NSF PFI-TT
Eco-friendly concrete & recycled steel fibers
Translational research connecting sustainable reinforcement technology with practical infrastructure applications.
Sustainable & High-Performance Infrastructure Lab
Engineering materials for sustainable infrastructure.
The SHI Lab develops sustainable, high-performance construction materials through recycling, advanced cementitious composites, biopolymers, and infrastructure innovation.
SHI stands for Sustainable, High-Performance Infrastructure—and also reflects the last name of the lab's founder and principal investigator, Dr. Xijun Shi.
$15M+External funding as PI or Co-PI
50+Peer-reviewed publications
NSFCAREER & PFI-TT
NASALunar construction research
Featured Project
NSF CAREER · 2026–2031
Advancing recyclable biopolymer composite materials and entrepreneurial education for construction in resource-limited environments.
Reimagining temporary construction as a recoverable material system.
The project investigates recyclable biopolymer construction materials that combine engineering performance with reuse and resource recovery.
View funded projectsHighlights
Research from laboratory to field.
Selected programs span bridge materials, pavements, coastal infrastructure, technology transfer, and space construction.
CREATE UTC
Cracking-resistant coastal concrete
Durable material systems for infrastructure exposed to aggressive coastal environments.
NASA
Lunar construction materials
Geopolymers and additive-manufacturing concepts using locally available extraterrestrial resources.
Materials Innovation
Novel concrete products developed in the SHI Lab.
Our work explores new cementitious and composite material systems using alternative, recycled, and resource-efficient constituents to improve sustainability and expand the possibilities of infrastructure materials.
See our research themesTechnology & Innovation
From research to real-world impact.
SHI Lab research also contributes to technology translation and commercialization. Circle Concrete Tech advances sustainable concrete technologies, including Plient recycled steel fibers for concrete infrastructure applications.
Visit Circle Concrete Tech →Recent Work
Selected publications.
A selection of recent scholarly work. Visit the Publications page for more.
2026 · Wei, C. B., Gujar, P. S., Shi, X., & Suraneni, P. Valorization of Waste Eggshell as a Limestone Alternative for High-Volume Incorporation into Portland Cement. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering.
2025 · Gujar, P. S., Chong, B. W., Aduwenye, P. T., Shi, X., & Grasley, Z. C. Hybrid Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete for Pavement Overlays. ACI Materials Journal.
2024 · Debbarma, S., Shi, X., Torres, A., & Nodehi, M. Fiber-reinforced lunar geopolymers synthesized using lunar regolith simulants. Acta Astronautica.