Concrete Essentials—Basic Properties of Concrete
About this course
Unlock the potential of concrete: a foundation for sustainable construction. This course delves into the essential properties and applications of concrete, a ubiquitous building material with a significant environmental impact. Gain a deep understanding of concrete composition, performance characteristics, and its role in the built environment. Learn how to optimise concrete use for efficiency and sustainability while exploring strategies for reducing its carbon footprint. This foundational knowledge is crucial for any professional involved in the construction industry.
You can expect to spend about 2.5 hours on this topic. Should you fail to obtain a passing grade (80%), you may contact us to arrange to retake the evaluation.
Course Staff
Dr. Hélène Lombois-Burger
Hélène holds an Engineering degree (ESPCI ParisTech 2000) and a PhD in Materials Science (Paris 6 University, 2003). She has over 20 years of experience in R&D of construction materials (Italcementi: 2000-2007, Holcim Group since 2007). She is the author of over 25 publications and patents. Hélène is the R&D Head for Concrete & Aggregates and Digital Fabrication at Holcim.
Her role focuses on the development of innovative market solutions with a strong focus on sustainability, in a collaborative ecosystem spanning the whole value chain: from design to certification, including materials and their processing, and construction.
Christophe Levy
Christophe Levy earned a B.E. Degree in Civil Engineering (Paris, 1984). He worked 4 years as New Materials Engineer on landmark construction jobsites in Africa and France. In 1988, he joined Lafarge - today Holcim - where he held different positions in R&D, sustainable construction and marketing, based in France, India and the USA.
With about 80 granted patents, he is passionate about inventing and developing differentiating and sustainable solutions based on innovative cementitious building materials, such as new cements, new concretes, new admixtures and new concrete-based building systems. He is also since 2019 the Chairman of the International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement (Bangkok 2023, Delhi 2027).
Fabrice Toussaint
Fabrice is a Research Engineer, Senior Scientist at Holcim Innovation Centre. He is an expert in Rheology and Concrete Mix Design. He is the recipient of Prix Maurice Couette from the Groupe Français de Rhéologie in 2021.
Dr. Edouard Gengembre
Edouard is an engineer specialised in Energy Efficiency and Low-Carbon Design. He holds a PhD in Building Physics from IMT Mines Albi. He has dedicated his time to product development for energy efficient and low carbon buildings since he joined Holcim in 2012.
Arnaud Delaplace
Arnaud Delaplace is a Civil Engineering graduate from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan (agrégation, PhD, HDR). After more than 10 years as CNRS full-time researcher, Arnaud Delaplace joined Holcim Innovation Center in 2011. His work focuses on the behaviour of cement-based materials (early age properties, heat of hydration, cracking), modelling and numerical simulation.
He is the author of around 50 scientific articles and reports, and has made more than 40 contributions in national and international conferences. He is currently involved in a project related to the digitalization of the RMX supply chain industry, including the use of recycled materials.
Gabriel Pham
Gabriel Pham is Head of Durability & Microstructure team in Holcim Innovation Center since 2019. More than 10 years of career in concrete Durability with proven experience in training various companies of Holcim group (Germany, Serbia, Greece, France). He joined Holcim in 2010 as a Research Engineer having previously worked on modelling.
