Aagya Dahal Awarded “Faculty for the Future” Fellowship Renewal for 2025-26

A graphic with two sections. The top section has a dark blue background with large white text that reads: “SoCEE Ph.D. Student Awarded Renewal of Prestigious Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship.” The bottom section has a white background with black text that reads: “Aagya Dahal was selected for renewal of the prestigious Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship for her research advancing sustainable, low-carbon concrete solutions.” Below the text is the Schlumberger Foundation logo, featuring a circular graphic in blue and gray with the words “Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future” in blue and gray text. To the right of the text, there is a photo of Aagya Dahal smiling and holding a sign that reads: “I’m a 2025 Fellow!” She is wearing sunglasses and a floral-patterned shirt.

The UConn School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is proud to celebrate Aagya Dahal, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who has been awarded a renewal of the Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year.

This prestigious international fellowship supports women from developing and emerging economies who are pursuing PhDs or postdoctoral research in STEM disciplines and are committed to academic careers in their home countries. With a rigorous selection process that evaluates academic excellence, research impact, and future potential, the award provides up to $50,000 to support tuition and living expenses.

Aagya was initially awarded the fellowship for the 2024-25 academic year and has now secured a renewal in recognition of her continued research excellence and commitment to global sustainability. Her research focuses on one of the most pressing challenges in civil engineering today: reducing the environmental footprint of concrete, the world’s most widely used construction material.

Research Toward Sustainable Infrastructure

Concrete production is responsible for approximately 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with cement being the major contributor. To address this, Aagya’s research explores the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), limestone powder, metakaolin, and recycled glass powder as partial replacements for cement in ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC).

UHPC is an advanced construction material known for its superior strength, durability, and efficiency. However, the behavior of SCMs in UHPC, particularly their dispersion and agglomeration tendencies in highly alkaline environments, remains an underexplored area. Aagya’s work seeks to fill this gap by investigating particle dispersion mechanisms, polymer-SCM interactions, and re-agglomeration dynamics, which are critical factors that influence concrete microstructure and performance.

So far, her research has included extensive testing on SCMs such as silica fume, limestone powder, glass powder, Flyash C, and Flyash F. Using vacuum filtration and specialized squeezing apparatus, she has extracted cement pore solutions and conducted sedimentation tests, optical microscopy, and laser particle analysis to study how SCMs behave in solution. Her ultimate goal is to identify effective polymer dispersants that can enhance dispersion and minimize the need for cement, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of future infrastructure projects.

A Commitment to Global Impact

Beyond the lab, Aagya is passionate about promoting environmental sustainability and empowering women in science and engineering. Her research not only aims to transform materials used in global construction practices, but also reflects her personal dedication to advancing equity in STEM fields.

“I am truly honored to receive this fellowship and proud to be a Faculty for the Future Fellow,” said Aagya. “I am thankful to everyone who was a part of this journey, including my advisor, my husband, and my parents. This award empowers me as a woman from STEM and strengthens my commitment towards advancing other women. With this support, I look forward to making meaningful contributions in the field of STEM and inspiring the next generation of scientists.”

We congratulate Aagya on this significant achievement and are proud to support her continued work in building a more sustainable and equitable future through research, education, and leadership.