Project ISF: Life Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Construction Materials Program DUIRI - Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship Term Summer 2023 Status Accepted Research Area Civil Engineering, Construction Management Technology Description Construction material industry is one of the largest and most energy and carbon intensive industries in the world. The cement and concrete industry is responsible for 1,500 megatons/year of CO2 emissions (approximately 0.8 - 1.0 ton of CO2 per ton of cement). Researchers have developed various techniques to make the construction materials more sustainable. It is significant to evaluate the environmental impact of the sustainable construction material through its life cycle encompassing extracting and processing of the raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, installation, recycling, and final disposal. In this project, life cycle assessment will be conducted for different construction materials to estimate the environmental impact of the materials with different low-carbon low-energy techniques. The is a collaborative project between Dr. Chengcheng Tao from School of Construction Management Technology in the Polytechnic Institute and Dr. Jan Olek from Lyles School of Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering. The project is submitted as an Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF) Sustainability project. Faculty Collaborators: Jan Olek Supervisor Chengcheng Tao Mentor Chengcheng Tao Type of work required The summer students will work with Dr. Tao and Dr. Olek to conduct life cycle assessment with computational approaches to evaluate the environmental impact for sustainable construction materials. Websites https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/profile/tao133
https://engineering.purdue.edu/CE/People/ptProfile?resource_id=2108 Qualifications Basic mathematical or statistical skills, Matlab or other related computer skills, good writing skills Credit Hours 0 Weekly Hours 40 (estimated)