Stuckeman grad student focuses on the future of sustainable construction

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Ali Baghi arrived in State College from Tehran, Iran, in 2021, he brought with him a deep curiosity for design computing and a passion for sustainability in architecture.

Originally from Tabriz, Iran, he earned his undergraduate degree in architectural technology engineering at Qazvin International University before coming to Penn State to pursue his master’s degree in architecture from the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School. After completing the master’s program in 2023, he began his doctorate studies in architecture, focusing on design computing.

Baghi’s research primarily focuses on new techniques for 3D printing concrete that would eliminate the need for traditional support structures, with a focus on sustainability and automation. His concentration involves additive layer manufacturing in construction, specifically using extrusion-based methods to build walls, roofs and houses. His work, which earned Baghi recognition from the Fox Graduate School with the 2025 Thomas and June Beaver Fund Award, emphasizes sustainability, automation and reducing material waste in the building process.

“I always liked making things with my hands, like building models and creating," Bahgi said, explaining his interest in architecture goes back to his childhood. "That’s what initially led me to architecture.”

On deciding to focus his doctoral studies on design computing, he said he believed there was a change in architectural design that piqued his interest.

“There is a paradigm shift in architecture and architectural design, which is using more computational techniques in the design process," Baghi said. "That was the starting point for me, because I like to learn more about it.”

Ultimately, Baghi said he hopes his research will help make concrete a more sustainable material in construction by reducing the amount of base material needed.

Baghi met his doctoral adviser and Stuckeman Chair in Design Innovation José Duarte in 2018 while he was attending the Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design conference (eCAADe) in Poland.

Baghi said he came to Penn State because he wanted to study and eventually work in the United States and was inspired by Duarte to apply to Penn State, as Duarte’s research closely aligned with his personal interests.

“Under his supervision, I learned to work in an interdisciplinary way,” Baghi said of Duarte, who is also the director of the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing (SCDC), where Baghi is a researcher.

Duarte explained that Baghi’s doctorate work aims to refine the “cable-entraining mechanism to stabilize 3D-printed concrete structures and expand its application to reinforced walls, enhancing structural strength and broadening its use." 

“Ali’s work is part of a broader initiative at the AddConLab to develop technologies for 3D printing affordable housing,” Duarte said. The AddConLab is an interdisciplinary collaborative effort between the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School and the College of Engineering.

Since joining the Stuckeman School, Baghi has become increasingly involved in the academic community, holding teaching and research assistant positions within the school and interning as a 3D concrete printing engineer at X-Hab 3D, a startup company in State College that evolved from the work Penn State is doing with 3D printing structures using concrete, last year.

“The fact that Ali’s work evolves in the larger context of a broader initiative, and that he collaborates with a diverse pool of researchers from different backgrounds, provides a very supportive context for him to develop his research,” Duarte said. “And he does not shy from difficult challenges.”

Baghi credited the collaborative nature of the SCDC for inspiring his research pursuits.

“To me, success is enjoying the journey and not insisting on the destination,” Baghi said.

Baghi is anticipated to graduate with his doctorate in 2026 and said he hopes to work in the design computing industry after he graduates.

“Penn State has allowed me to make a difference in the community already,” he said. “We are on the path to construct more efficient and affordable buildings that can lead to a better environment and a more livable world.”