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  • Feb
    1

    SPREE Seminar Series - Ramez Hajj

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    Multiscale characterization of viscoelastic construction materials using microscopic experiments and machine learning

    Viscoelastic materials are used widely in construction of built infrastructure, most notably in the case of asphalt binders used in road construction. The characterization of these materials presents substantial challenges due to their complex molecular makeup and time, temperature, and geometry-dependent failure mechanisms. Specifically, understanding the mechanism underlying failure due to fatigue and fracture has been a challenge. Meanwhile, at larger scales, the engineering of asphalt mixtures involves complex manipulation of volumetric and other variables. To address these challenges, a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN) was established to predict the dynamic complex modulus of asphalt mixtures based on a range of data from existing literature and our laboratory. The BNN was shown to have comparable errors to those observed experimentally when enough training and validation datasets were used. However, nonlinear viscoelastic problems provide more substantial challenges due to both lack of data and repeatability. Microscopic observations of the cavitation phenomenon underlying asphalt binder fracture were therefore observed using in-situ testing and darkfield microscopy. Future work involves predicting these cavitation events using physicsinformed neural networks.

    Bio

    Ramez Hajj is an Assistant Professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining UIUC, he completed his Ph.D. and Master's in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech. Dr. Hajj's research spans everything related to asphalt materials and flexible pavements, from as small as investigating asphalt binder behavior at the molecular, nano-, and micro-scale, to developing novel materials for roadway pavement and railroad track applications, to solving network-level transportation infrastructure problems. Primarily, his research focuses on asphalt binders, mixtures, and pavements, but more broadly, these research areas are situated in wider research areas of viscoelasticity, composites, machine learning, and computational modeling. So far, his work includes fundamental scientific discoveries into the origins of cracking in asphalt binder microstructure, the development of predictive machine learning algorithms for linear viscoelastic properties, and practical contributions to the asphalt industry, state Departments of Transportation, and local transportation agencies. To date, he has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles in these areas and presented his work at many international conferences.

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    TIME Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Stephanie Lukas    stephanie.lukas@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    4

    MMS/EBE Seminar- Additive Manufacturing of Fiber Reinforced Ultra High Performance Concrete: Experiments and Computations- Gianluca Cusatis

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    15

    2024-2025 Commencement Ceremony

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Sunday, June 15, 2025

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Jun
    16

    Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    9:00 AM 2705 Ashland Ave

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

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    CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    16

    Northwestern Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    2:00 PM 2705 Ashland Ave

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

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    CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    23

    Summer classes begin

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, June 23, 2025

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Sep
    16

    Fall 2025 Classes Begin

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Tuesday, September 16, 2025

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar