Although widespread rebuilding in the hard-hit New York metro region from Super Storm Sandy has not yet begun, NJIT Assistant Professor Mohamed Mahgoub says when the hammers start swinging, it's time to look at autoclaved aerated concrete.

The material, best known as AAC, has been heralded as the building material of the new millennium. It's a lightweight, easily-crafted manufactured stone, strong enough to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes when reinforced with steel.

The material is used widely worldwide, says Mahgoub, who will be a featured speaker early next week at the 2012 China-US BOAO Manufactured Stone Conference in Zhengzhou Henan, China.

Mahgoub is also the coordinator of the NJIT Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program, which is only one of a select few programs of its kind across the U.S. This semester CIM students are testing and analyzing AAC. "It is an environmentally-friendly solution for future building problems and it is also an extremely efficient, specialty fabrication material," he says.

"Cuts can easily be factory controlled. AAC is available throughout the U.S. and Canada. There is currently one U.S. manufacturer in Florida with plans to open another manufacturing operation in New Jersey."