Dr. Hoback is working on the repair of precast concrete. Concrete is a common material used in buildings, bridges and other strucutures.
Precast concrete is concrete that is formed into structural members at a factory.
The concrete members are then transported to the construction site, lifted with a crane into place, and installed. The problem with this process is that precast concrete can be damaged, such as by cracking, during transportation and lifting, thereby losing strength. Dr. Hoback is researching repair methods to patch cracks and to improve strength. Roads and Transportation Dr. Dutta is working on urethane-modified asphalt for road applications. This work takes off of other ongoing projects on the use of automotive shredder residue in road materials.