Dr. Abdelaziz is interested in studying various sustainability applications in civil engineering with special focus on incorporating thermo-active geo-structures in the national transportation infrastructures as part of the "Smart Cities" national initiative. Current areas of research include: thermal and energy geotechnics with emphasis on studying soil behavior under combined thermal and mechanical loads, known as thermo-mechanical soil behavior; designing of energy foundations including energy piles, shallow foundations, and retaining walls; thermal techniques for ground improvements, and improving the performance of geothermal ground loops.