Transformative Technologies for Future-Ready and Sustainable Civil Infrastructure

Dr. Peerzada Danish received his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering (Civil Engineering) from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, with research focused on self-compacting concrete incorporating mineral admixtures as supplementary materials. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate III at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, working on the development of low-carbon alternative materials for dam construction and rehabilitation under projects supported by the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS, GOI), Central Water Commission, Government of India, and the World Bank. He has authored more than 20 Scopus-indexed publications, along with books and book chapters. Dr. Danish previously served as an Assistant Professor at several universities and institutes, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses and supervising student research. His research interests include sustainable construction materials, alkali-activated binders, and durable infrastructure systems.

Dr. Jasir Mushtaq is a Saudi Aramco Approved Environmental Engineer with over six years of professional experience in environmental management across the Gulf region and India. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Srinagar, India. His expertise includes solid waste management, environmental monitoring, carbon footprint assessment, and sustainable infrastructure development. Dr. Mushtaq has authored several international journal publications and book chapters focusing on climate change, waste management, and environmental sustainability. He is actively involved in implementing international environmental standards and promoting sustainable engineering practices.

Dr. Imen Ben Salem is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences and Sustainability at Zayed University. Her multidisciplinary research spans carbon capture and sequestration, sustainable materials, clean-energy technologies, CFD modeling, optical diagnostics, and remote sensing, with applications in both Earth and planetary sciences. Her work supports several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Her recent research focuses on developing cost-effective and environmentally friendly mineralization pathways using agricultural-waste biochar to enhance CO₂ capture and long-term storage. In addition, she explores sustainable construction materials, including biochar-enhanced concrete systems aimed at reducing carbon footprint while improving environmental performance. Her work combines experimental investigations with modeling approaches to assess scalable negative-emission strategies and sustainable deployment frameworks. She previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Masdar Institute in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying CO₂ behavior in saline aquifers using integrated experimental and CFD modeling techniques. At Zayed University, Dr. Ben Salem contributes to establishing a specialized research laboratory dedicated to carbon sequestration and environmental sensing. She has also supported the advancement of innovative research tools developed through collaborative efforts, including a spectrogoniometer and a Mars environmental chamber, contributing to UAE space research objectives and Earth observation applications.