From heritage joinery to high-tech robotics: Professor Aryan Rezaei Rad wins Connaught New Researcher Award to mainstream digitally fabricated mass timber construction. His research aims to turn centuries-old wood joinery into robot-made building parts for today’s construction.
CivMin Professor Aryan Rezaei Rad has won U of T’s Connaught New Researcher Award for a project that takes classic interlocking wood joints (i.e., the kind that snap together without metal fasteners) and supercharges them with modern robotics. Think “old-world woodworking meets robot shop.”
His team will craft full-size timber pieces, put them through their paces in the lab, and turn what they learn into kit-of-parts. The payoff is straightforward: faster builds, less waste, more affordable, and most importantly, structurally resilient.
“We’re translating proven craft into practical, build-ready timber solutions,” says Rad. “This award helps push a greener construction future from idea to job site.”