News Detail

ACI International = Education = People

12/1/1997

The ACI bylaws begin with: "The purpose of the Institute shall be to further engineering and technical education, scientific investigation and research, and development of standards for design and construction incorporating concrete and related materials."

It is my pleasure to focus this month's memo on ACI's intense involvement in education, describing some of our main activities as well as identifying those individuals with primary responsibilities. I'll begin the latter by mentioning that Peter J. Steiner at ACI headquarters is our Director of Education. In a later memo, I'll add some of my own perspectives on the more general issues we face in the education and training of tomorrow's concrete engineers, technicians, and builders, as well as comment on ACI's Concrete Research and Education Foundation (ConREF).

Our Educational Activities Committee (EAC) has an immense role in the life of ACI. Presently chaired by Luke M. Snell, EAC is responsible for the academic and practical educational programs (including educational publications), for supervision of educational committee activities, and for increasing the Institute's effectiveness in the field of education. EAC currently has eight very active committees made up of ACI members -- Materials for Concrete Construction; Designing Concrete Structures; Concrete Construction Practices; Educational Computer Activities; Student Activities; Teaching Methods and Educational Materials; Convention Training; and Training Programs (primarily inspection, testing, construction procedures).

The ACI seminar program reaches thousands of engineers and technicians every year, particularly in those years when we release a new version of ACI 318. The fall 1997 and 1998 ACI seminar schedule includes seminars in many different cities on the following topics: 318 Building Code; Slabs on Grade; Concrete Site Paving; 530 Masonry Code; Concrete Repair Basics; Reinforced Concrete Design; Structural Lightweight Concrete; Troubleshooting Concrete Construction; and Concrete Durability. Peter Steiner is the person to contact with questions about seminars.

Our twice-a-year ACI conventions feature more than 40 half-day sessions with some 200 presentations, all designed to better educate the audience on the latest in concrete technology ù materials, design, construction, repair, and rehabilitation. Each convention also has another 200+ technical committee meetings where members can drop in and learn about the latest advances in concrete. Key individuals in our conventions include B. Duke Pointer, chairman of the Conventions Committee, and M. Angelica "Angie" Legaspi, secretary of the committee and the person responsible for "making things happen" at each convention.

Certification is one of ACI's leading success stories, with more than 100,000 individuals having been certified since the program began in 1983. Our certification program operates under the guidance of the Certification Programs Committee, chaired by Dan Baker and directed at ACI HQ by John Nehasil. It is aimed at providing the concrete industry with knowledgeable people in specialized field work (such as floor finishing) and in concrete testing and quality control. Successful completion of a certification program is based on educational activities, either by self-teaching on the job site, or by attending training classes and sessions and by passing written and performance examinations/evaluations. Next month's memo will give more in-depth coverage to certification.

Practical publications are receiving a greatly increased emphasis at ACI because it became more and more evident that this is what the vast majority of ACI members want and need. Publishing more practical publications is one of six major initiatives in the 1996 ACI Strategic Plan. Franklin S. Kurtz is responsible for this program, which has already produced a series of new publications, including an excellent new volume on "Cold Weather Concreting" that pulls together the very best practical information from other ACI publications, from Concrete Construction magazine, PCA, and the like.

ACI's New Products Task Group, chaired by Rich Heitzmann, Director of Business Development at ACI, had its first meeting in September 1997 to formulate plans for publishing, in CD-ROM format, collected materials on selected concrete construction topics. We hope to publish a new CD-ROM edition every three months for at least the next two years. Candidates for coverage include such topics as codes, slabs on grade, and repair and rehabilitation.

This one page President's Memo is far too short to cover every ACI educational effort and to give proper credit to each individual who helps make things happen. I do want to mention the strong educational impact of this magazine, Concrete International, provided for us month-after-month by its editor, Bill Semioli, and his staff. And I suggest that you turn to page 4 of this very issue of CI and take a careful look at the listings, which includes electronic information, the numerous individuals involved in publishing our two technical journals, and the make-up of EAC and TAC. Anyone mentioned in this memo can be reached at ACI HQ by letter, by FAX (248-848-3701), or e-mail in care of webmaster@aci-int.net.

I encourage all ACI members to take full advantage of our rich educational offerings and activities. Each of us should be immersed in life-long education and in helping educate our younger colleagues and co-workers.

Address: Hollister Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., 14853; e-mail: RNW3@Cornell.edu; FAX: (607) 255-4828; telephone: (607) 255-6497.

Richard N. White
President
American Concrete Institute

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