BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.0.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:0-8173@eng.ufl.edu DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260324T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260324T100000 DTSTAMP:20260203T160536Z URL:https://www.eng.ufl.edu/news-events/events/che-2026-spring-seminar-ser ies-christopher-alexander-phd/ SUMMARY:ChE 2026 Spring Seminar Series - Christopher Alexander\, PhD DESCRIPTION:Title: Mitigating and predicting corrosion in complex material- environment systems\nAbstract:\nCorrosion remains one of the most pervasiv e and costly challenges facing engineered systems\, with profound implicat ions for materials performance and infrastructure durability. This seminar presents an overview of ongoing research aimed at understanding\, control ling\, and forecasting corrosion processes through electrochemical princip les and multi-physics approaches. The first part of the talk provides a br ief overview of current research at the USF Corrosion Laboratory.\nThe mai n focus of the seminar centers on work seeking to develop predictive tools and design strategies that extend service life and improve the sustainabi lity of reinforced concrete infrastructure. The deterioration of the world ’s civil infrastructure coupled with the imposed threat of climate chang e puts emphasis on the need for optimally sustainable yet increasingly dur able construction materials. Novel concrete formulations capable of accele rated carbon dioxide sequestration have the potential to reverse negative effects of excessive carbon dioxide emissions. However\, their widespread use depends on our ability to ensure their long-term durability especially regarding steel reinforcement corrosion.\nChloride-induced corrosion of s teel in concrete initiates as localized pits that may either repassivate o r continue to grow and evolve into more widespread damage. This work aims to uncover the mechanisms governing pit growth and repassivation in concre te using a combination of controlled experiments and physics-based computa tional modeling. Single pit experiments are employed to investigate the in fluence of concrete configuration on pit stability and repassivation behav ior. Recent progress will be presented on characterizing corrosion damage evolution\, quantifying pit stability\, and integrating these observations into multi-scale corrosion damage evolution models. By coupling micro-sca le pit behavior with macro-scale electrochemical transport and corrosion m odels\, this research seeks to identify interfacial conditions that promot e sustained passivity and limit damage accumulation.\nBio:\nDr. Christophe r L. Alexander received his M.S. in Civil Engineering and Ph.D. in Chemica l Engineering from the University of Florida in 2015 and 2017\, respective ly. He completed postdoctoral training at Sandia National Laboratories in the Materials Reliability Center from 2017 to 2018. He is currently an Ass ociate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering\ , with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Chemical\, Biological \, and Materials Engineering at the University of South Florida\, where he directs the Corrosion Research Group.\nDr. Alexander’s research integra tes electrochemistry\, materials science\, and transport modeling to addre ss critical durability challenges in civil and environmental systems. His work focuses on uncovering the fundamental mechanisms governing corrosion initiation\, propagation\, and mitigation in reinforced concrete\, post-te nsioned structures\, and metallic infrastructure components. His group emp loys advanced electrochemical characterization\, controlled laboratory exp erimentation\, and physics-based multi-scale modeling to investigate local ized corrosion\, coupled electrochemical processes\, and damage evolution. \nHe is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award for his research on developin g tailored steel–concrete interfaces to promote repassivation and perpet ually limited corrosion damage. His research program has attracted support from the National Science Foundation\, the Florida Department of Transpor tation\, industry partners\, the Florida High Tech Corridor\, and internat ional collaborators\, and has resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publicati ons and invited presentations.\nDr. Alexander is actively engaged in profe ssional service and leadership through the Association for Materials Prote ction and Performance (AMPP)\, the Electrochemical Society\, and RILEM. He is committed to workforce development and broadening participation in eng ineering research\, and annually leads an eight-week summer research exper ience for local high school students. CATEGORIES:Seminars LOCATION:Engineering Building (NEB) Room 202\, 1064 CENTER DR GAINESVILLE\, FL 32611 Bldg #: 0033\, Gainesville\, Florida\, 32611\, United States X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=1064 CENTER DR GAINESVILLE\ , FL 32611 Bldg #: 0033\, Gainesville\, Florida\, 32611\, United States;X- APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Engineering Building (NEB) Room 202:geo:0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR