University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Nishant Garg
Nishant Garg
  • Assistant Professor
(217) 300-9448
2129 Newmark Civil Engineering Bldg

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Education

  • Ph.D. in Nanoscience at Aarhus University, 2015
  • M.S. in Civil Engineering Materials at Iowa State University, 2012
  • B.E. in Civil Engineering at Thapar University, 2010
  • Diploma in Civil Engineering at Chandigarh College of Eng. & Tech., 2007

Biography

Nishant Garg is an Assistant Professor in the CEE department working on the chemistry and characterization of construction materials.

Previously, he was a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher at Princeton University where he applied X-ray and neutron scattering to characterize novel and sustainable cements. He obtained his Ph.D. in Nanoscience at Aarhus University, Denmark in 2015 where he used solid-state NMR to study cements and clay minerals. With his multi-disciplinary background in chemistry, materials science, and civil engineering he has spent his research career in developing a fundamental understanding of sustainable, durable, and environment-friendly cement-based materials.

Academic Positions

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 10/2018 - Present
  • Lecturer, Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, 01/2018 - 06/2018
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, 01/2016 - 10/2018

Research Statement

Prof. Garg's research revolves around the fundamental and nanoscale characterization of cement-based materials using various spectroscopic and scattering techniques. His research goal is to gain a thorough understanding of novel, sustainable cements using a multi-disciplinary, materials science approach.

Graduate Research Opportunities

I'm actively looking for multiple graduate students (MS & Ph.D.) to join my research group. If you're interested, please apply online and mention your interest to work with me in your formal application.

Research Interests

  • Development of Low-CO2 and Sustainable Cements
  • Solid Waste Management and Sustainability
  • Impact of Nuclear Radiation on Concrete Microstructure
  • Nano- and Atomic-scale Characterization of Cement-based Materials

Research Areas

Selected Articles in Journals

  • Kumar, V. and Garg, N.; “The chemical and physical origin of incineration ash reactivity in cementitious systems.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 177:106009, 2022.
  • Abdelrahman, O. and Garg, N.; “Impact of Na/Al Ratio on the Extent of Alkali-Activation Reaction: Non-linearity and Diminishing Returns.” Frontiers in Chemistry, 9:806532, 2022.
  • Polavaram, K. C. and Garg, N.; “Enabling phase quantification of anhydrous cements via Raman imaging.” Cement and Concrete Research, 150:106592, 2021.
  • Kumar, V. and Garg, N.; “National and regional waste stream in the United States: conformance and disparity.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 1.3:031002, 2021.
  • Polavaram, K. C. and Garg, N.; “High-fidelity and high-resolution phase mapping of granites via confocal Raman imaging.” Scientific Reports, 11.1: 1-10, 2021.

Conferences Organized or Chaired

  • Co-chair of 10th Advances in Cement-based Materials Conference, of American Ceramic Society, Cements Division scheduled in Urbana, Illinois for June 2019.
  • Co-organizer of the session on cementitious materials in the division of Geochemistry at 253rd American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, California, April 2017

Professional Societies

  • Member, American Society of Testing and Materials, 2022 - Present
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineering, 2022 - Present
  • Member, The International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM), 2021 - Present
  • Member, American Concrete Institute (ACI), 2019 - Present
  • Member, American Ceramic Society, 2016 - Present

Service on Department Committees

  • Member, NSEL Advisory Committee (2020 - 2021)
  • Member, CEE Advisory Committee (2020 - Present)

Teaching Honors

  • Princeton ''Writing in Science & Engineering'' Teaching Fellowship (2017)

Research Honors

  • Stephen Brunauer Award, American Ceramic Society (2021)
  • Journal of European Ceramic Society (JECS) Trust Grant (2018)

Recent Courses Taught

  • CEE 300 (TAM 324) - Behavior of Materials
  • CEE 502 - Advanced Cement Chemistry
  • CEE 595 EWS - EWES Seminar

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