Lab News
May 2026. AM2 Lab research was highlighted in the Princeton Materials Institute (PMI).
Taking inspiration from a deep-sea creature called a glass sponge, a team led by PMI’s Reza Moini has developed a technique to print cement-based composites that are far more resistant to cracking and deformation while retaining load-bearing capacity.
May 2026. Shashank Gupta defended his PhD dissertation (first PhD of the lab!)
Congratulations to Dr. Shashank Gupta for successfully defending his PhD, first to come and to graduate from the group.
May 2026. New patent!
Concrete Additive Manufacturing 2.0 is born: A multi-material concrete-polymer technique that allows a new degree freedom in fabrication, design, and mechanics of 3D-printed concrete (aka, tough Architected Cementitious Composites – ACC).
Apr. 2026. Mahsa Rabiei presented her research as a Rising Star at the Princeton Robotics Inaugural Symposium on Humanity-driven Robotics.
Apr. 2026. New patent!
A provisional patent led by Lara Tomholt and Shashank Gupta in collaboration with Forrest Meggers has been in the queue for evaporative cooling of buildings and infrastructure.
Mar. 2026. Mahsa Rabiei presented a poster at the Research Traineeship SOCRATES (Socially Cognizant Robotics for a Technology-Enhanced Society) workshops at Rutgers University.
Mar. 2026. Congratulations to Aimane Najmeddine for winning the first place for the post-doc poster award at the C3 symposium.
Nov. 2024. Prof. Moini was interviewed on the NSF’s Discovery Files podcast
Prof. Moini was interviewed on the NSF’s Discovery Files podcast about his work with concrete, 3D-printing techniques, and how his lab takes inspiration from nature as it works to reimagine the future of building materials.
Nov. 2024. Prof. Moini was interviewed on the MRS Bulletin Materials News podcast
Prof. Moini was interviewed on the MRS Bulletin Materials News podcast about his group’s development of an enhanced additive manufacturing technique to fabricate cementitious materials with excellent fracture toughness.
Sep. 2023. Moini Lab receives NSF CAREER Award
Our Lab Reza Moini has been awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award to understand and engineer a new generation of concrete composites, inspired by naturally tough materials such as bone and mother-of-pearl, to allow more resilient and efficient infrastructure. See more information on CEE website.
May. 2022. Moini Lab receives Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.
Aug. 2021. Moini Lab receives NSF support on Microstructural Characteristics, Fracture, and Transport of Additively Manufactured Concrete Materials
The research will focus on the development of a new generation of additively manufactured cementitious materials with enhanced performance. The research will achieve a foundational understanding of the physics of 3D-printed concrete in several temporal and spatial scales and will answer fundamental questions about the mechanisms involved in the extrusion process. The knowledge will then be used to inform designs of the internal architecture of the material with the goal of tailoring fracture response and transport behavior. By engineering the weak attributes of the interfaces with internal helical architectures, this research aims to enhance mixed-mode fracture toughness in 3D-printed cementitious materials based on fracture mechanics principles.