Bio-Based and Bio-Inspired Pavement Construction Materials

Dr. Elham H. Fini is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University, an Invention Ambassador at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fulbright Scholar at Aalborg University of Denmark, a Senior Sustainability Scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, and Director of the Innovation Network for Materials, Methods and Management. Her research focuses on the production, characterization, and atomistic modeling of sustainable novel materials for use in construction. Her research has been covered by BBC Women in STEM, Science Nation, Wired Magazine, and CNBC, in addition to more than 200 scholarly papers and several invited lectures. Drr. Pouria Hajikarimi is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Advanced Pavement Laboratory in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic). His primary research interests include both experimental and numerical investigations of homogeneous and heterogeneous viscoelastic materials. Additionally, he focuses on the utilization of bio-based and waste substances in various construction materials such as asphalt mixtures, cementitious concrete, and geopolymers. Dr. Hajikarimi has authored two textbooks, namely “Applications of viscoelasticity: Bituminous materials characterization and modeling” and “Constructional Viscoelastic Composite Materials: Theory and Application,” both published by Elsevier and Springer, respectively. With a publication record exceeding 80 high-quality journal papers, his contributions span diverse topics related to flexible and rigid pavements. He has also been engaged in various industrial projects and research initiatives in fields such as the production of rejuvenators for use in recycled asphalt mixtures, strategies for utilizing RAP to promote sustainable development and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, laboratory and numerical modeling of recycled asphalt mixtures with an environmental approach, and the utilization of wastewater treatment plant sludge for brick production. Some of these projects, in addition to resulting in scholarly publications, have led to patent registration and technological advancements in specific domains.

1. Introduction to bioinspiration and biomimetics in pavement construction 2. Sources and production 3. Experimental characterization 4. Numerical modeling and simulation 5. Supply chain management and the circular economy 6. Environmental assessment and pavement lifecycle 7. Current and prospective challenges