Materials scientist Shiva Shirani measures how cement hardens at the nanoscale to inform how to develop a more eco-friendly material.

The world makes four billion tonnes of Portland cement, the main ingredient of concrete, every year. This has an enormous carbon footprint — up to 8% of humanity’s yearly production of CO2 comes from this process.

At the moment, low-carbon alternatives aren’t as durable as Portland cement, which hardens fast and strong. The goal of my PhD is to determine how this cement forms so that we might be able to develop materials with a lower carbon footprint.