“Novel materials is one of the key enabling technologies in the building sector.”

Jos Brouwers is a Full Professor and Chair of Building Materials at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).  The chair Building Materials is devoted to the advancement and diffusion of knowledge concerning sustainable and functional building materials. Current research interests include:

• Sustainable building (materials, energy, water)

• Granular mix design and concrete/mortar rheology (Self-Compacting Concrete, soil grouts, earth moist concrete, fiber reinforced concrete, oil well cement etc)

• Microstructure and pore water chemistry of hydrating cement/lime/gypsum and cementitious by-products (slag, fly ash etc.), and their dehydration (e.g. fire response)

• Treatment of contaminated soils, dredged sediments, industrial waste etc, with the help of air/steam (cleaning) and by mixing with cement/lime/gypsum (immobilization/stabilization)

• Transport properties and durability of cement/lime/gypsum based materials (such as Cl- and CO2 diffusion/binding)

• Functional materials: self-cleaning, air-purifying, translucent, thermally buffering, etc.

The group also assists with material processability evaluation. This is done with a broad combination of processing and material characterization techniques, using high-end equipment and advanced instrumentation for chemical, analytical, thermal, physical, optical and electrical analysis. 

Jos Brouwers obtained his MSc in Mechanical Engineering and his PhD in Technical Sciences at TU/e. He has worked as Research engineer and project leader in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Akzo Nobel Central Research and Associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering (& Management) at Twente University of Technology, The Netherlands.

Jos is currently guest professor in the State Key Lab of Silicate Building Materials, at Wuhan University Technology, China, where he focuses on Construction Materials and Sustainable Building. In addition, he is an editorial board member of Vestnik, a peer-reviewed journal published by the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, and a Member of the Consultative Board of Van Berlo Bedrijfsvloeren. Furthermore, Jos is a reviewer of project proposals for IWT (Swiss Institute for Materials Technology) and SNF (Dutch foundation for flexible housing standards).