Aktham Alchaar

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Aktham Alchaar is a PhD Candidate at New York University Tandon School of Engineering and a Graduate Research Assistant at New York University Abu Dhabi. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the American University of Ras Al Khaimah and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the American University of Sharjah. He graduated summa cum laude from both institutions.

During his bachelor's degree, he was a member of the team participating in the sustainable campus initiative and won the best green campus audit in 2016. In addition, he was awarded the AURAK scholarship for outstanding academic performance for the year 2016.

His research during his master’s degree was focused on 3D concrete printing. He developed a concrete mixture that was suitable for 3D printing and evaluated its mechanical properties in both ambient and hot temperatures. This was important due to the relevant hot climatic conditions of the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, he designed a novel test setup to evaluate bond shear strength at interfacial regions of 3D printed concrete parts. Additionally, he did some finite element analysis to assess the non-linear behavior of precast concrete sandwich panels and the slip/pullout of fiber reinforcement from concrete surfaces. He successfully published his research in several internationally recognized scientific journals and conferences.

Prior to joining New York University, Aktham was working as a Structural engineer specializing in the design of precast concrete structures. During that time, he was able to lower project costs up to 6% of contract value through value-engineered design. In addition, he successfully designed an innovative precast system composed of moment resisting frames and walls that emerged in single precast members that were supported by an isolated footing substructure.