Our work is featured in the NSF 2021 End-of-the-year Video.

Dr. Akono records a podcast with the National Nanotechnology Institute.

Dr. Akono gives an invited talk at The Royal Society.

2022

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at the Gordon Research Conference on Solid State Studies in Ceramics – Coupled Phenomena Across Lengthscales.

Our paper on “Reactive Pre-ceramic Gel to Yield Advanced Nanofiber-Reinforced Geopolymer Composites” is accepted for publication in Polymers. Yunzhi is the first author: Congrats!

Our paper on “Role of CO2 in geomechanical alteration of Morrow Sandstone across micro-meso scales” is accepted for publication in the International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences.

Our paper on “Influence of Martian Soil Simulant on Microstructural Heterogeneity and Mechanical Response of Martian concretes” is accepted for publication in Mechanics Research Commumincations.

Our paper on “Valorization of marble powder wastes using rice husk ash to yield enhanced-performance inorganic polymer cements: Phase evolution, microstructure, and micromechanics analyses” is accepted for publication in Cleaner Engineering and Technology.

Prof. Akono receives the Johnson & Johnson Women in STEM 2D Scholar Award for 2022 in the Design Discipline.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at the First US-Africa NAE Frontiers of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Symposium.

Haklae Lee and Nathanial Buettner pass the Qualifying Exam.

2021

Prof. Akono receives the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute Leonardo da Vinci Award.

Jiaxin Chen and Yunzhi Xu are awarded USNC/TAM Early Career Attendee Fellowships.

Raymonde Council wins a DAAD RISE Germany internship.

Yunzhi Xu is selected for the 2021 PS&ED Cluster Fellowship.

Our paper on “Fracture toughness of one-and two-dimensional nanoreinforced cement via scratch testing” is accepted for publication in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.

Prof. Akono gives an interview on Smart Cement for Tech Briefs.

Our work is featured on the National Science Foundation website.

Our work is selected for inclusion in the National Science Foundation Discovery Files, to be broadcasted nationally and in 177 countries.

Prof. Akono records a podcast on “Smart Cement” with the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at Columbia University.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at Princeton University.

Prof. Akono is appointed as Associate Editor for the Journal of Engineering Mechanics.

Jiaxin Chen defends her Ph. D. Thesis.

2020

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at the 44th International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites.

Prof. Akono is awarded an NIH Diversity grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Our paper on “Influence of pore structure on the strength behavior of geopolymer composites” is highlighted on Advances in Engineering.

Our paper on “Effect of nano-TiO2 on C–S–H phase distribution within Portland cement paste” is accepted for publication in the Journal of Materials Science.

Yunzhi Xu passes the candidacy exam.

Prof. Akono is awarded a research grant from the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design.

Our paper on “Fracture Behavior of Metakaolin-based Geopolymer Reinforced with Carbon Nanofibers” is accepted for publication in the International Journal of Ceramic Engineering and Science.

Our paper on “Influence of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on the Hydration Products of Ordinary Portland Cement Paste” is accepted for publication in Cement and Concrete Research.

Our paper on “Nanostructure and Fracture Behavior of Carbon Nanofiber-Reinforced Cement using Nanoscale Depth-Sensing Methods” is accepted for publication in Materials.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at The Royal Society. Watch here.

Jiaxin Chen passes the Prospectus Exam.

2019

Our paper on “A review of geo-chemical-mechanical impacts in geological carbon storage reservoirs” is accepted for publication in the  Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology journal.

Our paper “Geochemical and geomechanical alteration of Mount Simon reservoir rock by CO2-saturated brine following carbon sequestration” is accepted for publication in the  International Journal for Greenhouse Gas Control.

Our paper on “Influence of pore structure on the strength behavior of geopolymer composites” is accepted for publication in the  Cement and Concrete Composites journal.

Our paper on “Alteration of the fracture behavior in host rock during CO2 geological sequestration” is published in the FraMCos-X conference proceedings.

The Akono group is awarded an NSF GOALI grant to study the cyclic failure of aluminosilicate nanocomposites. NU Press coverage here.

Prof. Akono wins Searle Faculty Fellowship for 2019-2020.

Akono group is awarded a United Kingdom Royal Society International Exchange Award in collaboration with the University of Birmingham.

