News Detail

Strengthening the Foundation and Our Future Leaders

9/1/2022

It’s September and the time of year when students return to school to continue their journeys toward future careers, and it reminded me of that day in 1981 when I first arrived at the University of Kansas to pursue my MS in civil engineering. I worked on a research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), an organization that was established by Congress in 1950 as an independent federal agency to promote American science and engineering. As the only federal agency that invests in fundamental, basic research and education across the full spectrum of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. NSF supports scientists and engineers and the development of innovative technologies and solutions, and workforce development programs to help drive, among other things, future economic growth and enhance the global competitiveness of the United States.

The statistics from the NSF 2021 fiscal year performance and financial highlights are quite impressive! Nearly 11,350 competitive awards were funded out of about 43,620 proposals, at a funding rate of 26%. The beneficiaries included 1900 colleges, universities, and other institutions that collectively received nearly $6.6 billion in grants. Funding goes into a broad range of research areas, and as concrete researchers in academia will attest, it is highly competitive. A very small percentage of this funding goes into concrete research, but a lot more is required. This is where the ACI Foundation (ACIF) is helping to fill the need.

ACIF is a not-for-profit organization established in 1989 to support research and innovation in concrete and, more importantly, students’ education using donations from supporters. The work of ACIF is carried out through its three councils: the Concrete Research Council (CRC), Scholarship Council (SC), and Concrete Innovation Council (CIC).

The mission of the CRC is to seek out concrete research projects that further the knowledge and sustainability of concrete materials, construction, and structures in coordination with ACI committees. The CRC funded eight research projects in 2021 and will fund 10 projects in 2022! This is critical to advancing the concrete industry. For example, ACI CODE-318 permits the use of steel fibers as shear reinforcement if the steel fiber-reinforced concrete meets certain performance requirements. What about synthetic macrofibers? Can these be used as shear reinforcement? One of the 2021 funded projects is investigating the shear behavior of synthetic macrofiber-reinforced concrete and the outcome of the research should help fill this knowledge gap.

The SC is helping to educate future industry leaders by giving fellowships and scholarships to graduate students and a few scholarships to undergraduate students. The number of fellowships awarded have risen steadily in recent years, reaching an all-time high of 16 fellowships for the 2022-2023 academic year. However, the number of scholarships have been fairly constant over the same period. Coincidentally, about an equal number of fellowships and scholarships have been awarded since the inception of the program in 2002-2003 through the 2022-2023 academic year. I should note that the award amounts have increased over the years as they should. To put things in perspective, the total amount of money given in 2022-2023 would have supported more students if no increases in award amounts had been made. These fellowships and scholarships are funded primarily by member donations to ACIF, and it’s my hope and expectation that, despite the current global economic situation and inflation woes in the United States, members will rise to the occasion this year and continue to support ACIF.

The CIC functions as a steering or advisory group to the ACIF Trustees regarding new technology and innovation by helping to identify early, emerging, and mature technologies that have a positive impact on the concrete industry, review and assess technologies and innovations, introduce key technologies and innovations to ACI, and support the implementation of new technologies. The ACIF Technology Forum brings together thought leaders, technology experts, and regulatory agencies to discuss the future of the concrete industry. After a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an in-person forum was held from August 30 to September 1, 2022, in St. Paul, MN, USA. Be on the lookout for highlights from this event.

I’d like to end by applauding the efforts of the ACIF staff and Board of Trustees, the members of the CRC, SC, and CIC, and wishing them continued success! Read the ACIF 2021 Annual Report that was mailed to members in July and visit www.acifoundation.org for more information.

Charles K. Nmai