Research
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Journal Articles
Published (5)
J1. B. H. Miao, R. J. Headrick, Z. Li, L. Spanu, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Life cycle assessment and design of LignoBlock: A lignin bound block on the path towards a green transition of the construction industry." Journal of Cleaner Production, 474, 143610, 2024. (Impact Factor: 10.7)
J2. B. H. Miao, R. J. Headrick, Z. Li, L. Spanu, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Development of biopolymer composites using lignin: A sustainable technology for fostering a green transition in the construction sector." Cleaner Materials, 14, 100279, 2024. (Impact Factor: 12.7)
J3. B. H. Miao, D. Woo, D. Javan, E. J. Garboczi, R. J. Headrick, A. C. Lesh, Z. Li, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Recycling of lignin-based biocomposites: Improving sustainability and enhancing material strength." Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 215, 108104, 2025. (Impact Factor: 10.4)
J4. B. H. Miao, D. Woo, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Solvent selection enables sustainable and affordable lignin biocomposite for cement-free construction." Cleaner Materials, 100371, 2026. (Impact Factor: 12.7)
J5. B. H. Miao, Y. Dong, A. Theissler, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "AI-powered non-destructive testing for smart manufacturing of carbon-negative biopolymer-bound soil composite." Communications Engineering, 2026. (Impact Factor: 7.0)
Under Review (3)
J6. K. Sutton, E. Jung, S. Lombardo, S. Snow-hill, Z. Li, H. W. Lee, M. D. Lepech, B. H. Miao. "Life cycle assessment of biocomposites produced from ethanol waste: A sustainable alternative to clay-fired bricks." Under review.
J7. B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, P. Hart, S. Song, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Engineered biopolymer composites as an affordable cement-free alternative to structural concrete." Under review.
J8. A. Teymouri, Y. Momeni, B. H. Miao, H. Rajani, H. Guzman, R. Khosnazar. "Engineering Performance and Pore Structure Analysis of Carbon Nanofiber-Reinforced Cement Mortar." Under review.
In Preparation (8)
J9. B. H. Miao, Y. Dong, A. Theissler, A. C. Lesh, H. Noh, D. J. Loftus. "Acoustic vibration sensing for nondestructive characterization of strength evolution in bio-based composites." In preparation.
J10. B. H. Miao, Y. Dong, A. Theissler, A. C. Lesh, H. Noh, D. J. Loftus. "Life-Cycle Monitoring of Engineered Biopolymer Composite using vibration-based sensing. " In preparation.
J11. B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, P. Hart, D. J. Loftus. "Microstructural Analysis and Durability of Recyclable Engineered Biopolymer Composite." In preparation.
J12. A. C. Lesh, B. H. Miao, S. Song, B. Kim, S. Oh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Development of lignin biopolymer-bound composites using in situ regolith for lunar construction." In preparation.
J13. A. C. Lesh, B. H. Miao, S. Song, B. Kim, S. Oh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Design and environmental assessment of CornBlock: A zein protein-based block on the path toward sustainable construction." In preparation.
J14. Z. Li, Y. Chen, B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Generative adversarial networks for generating periodic multi-phase models of biopolymer-bound soil composite." In preparation.
J15. M. Yu, B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, Y. Pan, K. Law, J. Wang, M. D. Lepech. "LLM-assisted discovery and optimization of biopolymer-bound composites." In preparation.
J16. A. C. Lesh, C. Moose, K. Liu, B. H. Miao, R. Dauskardt, G. Fuller, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Multiscale characterization of thin films for modeling candidate binders." In preparation.
Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers
Published (8)
C1. B. H. Miao, Y. Dong, Z. Y. Wu, B. N. Alemdar, P. Zhang, M. D. Kohler, H. Noh. "Integration of physics-based building model and sensor data to develop an adaptive digital twin." Proceedings of the 9th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, pp. 282–283, 2022. Best Poster (Runner-up), BuildSys 2022.
C2. B. H. Miao, Y. Dong, A. Theissler, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Biosys: efficient quality control system for manufacturing of sustainable biopolymer composites." Proceedings of the 11th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, pp. 11–21, 2024.
C3. B. H. Miao, S. Saidi. "Development of Public Transit Measures to Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19 on Pedestrians and Station Performance using PTV Vissim Simulation." Transportation Research Procedia, 82, pp. 2294–2312, 2025.
C4. B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Taking advantage of biological binders to solidify granular material: manufacture and recyclability of lignin-based biopolymer composites." Biologically Inspired Materials, Processes, and Systems (BIMPS), 13430, pp. 81–94, SPIE, 2025.
C5. B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, P. Hart, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Engineered Biopolymer Composite: an affordable, cement-free material for sustainable construction." Biologically Inspired Materials, Processes, and Systems (BIMPS), SPIE, 2026. Craig F. Bohren Best Student Presentation Award (1st Place).
C6. B. H. Miao, A. Theissler, Y. Dong, A. C. Lesh, H. Y. Noh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "SingSys: Acoustic Vibration Sensing for Strength Monitoring and Characterization of Engineered Biopolymer Composite (EBC)." Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. Under review.
C7. B. H. Miao. "PhD Forum Abstract: Promoting Smart and Sustainable Built Environments Through the SCBM Research Framework." Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. Under review.
C8. M. Yu, B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, K. Law, J. Wang, M. D. Lepech. "Comparing Graph-Based RAG Strategies for Material Science Knowledge Retrieval: A Systematic Evaluation in Biopolymer Structured Composites." Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation, Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. Under review.
Accepted (4)
C9. B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Solvent Optimization for a Cement-Free Building Material Using Lignin." Earth and Space 2026, ASCE, 2026. Accepted.
C10. A. C. Lesh, C. Moose, K. Liu, B. H. Miao, R. Dauskardt, G. Fuller, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Microscale Characterization of Candidate Biopolymers for Soil Biocomposites." Earth and Space 2026, ASCE, 2026. Accepted.
C11. A. Teymouri, Y. Momeni, B. H. Miao, H. Rajani, H. Guzman, R. Khosnazar. "Compressive Strength, Hydration Reactions, and Pore Structure of Cement Paste Incorporating Carbon Nanofibers." Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) 2026, 2026. Accepted.
C12. P. Hart, B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Developing Workflows for Advanced Nano Characterization of Engineered Biopolymer Composites Leveraging Micro-CT and Ultramicrotomy." Microscopy & Microanalysis (M&M 2026), 2026. Accepted.
Under Review (1)
C13. M. Yu, Y. Pan, J. Gao, B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, K. Law, J. Wang, M. D. Lepech. "Enhancing RAG Using Evidence-Grounded Typed KG in Local Small Language Models for Emerging Material Science." Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP 2026), 2026. Under review.
Patents
Patents (2)
P1. M. D. Lepech, B. H. Miao. "Composite Materials Having Natural Granular Materials or Soils and Hydrophobic Biologically-derived Binders." U.S. Patent Application No. 19/069,771, filed September 11, 2025.
P2. B. H. Miao, A. C. Lesh, D. J. Loftus, M. D. Lepech. "Use of Plant-Based Additives to Enhance Composite Materials Consisting of Natural Granular Materials or Soils and Biologically-derived Binders." U.S. Provisional Patent Application, filed March 6, 2026.