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Associate Professor Mija Hubler was awarded the by the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM, from the name in French) for her outstanding scientific contribution to the field of construction materials and structures.

Hubler’s research covers long-term creep and shrinkage of concrete, which integrates monitoring data of bridge deflections taken in the field with laboratory tests of concrete samples to develop improved prediction equations of concrete behavior. These prediction equations allow concrete infrastructure to be designed for decades of performance, taking into account the gradual change of material properties. 

Since the creep and shrinkage behavior of concrete stemming from the nano-scale interactions of the material is a unique multi-scale challenge, Hubler hopes to develop techniques to alter the long-term creep and shrinkage performance of concrete after construction. Her graduate students have recently shown that it is possible to both accelerate and decelerate the creep behavior of concrete by exposing the hardened concrete material to high-frequency vibrations with certain energy characteristics. 

With the presence of so much aging infrastructure, Hubler believes that novel remediation techniques can have a more significant impact on our built environment than innovative materials.

“I am very honored to be recognized for my research in the long-term behavior of concrete. The international recognition for this work reminds me of the significance of ongoing work in understanding phenomena which we have known about for decades.”

was founded in 1947 to promote scientific cooperation in the area of construction materials and structures. Today, RILEM is an international organization, composed of researchers in 70 different countries. Hubler received her award on March 11 in Portugal at the RILEM Spring Convention, where she gave an associated invited lecture on her research. In addition, she will submit her work to the open-access journal RILEM Technical Letters.