CoE News

Voyiadjis to Participate in the Largest Grant in Korean History

Dr. George Z. Voyiadjis, Department Chair for LSU Civil & Environmental Engineering, Boyd Professor and Bingham Cushman Stewart Distinguished Professor, will participate in a World Class University (WCU) Project from KOSEF (Korea), one of the largest grants in the history of Korea. Voyiadjis will be an honorary visiting professor in Hanyang University during the term of the five year project for $3.5 million.

This project, focusing on the "Development of multiscale simulation methods for nano- fusion technologies in construction materials for sustainable infrastructures," is a unique opportunity for LSU to create ties with Hanyang University and Korea in general. Voyiadjis will collaborate with the researchers at Hanyang University and his research team at LSU to lead in the development of new analytical simulation methods (i.e. Multi-scale simulation) and the development of new construction materials based on the prediction and verification of his proposed methods developed at LSU. This is the only WCU project funded by Korean government in the area of civil and architectural engineering. This project addresses the challenge of the topic of nano-fusion in civil engineering, and Voyiadjis was one of only two individuals who were selected as the select foreign scholars. This project clearly shows that international colleagues also regard nanotechnology as an important future direction in engineering, with Voyiadjis already recognized as one of the leaders of his generation in that area.

At LSU, Voyiadjis stated that he has “developed numerical models in simulating the damage and dynamic failure response of materials and structures under high-speed impact loading conditions. To achieve this one needs characterizing the mechanical behavior at the microscale, using micromechanics and nanomechanics.”

Currently, many scientists have studied nano-technology and tried to extensively apply nano-fusion technology to construction materials and civil-infrastructures because of a variety of advantages in terms of economic efficiency, energy reduction, saving cost, and sustainable maintenance. In spite of this challengeable research, there is little experience and trial to introduce this promising nano-technology in domestic civil engineering fields. In addition, there is the issue that research for the multi-scale simulation in association with nano-micro-macro structure is severely insufficient. Through the project supported by the world class university (WCU), this research group will develop R&D nano-technology in the civil engineering field, distributing the research bases, and raising human resource with high-quality research potentials.

This project consists of two main parts which are education activity and collaboration research. Many ideal benefits in terms of academic, engineering, and economic fields can be accompanied with expected project outputs. Expected research effects by completing this research projects are summarized as below (1 to 3 for academic fields and 4 to 6 for economic filed):

1. Achievement of creative R&D through the application of the nano-fusion technology to construction.
2. Training of human resources to lead the innovative research in the sustainable construction field.
3. Formation of research collaboration in the field of nano fusion and multi-scale analysis.
4. Energy saving effects for Green-Growth Expectation.
5. Obtaining of advanced source skill with cost reduction.
6. Expectation of brilliant growth of new construction material research.

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Article by Mimi LaValle, College of Engineering, 225-578-5706, mlavall@lsu.edu