Dr. Jialai Wang
Professor
Contact
- 2013F Science and Engineering Complex
- fax (205) 348-0783
Research Areas
Education
- Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering and Advanced Materials, University of Akron, 2003
- M.S., Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, China, 1996
- B.S., Civil Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, China, 1993
Professor Jialai Wang is committed to decarbonizing the built environment through transformative materials innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration with students, academic colleagues, industry partners, and federal agencies. Over more than two decades at the University of Alabama, Professor Wang has established a comprehensive research ecosystem focused on CO₂ mineralization, advanced composites, thermal energy storage and building energy efficiency, waste valorization and critical mineral recovery, and advanced manufacturing of low-carbon cementitious materials. His work integrates fundamental science with engineering practice to translate discoveries into scalable, sustainable infrastructure solutions.
Professor Wang has authored over 120 peer-reviewed journal publications and holds 10 U.S. patents, including one licensed for commercial application. He is the founder of a university spin-out company selected by the Global Cement and Concrete Association to establish an international consortium advancing low-carbon cement and concrete technologies. His research has been supported by more than $23 million in competitive funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and NASA, reflecting sustained impact across materials science, built energy efficiency, carbon capture and utilization, advanced manufacturing, and civil infrastructure.
Professor Wang has originated and led the development of several breakthrough technologies, including:
- • Regulated CO₂ mineralization for deep decarbonization of cement and concrete
- • Methane-to-hydrogen and carbon nanotube co-production enabled by industrial-waste-derived catalysts
- • Thermal energy storage systems and adaptive building envelope technologies
- • Microencapsulation technologies using industrial waste as functional carrier materials
- • Naturally occurring compounds as multifunctional admixtures and grinding aids for cementitious materials.
- • Low-cost, in-situ production
Affiliated Areas
Center for Sustainable Infrastructure, Center for Water Quality Research, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Selected Publications
- Weibo Tan, Peiyuan Chen, Yonghui Wang, Peng Qian, Zeren Chen, Jialai Wang*, 2025. Preparation of performance-enhanced alkali-activated slag using a plant-derived chelator, Cement and Concrete Composites 165, 106332.
- Ismail, A., Bahmani, M., Wang, X., Aday, A., Odukomaiya, A. and Wang, J*., 2024. Enabling thermal energy storage in structural cementitious composites with a novel phase change material microcapsule featuring an inorganic shell and a bio-inspired silica coating. Journal of Energy Storage, 83, p.110677.
- Wang, J., 2023. Renewable admixtures for cementitious compositions. U.S. Patent No. 11,814,321.
- Wang, J., 2021. Microencapsulation of materials using cenospheres. U.S. Patent No. 11,142,909.
- Wang, J., and Qian, X., 2016. Addition of carbon dioxide to concrete mixtures. U.S. Patent No. 10,392,305. (licensed for commercial application)
Awards and Honors
- Fellow, Scialog: Sustainable Minerals, Metals and Materials, April 2024
- Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
- Faculty Preeminence in Research Excellence and Innovation, College of Engineering, The University of Alabama, 2025.
- Top 2% Scientist by Stanford University rankings of global scientists and engineers since 2020.
- Best Paper Award, the 8th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering (CICE 2016) in Hong Kong, China on 14-16 December 2016.
- Excellence in Research – Mid-Career Scholar, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, 2019.
Dr. Wang's Impact
Wang’s Lab Receives Global Interest During 2025 GCCA Innovandi Open Challenge
Dr. Jialai Wang, professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, and his research team were recognized at the 2025 Global Cement and Concrete Association Innovandi Open Challenge...
UA Professor Upcycling Waste for Green Construction and Jobs
In a recently awarded grant project led by The University of Alabama, researchers will upcycle agricultural and industrial waste into affordable and greener construction materials. The project, “Transforming Wastes Into Economic Assets for Sustainability, Resilience, and Prosperity by a Novel Negative Emission Technology,” is a $6 million grant through the NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement-Focused EPSCoR Collaborations Program focused on building climate resilience and strengthening STEM education in regions that have traditionally received less funding.
UA Leading Effort For Stronger, Greener Concrete
Engineering researchers received $2.75 million in federal support to scale up a patent-pending innovation that uses carbon dioxide to strengthen concrete.