Dr.Ms Salma banu Ismail bhai Luhar (D.Litt., Ph.D., M.Eng., B.Eng, D.Eng.)

Professional Expertise and Research interests

  “Only Almighty is a supreme expert but one can employ passion and expertise to provide long term value and innovative solutions for humanity and for protection of HIS creations!” 

                                       Dr. Luhar is an expert of both Geopolymer and conventional concrete technology. Of course, she is more inclined towards development and performance evaluation and the novel applications of an extensive range of alternative sustainable, user and eco-friendly, Geopolymer construction materials incorporating diverse wastes through a number of experimental techniques with low Carbon foot print, i.e., green composites, to protect environments mostly in the area of low cost, sustainable and durable houses and infrastructures for mankind, of course, India first!

Dr. Luhar is an expert in modern Geopolymer Cements, concretes and mortars developed through Geosynthesis – an analogous process to the formation of natural rocks. Her researches are dedicated to significantly reduce CO2 – a primary green house gas, emissions associated with the cement industry which comes to about 7 to 8% alone of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. On the contrary, the new geopolymeric cement, mortars and concretes emit nine times less carbon dioxide. Moreover, she is determined to consume profoundly accessible various wastes through their incorporations in developing novel construction materials in order to “turn potential into profit” i.e. “use of the wastes for the best”. A disruptive technology of Geopolymer composites and cement is one that is totally new in the world. This is valued more, for its social, productive and commercial benefits. India is an agricultural country having vast fertile land. Unfortunately, thousands of hectares of land are occupied by a variety of wastes. The systematic application of these health hazardous wastes is essential to get rid from it and to make the land free from these wastes in order to make it again cultivable. This will not only lend a hand to have more agricultural production but also save surface and sub surface water and soil from contamination due to heaps of wastes.

                                    Her concentration towards High-tech and low-tech Geopolymers and Geosynthesis researches, applications and awareness of Geopolymer composites technology are quite well-known. Translucent  (Light-Transmitting)  Concrete, Bacterial/  Self-Healing  Concrete, Self-compacting  concrete, corrosion of rebar in concrete, microstructure modeling of concrete, chloride ingress, 3D and 4D printing of concrete, Carbon sequestration, Fibre reinforced concrete, Geopolymer cement, Ceramic Engineering, High-performance, and  High-strength  concrete, as  well  as, Computer-Aided  Structural  Design, etc. are some of her topics on which she wants to flashlights. Moreover, she is able to work with the research area centering on an investigation of the long-term behavior of low-CO2 concrete and the mineral processing during co2 capture and storage, commercialization of technology, conversion of waste materials into low co2 cement and concrete, durability study, moisture ingress, building material science, thermal protection, best use of industrial wastes in both traditional Concrete and Geopolymer concretes, Fibre reinforced concrete, Strength,  Durability  and  Microstructural  Properties  of  Geopolymer  Composites containing  various  waste  materials.