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Dr. Mohamed Lachemi

Photo by: Jessica Blaine Smith | http://jbsmithphotography.com
Professor, President and Vice-Chancellor
BSc, MASc, PhD, PEng

Areas of Academic Interest

Engineered cementitious composites

Self-healing of concrete

Behaviour of structures & properties of concrete materials

Development & use of self-consolidating concrete

High performance concretes

Use of waste products in concrete

Sustainability & concrete construction

Rehabilitation & repair of concrete structures

Education

Year University Degree
1993 Sherbrooke University PhD
1988 Sherbrooke University MASc
1986 University of Science and Technology of Oran, Algeria BSc

Spotlight

Mohamed Lachemi’s inspiration to pursue engineering as a career came in a single moment, when the ground shook violently one day in North Africa. Lachemi was a high school student in Algeria when a devastating earthquake struck his small town. The quake killed 4,000 people, and levelled many of the town’s buildings.

In the puzzling aftermath, Lachemi found his life’s quest: ”I had to know why some buildings were standing, and others were completely destroyed. I could see that engineering has the power to save lives.” Thus began Lachemi’s global journey as an undergraduate and graduate student, engineer, university faculty member, internationally-renowned researcher, dean and ultimately president of Toronto Metropolitan University.

Researching and developing strong, durable and most importantly sustainable concrete has become his research focus. His success resulted in appointment as a Canada Research Chair, and though his position as university president occupies much of his time, he has continued his research, including supervision of graduate students.

A tragic earthquake began Lachemi’s career in engineering, but at Toronto Metropolitan he has found a home to follow his passion: “Our university community shares a simple but powerful mission—to respond to society’s needs through education and research.”

Mohamed Lachemi

“Toronto Metropolitan’s focus on students is one of the factors that attracted me to this university.”

  • Wason Medal for Materials Research, American Concrete Institute, 2018
  • NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement Award, 2012
  • Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), 2011
  • Canada Research Chair (Tier II), Government of Canada, 2002
  • Siad, H., Lachemi, M., Şahmaran, M., Mesbah, H.A., Hossain, K.A. (2018) “Advanced Engineered Cementitious Composites with Combined Self-Sensing and Self-Healing Functionalities,” Constr. Build. Mater., 176, 313-322.
  • Sherir, M.A.A., Hossain, K.M.A., Lachemi, M. (2017) “The Influence of MgO-Type Expansive Agent Incorporated in Self-Healing System of Engineered Cementitious Composites,” Constr. Build. Mater., 149, 164-185.
  • Bhaskar, S., Hossain, K.M.A., Lachemi, M., Wolfaardt, G., Kroukamp, M.O. (2017) “Effect of Self-Healing on Strength and Durability of Zeolite-Immobilized Bacterial Cementitious Mortar Composites,” Cem. Concr. Compos., 82, 23-33.
  • Siad, H., Lachemi, M., Şahmaran, M., Hossain, K.M.A. (2016) “Preconditioning Method for Accelerated Testing of Concrete Under Sulfate Attack,” ACI Mater. J., 113(4), 493-504.
  • Yeşilmen, S., Al-Najjar, Y., Balav, M.H., Şahmaran, M., Yıldırım, G., Lachemi, M. (2015) “Nano-Modification to Improve the Ductility of Cementitious Composites,” Cem. Concr. Res., 76, 170-179.
  • Member, Council, National Research Council of Canada, 2018 to present
  • Member, Advisory Board, Journal of Hydrocarbons, Mines and Environmental Research, 2010 to present
  • Member, Selection Committee for the CSCE Gzowski Medal, 2009-2013
  • Associate Editor, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 2007-2017