News Detail

For the Younger Member: The Benefits of the Institute

6/1/1998

This message is directed to recent college graduates, soon-to-be college graduates, and others not yet embarked upon a career. Hopefully, this memo will interest individuals involved in architecture, chemistry, civil engineering, construction management, construction materials, general contracting, specialty construction contracting, soils engineering, structural engineering, and the like. Experience has shown that individuals working in these professions are, for one reason or another, involved in the study of concrete as a material or its use in one or more of a large variety of projects. The thoughts expressed herein are based upon the writer’s personal experiences as a structural engineer and, for this reason, are limited in scope.

The many members of ACI have, without question, become members of the Institute for different reasons. Probably the greatest incentive for becoming a member of the Institute is to be eligible to obtain ACI periodicals and other documents on a regular basis and at a discount. Members belong to keep themselves well-informed and up-to-date with the frequent advances and constant changes in concrete technology. They also have interest in the innovations in the uses of concrete in architectural and structural design and information related to advances in concrete materials from the contractor’s perspective.

I joined ACI in 1951, at the age of 24, about 18 months after graduating from Oregon State College. Wallace (Wally) Swan, at the time a field engineer for the Portland Cement Association, presented me with a convincing argument on the many benefits of ACI membership. At that time, I was a junior civil engineer employed at the U. S. Naval Civil Engineering Research and Evaluation Laboratory in Port Hueneme, Calif.

My principal focus then was the study of prestressed concrete to determine if the U. S. Navy could benefit from its use. World War II ended a few years previously and the Korean War was underway. The Navy’s motivation for investigating prestressed concrete was to ascertain if products of such material would be economically feasible and practical in the construction of naval facilities at advanced or temporary naval installations.

The use of prestressed concrete in the design and construction of linear structures, as opposed to circular, or tank, structures, had recently been introduced in the United States. The John A. Roebling and the Preload Companies were involved in early prestressed concrete tank construction in the U. S. Linear prestressed technology was developed in France and Germany during the 1940s, but its use in actual construction was limited due to steel shortages during World War II.

Shortly after I joined ACI, I was invited to become a member of the newly-formed Committee 116, Cement and Concrete Terminology. I agreed to serve on the committee even though I did not believe I was particularly well-suited for the assignment. (Most of the members were older members of ACI with much more experience than I.) In spite of this, I was able to contribute primarily because of my practical experience in concrete design and construction. Through the years, I have remained a member of this committee and have enjoyed serving. The members of Committee 116 have provided me with considerable information and help over the years. The assistance and advice of other Institute technical committees these past 40 plus years are also appreciated.

My primary interest when I joined ACI was in the fields of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. Other aspects of concrete (the material), concrete structural design, and the construction of concrete structures also became important in my practice of civil/structural engineering. Because of these interests, I found myself deeply involved in a variety of ACI technical committees. These ranged from "focused" elements, to those involved with the design of concrete bridges and prestressed concrete tanks, for example. A number of years after becoming a member, I was appointed to serve on ACI’s Technical Activities Committee (TAC), which met three times a year -- at the two conventions and then at a third meeting during the summer at a venue selected by TAC. The six year assignment was technically challenging, to say the least, but a wonderful experience working with exceptional people.

In recent years, I have become involved in interesting assignments about the material aspects of concrete. ACI technical documents, such as the Manual of Concrete Practice and symposium volumes, including the older editions, are important resource documents for identifying sources of problems and how they might be corrected and/or avoided. Having these documents in my personal library has been a great help in my professional practice. On many occasions, I have used ACI publications to identify experts with technical knowledge I did not possess and recommended them to my clients.

My involvement with ACI has been continuous since 1951. (Nearly a half century!) I believe I have received far more benefits from my participation in ACI than I have given in return. I have found work on the technical committees to be very interesting, useful, and rewarding. On occasions, I have hired (or arranged the hiring of) members of ACI to assist me in engineering assignments. On the other hand, ACI members have hired or caused me to be hired on interesting matters when it was expedient for them to do so.

Active participation in ACI and its many technical, educational, and administrative committees is of benefit to the participants as well as the Institute. It is safe to say that the world is better because of ACI and the members who make it function. As I have discovered, the benefits come to those who avail themselves of the opportunities the Institute offers. Getting involved as an ACI member early will prove as invaluable to you as it has for me!

James R. Libby
President
American Concrete Institute

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