Our paper on “Microscopic assessment of bone toughness using scratch tests” makes it to the list of the top cited papers of the  Bone Reports journal for 2018.

Prof. Akono is awarded a travel grant by the United Kingdom Royal Society to give an invited talk at the UK Royal Society Discussion Meeting celebrating the 100th anniversary of Griffith’s work.

2018

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at the 42nd International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, Daytona Beach, FL.

Our paper on “Intrinsic mechanical properties of calcium aluminate crystals via the linear comparison composite method coupled with nanoindentation” is accepted for publication in  Mechanics of Materials.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at Stanford University.

Our paper on “Friction and fracture characteristics of engineered crumb-rubber concrete at microscopic lengthscale” is accepted for publication in the  Journal of Construction and Building Materials.

Prof. Akono is a Panel Speaker at the Plenary Session on “The future of Engineering Education: Practitioners and Academics” at the 2018 Structures Congress, Forth Worth, TX.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the University of Houston.

Our paper on “Fluid-rock reactions in Mt. Simon sandstone at microscopic length-scale” is published in the American Rock Mechanics Association 2018 Conference Proceedings.

Our paper on “modeling CO2-induced alterations in Mt. Simon sandstone via nanomechanics” is accepted for publication in  Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering.

Our paper on “Influence of geochemistry on toughening behavior of organic-rich shale” is accepted for publication in Acta Geotecnica.

2017

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University.

Our paper on “Microstructure-toughness relationships in calcium aluminate cement/polymer composites using instrumented scratch testing” is accepted for publication in the Journal of Materials Science.

Prof. Akono gives is a keynote speaker for the Introduction to Graduate Education at Northwestern University workshop.

Our paper on “Rate-independent fracture toughness of grey and black kerogen-rich shales” is accepted for publication in Acta Geotecnica.

The Akono group moves to Northwestern University.

The Akono group wins an NSF grant award to study strong and multifunctional geopolymer composites across multiple lengthscales.

Our paper on “Microscopic toughness of viscous solids via scratching: from amorphous polymers to gas shale” is accepted for publication in the Journal of Nanomechanics and Micromechanics.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana, IL.

Our paper on “Reply to ‘Discussion on the Fracture mechanics interpretation of the scratch test by Akono et al.‘ ” is accepted for publication in the Engineering Fracture Mechanics  journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at the GSCO2 annual Review Meeting, Urbana, IL.

Our paper on “Fracture properties of the alkali silicate gel using microscopic scratch testing” is accepted for publication in the Cement and Concrete Composites journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the 42nd International Conference and Exposition on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, Daytona Beach, FL.

Our paper on “Microscopic assessment of bone toughness using scratch tests” is accepted for publication in  Bone Reports.

2016

Our paper on “Energetic size effect law at the microscopic scale: application to progressive-load scratch testing” is accepted for publication in the  Journal of Nanomechanics and Micromechanics.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at Northwestern University.

Our paper on “Microscopic fracture characterization of gas shale via scratch testing” is accepted or publication in the  Mechanics Research Communications journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the Prairie Institute, Urbana, IL.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Prof. Akono receives the ASCE New faces of Civil Engineering -Professional award. Full story here. UIUC CEE news release here.

Prof. Akono is awarded the National Center for Supercomputing Application Fellowship. Full story here.

Our paper on “Shallow and deep scratch tests as powerful alternatives to assess the fracture properties of quasi-brittle materials” is accepted for publication in the  Engineering Fracture Mechanics journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at Johns Hopkins University.

2015

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at Northwestern University.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the University of California – Los Angeles.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Research  & Development Center (CERL), IL, USA.

Our paper on “Micromechanics-based lower bounds on the macroscopic fracture toughness of microparticulate composites” is accepted for publication in the Engineering Fracture Mechanics journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France.

Our paper on “Nano-chemo-mechanical signature of conventional oilwell cement systems: effects of elevated temperature and curing time” is accepted for publication in the Cement and Concrete Research journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited seminar at the Ecole des Ponts -ParisTech, Paris, France.

2014

Our paper on “An improved technique for characterizing the fracture toughness via scratch test experiments” is accepted for publication in  Wear.

Our paper on “Discussion: Strength-to-fracture scaling in scratching” is accepted for publication in the Engineering Fracture Mechanics  journal.

Prof. Akono gives an invited talk in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.