The American Concrete Institute awarded a $10,000 graduate fellowship to Tyler Wood, who is pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering at South Dakota State University. Wood, whose father worked as a concrete contractor, said "there's always a drive for innovation and for reducing the carbon footprint in the concrete-making process."
The ACI Foundation awards high-potential students in concrete-related programs; offers research grants to expand the knowledge and sustainability of concrete; and nurtures innovative solutions to advance emerging and mature technologies. Learn more about and how you can get involved.
ACI offers more than 30 certification programs across areas of testing, inspection, construction/specialist, and designer roles. Since 1980, ACI has administered exams to over 750,000 individuals, with over 120,000 certifications currently maintained by ACI. Learn more about ACI Certification today.
The State Office Complex in Waterbury, Vt., severely damaged by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, underwent a mandated renovation focusing on flood resilience. To address the challenge of basement flooding, the design team implemented a stressed-skin "sandwich" mat foundation system, combining steel fiber-reinforced concrete outer layers with lightweight flowable cellular concrete fill, effectively preventing future inundation and meeting budget and schedule constraints.
Researchers discovered that using olivine as a replacement for traditional clinker resulted in cement with lower carbon emissions. Olivine, a mineral that contains silica and magnesium sulfate, can be used to sequester carbon emissions through a process involving the formation of nesquehonite.
A review of research found that the concrete industry continues to innovate by using tools such as AI and machine learning to optimize design. Meanwhile, other research focused on managing reinforced concrete structures and boosting performance of structural concrete during seismic actions.
Phinma, based in the Philippines, plans to build a $34.7 million cement plant in Davao once the project receives its environmental clearance certificate. Once the Davao plant comes online, it will bring the company's cement output to 5 metric tons per year.
Republican members of Congress are trying to use the Congressional Review Act to stop emissions reduction mandates proposed by the Biden administration for heavy-duty trucks, along with light- and medium-duty vehicles. The proposal "highlights the need for EPA to include the operational realities of trucking in their final regulation," asserted Ed Gilroy, chief advocacy and public affairs officer for the American Trucking Association.
