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Aali R. Alizadeh

With over 15 years of experience in the concrete materials industry, Dr. Aali Alizadeh brings unique expertise on the durability of concrete tackled at the nano-level, particularly related to infrastructure exposed to harsh environmental conditions. In addition to being named one of Ottawa's Top 40 Under Forty entrepreneurs of 2018, he was awarded the Governor General's Academic Gold Medal. Read Aali Alizadeh, PhD, P.Eng. | CEO and Co-Founder full biography to learn more about his Awards and Accomplishments, Patents and Education in Civil Engineering. Dr. Aali R. Alizadeh has numerous publications, click here to see his Google Scholar profile.

Concrete EPDs – How to Develop, Implement, and Benchmark

Aali R. Alizadeh January 29, 2025

Concrete production is essential to infrastructure development, but its environmental cost is significant. While construction industry contributes to 11% of global CO2 emissions, concrete is responsible for most of that (i.e. 8%). If it was a country, concrete would have ranked 3rd after US and China in terms of global GHG emissions. The majority of CO₂ emissions in the industry stem from the manufacturing of cement, specifically during the calcination of limestone in kilns and the combustion of fossil fuels. Each ton of cement produced generates nearly a ton of CO₂, making it a substantial contributor to global warming.  Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now This challenge is compounded by: The urgency to address CO₂ emissions has driven the industry toward innovative solutions, with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) emerging as a…

The Ultimate Guide to Concrete Formwork: Types, Innovations, and Best Practices

Aali R. Alizadeh December 9, 2024

Concrete is the backbone of modern construction, from the foundations of skyscrapers to simple residential sidewalks. Its adaptability is largely due to formwork, also known as shuttering, a system of molds or structures that hold the concrete in place while it hardens. This crucial stage of the building process ensures the concrete retains its desired shape, strength, and finish. In this post, we will explore different types of formwork, innovations in the field, and practical tips for selecting and using formwork efficiently in various construction projects.  Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now What is Formwork? Formwork refers to temporary or permanent molds into which concrete is poured. Without formwork, the liquid concrete would not stay in place long enough to solidify into its intended structure. More than just a mold, formwork…

The Best Concrete Sensor in 2020

Aali R. Alizadeh April 30, 2020

A Review of Top Wired and Wireless Temperature and Strength Concrete Sensors Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now Concrete Construction PlanningIn a construction project, concrete is often on the critical path. Most of the jobsite activities can not be initiated unless the concrete that is placed for building structural elements such as beams and slabs has achieved sufficient strength (typically 75% of the specified compressive strength of concrete). If concrete is not cured properly in favorable temperature ranges (at least more than 5°C or 40°F based on ACI 306) after pouring, it is quite possible to have a slippage in the project plan and timeline due to the delayed strength development in concrete. Curing temperature is also important when it comes to mass concrete placements such as foundations. If the…

Concrete Testing Goes Wireless

Aali R. Alizadeh June 3, 2019

Testing concrete’s strength is essential, but is also messy and expensive. One needs to create test cylinders, cure them properly, transport them to the lab for more curing (or field cure them), and then break them in a compression machine just to throw the broken concrete into a dumpster. Though it seems like a waste of time and resources, it is necessary to know concrete’s early age-strength for construction operations or the mix’s long-term strength to ensure the specified concrete strength is achieved. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now So, one makes the cylinders and waits several days before breaking the first set only to get a strength value at a single point in time. That value does not necessarily indicate the actual in-place strength of the concrete, even if…

Make Your Construction Jobsite Safer and Faster with Smart Sensors

Aali R. Alizadeh March 25, 2019

Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now Sensors embedded in concrete let you know when it’s cured and ready. Concrete is the material most widely used by humans — after water. As its ingredients are readily available almost anywhere in the world, it is the main component used by architects and engineers in the building of foundations, multi-story and high-rise structures, bridges, dams, and roads. With concrete playing such an important role throughout the globe, the longevity and strength of these structures is paramount.The strength of concrete is governed by a set of chemical reactions that occur under favorable curing conditions between cement and water during the first few days after mixing. This leads concrete to transition from a liquid-like material to a solid that can take any shape and form….

Defending the Most Sustainable Construction Material: Response to CNN

Aali R. Alizadeh May 8, 2018

A few days ago, CNN published an article entitled “Concrete is a disaster for our planet: can the building industry break its addiction?” causing an uproar from thousands of construction industry professionals. Rightly so. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now The article, as we will discuss in greater detail below, was largely biased and founded on false or incomplete analysis.Since then, CNN has renamed and edited the article to “Can the building industry break its addiction to concrete?” to reflect a more neutral position.What Was Wrong in the CNN ArticleA number of points raised in the recent CNN article are not supported by the literature concerning concrete sustainability or the recent calculations of embodied carbon and energy associated with concrete construction.The CNN interviews with Fennell and Langenbach did not represent…

Bringing the Uber Model to Construction

Aali R. Alizadeh April 4, 2018

The construction industry is one of the oldest industries in the world. It’s also one of the slowest to implement change. The proof? Textbooks I studied 20 years ago are still used in civil engineering schools worldwide today! Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now How is that possible? For one, design practices have not changed much—at least not as much as in the other industries. More importantly, however, the adoption of new technologies in the construction sector is very slow.In one word, the construction industry is ‘conservative’.This can, to some extent, be expected as a result of how things work in the industry. The liabilities associated with the design and construction of structures are so high that they make anyone—from owners and engineers to contractors—extremely cautious about making risky decisions.For…

About Giatec

Giatec is a global company revolutionizing the construction industry by bringing smart testing technologies and real-time data collection to the forefront of every jobsite. Giatec’s suite of hardware and software products has leveraged advanced technologies such as AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), including wireless concrete sensors, mobile apps, and advanced non-destructive technologies (NDT) to drive innovation throughout concrete’s lifecycle and reduce concrete’s carbon footprint.

Our suite of hardware and software products has leveraged advanced technologies such as; Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT), including; wireless concrete sensors, mobile apps, and advanced non-destructive technologies (NDT) to drive innovation throughout concrete’s lifecycle.

Combining wireless concrete sensors and mobile apps, Giatec has developed smart IoT-based technologies, like SmartRock® concrete maturity sensors, for real-time monitoring of concrete properties. This provides critical information to contractors so they can make efficient and informed decisions on the jobsite, ultimately saving time and money. Ready-mix producers also leverage the SmartRock® Plus cloud, which gives them access to concrete performance data to optimize their mix designs.

Wireless Sensors and NDT Technologies

Our suite of hardware and software products has leveraged advanced technologies such as; Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT), including; wireless concrete sensors, mobile apps, and advanced non-destructive technologies (NDT) to drive innovation throughout concrete’s lifecycle.

Combining wireless concrete sensors and mobile apps, Giatec has developed smart IoT-based technologies, like SmartRock® concrete maturity sensors, for real-time monitoring of concrete properties. This provides critical information to contractors so they can make efficient and informed decisions on the jobsite, ultimately saving time and money. Ready-mix producers also leverage the SmartRock® Plus cloud, which gives them access to concrete performance data to optimize their mix designs.

 

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