Why should I join the ACMC Laboratory Research Group?
The Advanced Cementitious Materials & Composites (ACMC) Laboratory is integrated in the School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut, which is ranked #1 public university in New England (U.S. News & World Report 1999 – 2009). The University of Connecticut is a premier research institution, designated as a Research University/Very High research activity (RU/VH) by the Carnegie Foundation.
The ACMC Laboratory Research Group has a broad background in the design, characterization, analysis, modeling, computer simulation and structural application of a wide range of advanced cementitious materials. This includes low strength, normal strength, high strength and ultra-high strength concrete in a compressive strength range from 1 ksi (7 MPa) to 42 ksi (290 MPa), self-consolidating concrete, light-weight concrete, fiber reinforced concrete and pervious concrete.
Concrete is the worldwide most used building material. In 2008, the United States consumed about 100 million metric tons of Portland cement, which leads to an annual consumption of about 1 billion metric tons of concrete. In reference to the 2008 National Bridge Inventory (NBI) report 70% of all existing bridges in the US are made out of reinforced or prestressed concrete. The demand of cementitious materials in the construction industry is steadily growing. As undergraduate or graduate student you will be involved in innovative and exciting research related to advanced cementitious materials, which might lead to novel construction materials or application methods. Their material properties often go beyond the properties of concrete used on site or in the precast industry. One example is ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC). The investigation of the material behavior under tensile loading has led to UHP-FRC design with direct tensile strengths of up to 5.4 ksi (37 MPa), a worldwide record in 2010.
Expertise in cementitious materials and their structural application is very valuable, if you seek a position in the portland cement or concrete industry or if you would like to work as a civil engineer consultant, as a site / construction manager or as a structural engineer in the U.S. Armed Forces. Your expertise in cementitious materials and structural application will also be valuable if you seek a position as a structural engineer in companies or federal agencies, or if you pursue an academic position in any Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering related to engineering materials and structures. It has to be pointed out that cementitious material innovations have primarily driven the construction industry in the last decades and they will significantly affect the construction industry’s future direction.