Biography
Arezki Tagnit Hamou is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Building Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke (Canada) and a Head of Cement and Concrete Research Group. He is also Founding Member of the International Associated Laboratory ECOMAT. He is Chairholder of Industrial Research Chair. He has been working in the field of cement and concrete research for more than 30 years.
Dr. Tagnit Hamou’s main research interests are microstructure and physico-chemistry of cement and concrete, development of alternative cementitious materials and low-carbon concrete. His studies included material characterization, hydration and durability. As a chairholder he works on the glass valorization in concrete. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed technical papers in international journals but also in conferences including patents. He is also the chair of the International Conference on Cementitious Materials and Alternative Binders for Sustainable Concrete (ICCM, ICCM2024.com).
Dr. Tagnit Hamou is active on technical committees within the American Concrete Institute (ACI), ASTM, RILEM, and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). He is ACI Fellow (2009) and first recipient of the ACI-SDC’s Jean-Claude Roumain Innovation in Concrete Award.
Biography
Said KENAI is currently a professor of concrete technology, building materials and diagnostic and repair of structures at the civil engineering department, University Saâd Dahleb-Blida1, Algeria. He obtained his engineering degree at the “Ecole Nationale Polytechnique” in Algiers in 982 and his PhD from the University of Leeds (UK) in 1988. He is a member of ACI, a founding member of the African Materials Research Society (MRS-Africa) and the North Africa representative in the executive committee. He was a member of RILEM TC-ISC (In situ strength assessment of concrete) and currently the chairman of RILEM TC 294 on agro-waste in cementitious materials (2019-2024). He is currently a member of the advisory committee to the Algerian ministry of higher education and research (Comité sectorial permanent CSP) (2016-) as well as the CSP of the ministry of Housing (2022-). He is a consultant in charge of quality control and inspection and diagnosis of buildings at the “Société de consultancy and Testing Engineering (SCTE)”, Algiers.
He has co-authored over 150 international journal and conference papers and three ELSEVIER and SPRINGER chapters on recycled aggregates and NDT. He is a member of the editorial board of many journals such as ‘Materials and structures’ of the RILEM, SPRINGER, “advances in concrete construction” of the techno-press, the open civil engineering journal, Scientific Advances Journal of civil and construction engineering, India, Beirut Arab University Journal (Lebanon). He is a reviewer of several international journals. He has been invited as a keynote lecturer in many conferences in Brazil, South-Africa, Jordan and Egypt. He has collaborated on many research projects with colleagues in Belgium, France, England, USA, Brazil and South-Africa. He has been on the Stanford 2022 list of top 2% scientists in the world in the field of building engineering with an H-index of 30.
His main research interests include concrete durability, recycling, earth constructions, self-compacting concrete, non-destructive testing and repair and strengthening of structures.
Biography
Joseph J. Assaad is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Balamand. He earned his Ph.D in 2004 from Sherbrooke University, Quebec, Canada. His research interests include a variety of topics related to Civil and Structural Engineering such as modern cement clinkers, alkali-activated geopolymers, thixotropy, rheology, formwork pressure, bond to steel reinforcement, microstructure, durability, 3D printing, polymer-modified cementitious materials, recycling of aggregates and other waste materials, and sustainability in construction. Dr Assaad authored over 120 referred international papers, reviewed over 600 research papers, and published 2 books in 2009 and 2017 about thixotropy and applicability of geotechnical principles to cementitious materials. His current h-index is 33 (according to Scopus) with more than 2800 citations, which ranked him among the top 2% worldwide researchers according to the Stanford Study. Dr. Assaad received numerous local and international distinctions and awards in the field of cement and concrete technology including the Research Excellence Awards awarded by CNRS-Lebanon (2014) and Société de la Légion d’Honneur Franco-Libanais (2016) for his outstanding contribution to research and exposure of the Lebanese scientists to the international community.
Professor, University of Balamand, Al Koura, Lebanon
Biography
Professor John Kinuthia is the head of the Advanced Materials Testing Centre. His research is into the development of sustainable building and construction materials by utilising natural, industrial and agricultural waste and by-product materials. He has special expertise in soil and cement-based cementitious systems, incorporating emergent concepts technologies such 3D printing, smart concrete, as well as nano- and geo-polymer materials. Engagement with industry and enthusing teaching enhances satisfaction in these research interests. Professor Kinuthia was awarded the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for Innovation on unfired scaly systems. The deployment of these novel materials into Africa, to provide new homes at lower cost, was supported by UNESCO.
Biography
Hakim S. Abdelgader – is a Full Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. His research interests include pre-placed aggregate concrete, self-consolidating concrete, concrete with recycled materials, utilization of pozzolanic materials, underwater concreting, concrete durability, and concrete casting in fabric forms. He has authored or co-authored over 80 professional technical papers and reports. He was been involved in organization of several International Conferences and member of Scientific Committees. He is a associate member and voting member of American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committees 221, Aggregates; 237, Self-Consolidating Concrete; 304, Measuring, Mixing, Transporting, and Placing Concrete; 444, Structural Health Monitoring and Instrumentation; and 555, Concrete with Recycled Materials. He is an Editorial Board member of more than five academic Journals. He is reviewer and contributor to American Concrete Institute (ACI), all Elsevier journals related to Construction Materials and Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (ASCE). Prof. Abdelgader was elected fellow of ACI in 2019. He has been a keynote speaker at several international conferences in North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Japan, Iran, and India.
Professor, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Kucukcekmece, Türkiye
Biography
Professor Dr. Mehmet Serkan Kırgız is a renowned academic affiliated with İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University in Turkey and Northwestern University in Chicago, USA. With a professional journey commencing in 1998, he has held key positions, including Dean and Member of Faculty Management Board, at major universities in both countries. Dr. Kırgız has authored 246 publications and holds a unique patent in cement manufacturing. His diverse teaching portfolio spans multiple aspects of Civil, Transportation, and Architectural Engineering, with a research focus on ecology-based construction materials, nanotechnology, and sustainable development applications such as GlasSphalt. Currently, he serves as Vice President in his executive role.
