engineering with a concentration on Structural Engineering. As part of the ASIM research group, he is helping to perform research on Spherical Porous Reactive Lightweight Aggregate (SPoRA) to produce LWA from waste fly ash through sintering process.

Kham Phan
BS/MS Student, Civil Engineering

Kham Phan is a BSMS student in Civil Engineering with a Structural concentration. As part of the ASIM lab, he is working as a research assistant to help perform research on incorporating Phase Change Materials (PCM) in concrete to reduce the number of freeze-thaw cycles and prevent snow formation on the surface.

Liam McNally
BS Student, Architectural Engineering (BS)

Liam is a second year undergraduate pursuing his a B.S. in Architectural Engineering. As part of the ASIM Research Group , he is working on the bio-inspired advanced manufacturing of fiber reinforced concrete, which aims to create reinforcements inspired by natural architectures, and optimize the manufacturing methods of these reinforcements.

Christian Albert
BS Student, Engineering Technology

Chris is a BS student in Engineering Technology. As part of ASIM lab, he is working as a research assistant Co-op assisting to develop SPoRA materials and optimizing the manufacturing process.

Former Members:

Postdocs & Research Scientists:

Dr. Jialuo He
PhD in Civil Engineering
Research Area: Evaluating the effect of soybean-based sealant on the formation of deteriorative calcium oxychloride in concrete exposed to deicing salt and freeze-thaw cycles

PhD Graduates:

Dr. Mohammad Balapour
PhD in Civil Engineering, Class of 2021
Thesis Title: Conversion of Waste Coal Combustion Ash to Value-Added Construction Lightweight Aggregates through A Holistic Thermodynamics-Guided Manufacturing Framework

Dr. Fadi Althoey
PhD in Civil Engineering, Class of 2019
Thesis Title: Understating and mitigating damage development in cementitious materials exposed to sodium chloride

MS Graduates:

Maissoun Ksara
MS in Civil Engineering, Class of 2018
Thesis Title: Evaluating the use of S. pasteurii on mitigating the damage response of cementitious materials exposed to calcium chloride

Weijin Zhao
MS in Civil Engineering, Class of 2017
Thesis Title: Evaluation of the potential use of spherical porous reactive aggregate (SPoRA) for internal curing of cementitious systems

Yasmina Shields
MS in Civil Engineering, Class of 2017
Thesis Title: Freeze-thaw crack determination in cementitious materials using 3D X-ray computed tomography and acoustic emission

Dane Bell
MS in Civil and Structural Engineering, Class of 2020
Thesis Title: Using Additive Manufacturing to Develop Shape Topology Optimization of Internal Structures for Reinforced Concrete Designs

Rathin Rao
MS in Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2020
Thesis Title: Non-Thesis MS

Undergraduates:

- Thiha Thway; BS Student, Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Engy Khoshit; BS/MS Student, Materials Science & Engineering (BS), Engineering Management (MS)
- Alejandro Ochoa; BS Student, Civil Engineering
- Jessica Butterly; BS Student, Civil Engineering
- Angela Mutua (Wavi); BS Student in Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Patrick Stoehr; BS Student, Civil Engineering and Architectural Engineering
- Rayna Newkirk; BS Student, Chemical Engineering | Minor Material Science
- Nay Ye Oo (Sonny); BS/MS in Civil Engineering
- Robert Howell; MS in Mechanical Engineering
- Bochen Zhang; BS in Civil Engineering
- Allison Hampton; BS in Civil Engineering
- Taylor Washington; BS in Civil Engineering
- Khalela El-Naggar; BS in Civil Engineering
- Mitchell Rector; BS in Civil Engineering
- Sarah Dick; BS in Civil Engineering
- Martin Bobcek; BS in Civil Engineering

Interested individuals are welcome to contact Dr. Farnam to get involved in ASIM research activities. Please send a short bio of yourself in an email and explain why you are interested in joining ASIM research group. Do not forget to attach your resume/CV to the email.