Konrad Krakowiak

Konrad Krakowiak, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Research Affiliate at MIT's CEE Department. He directs the SERC Civil and Environmental Engineering Facility at UH and previously managed MIT's Laboratory for Materials in Extreme Environments. His research focuses on advanced cementitious materials under extreme conditions.

• Ph.D. in Mechanics of Structures and Materials, University of Minho (Portugal)
• M.S. and B.E. in Applied Mechanics, Warsaw University of Technology (Poland)

Research interests include:

• Chemo-mechanical analysis of cement-based materials
• High-temperature/high-pressure applications (e.g., geothermal wells)
• Multiscale modeling from nano to macro
• Novel characterization techniques (XRD, EPMA, indentation)
• Carbon-neutral cement matrices
• Radiation effects on calcium-silicate-hydrates

Recent publications highlight trends in

• Thermal conductivity reduction via organic cross-linking
• Creep behavior in colloidal gels
• Interfacial chemistry in fly-ash composites
• Lightweight geopolymers for energy retrofit

Scientific awards include

• Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship (2019)
• MIT CEE Postdoctoral Excellence Award (2016)
• FCT Scholar (2011)
• Erasmus Scholar (2003)

He has supervised Ph.D. students Amir Moshiri and Raj Gopal Nannopaneni, focusing on reduced-aging cement matrices and ultrasonic monitoring of microstructural changes. His $5M X-CEM Schlumberger-MIT collaboration (2011-2016) advanced understanding of cement durability under extreme conditions.