Article below was in the October 2017 Concrete International Magazine

OCTOBER 2017  |  Ci  |  www.concreteinternational.com

Maryland and National Capital Chapters – ACI Award $55,0000 in Scholarships In 2015, the Maryland Chapter – ACI decided to revamp its student scholarship program. This was driven by a desire to interest young people in the field of engineering, to educate future engineers in the science of concrete, and to develop relationships with graduating engineers who might want to join our industry. The plan was to develop a competition between local universities that would drive the students to learn some basic concrete principles. Scholarships would be awarded based on the student’s grasp of these principles, on their enthusiasm, work ethic, and school spirit. To fund the scholarships, $25,000 was set aside. Participating schools would be required to start ACI student chapters. For the competition, students were provided with a three-point curve that they used to develop a mixture design to meet a specified strength. They were taught the basics of running a trial batch and trained in all the ACI Concrete Laboratory Testing Technician – Level 1 tests for plastic concrete—temperature, air, slump, unit weight, and molding cylinders. Lectures focused on concrete design, strength, and durability were provided. The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) allowed the use of its lab for the test day and Stuart Sherman, NRMCA’s Lab Manager, helped with the judging. The University of Maryland fielded a team and Morgan State University fielded two teams of five people each. The winning team for 2016, Morgan State University’s “Morgan Nation,” came within 20 psi (0.14 MPa) of the required strength. The trophy “The Maryland Cup,” a chromeplated slump cone atop a mahogany base, was awarded. The members of the Maryland Chapter – ACI were so impressed with the students from both schools that it increased the scholarship amount to $38,000. Earlier this year, the Maryland Chapter – ACI and the National Capital Chapter – ACI decided to combine resources to promote the competition. Yvonne Nelson, National Capital Chapter – ACI President, helped with the judging and the National Capital Chapter – ACI added $10,000 to the scholarship fund. The Maryland Chapter – ACI voted to award $35,000 and then added an additional $10,000 after witnessing the superior caliber of the students in the competition (total scholarship award was $55,000). This year, the University of Maryland fielded two teams, the “Diamondbacks” and the “Terps,” and Morgan State University came back with the “Morgan Nation” and the “Morgan Bears.” All four teams were extremely strong and, at the end of the day, Maryland’s “Diamondbacks” won the cup for their university. For the past 3 years, the Maryland Chapter – ACI has also awarded scholarship money to the Roland Park Country School (RPCS) as part of an outreach to high schools. This school performs research projects in concrete and the top students are awarded scholarships. The award is called the “Miran Award of Excellence,” after Blaire Miran, who was the first recipient. Miran is now a freshman at Villanova University and is assisting in research on deflection of fiber-reinforced polymer concrete sections. This year, seven students from RPCS received awards. Putting this program together was one of the hardest things the chapter has ever done, but it was also one of the most rewarding. Next year, Howard University has expressed interest in participating and Johns Hopkins University may be interested as well. On a sad note, Dmitri Clemons, one of the founding members of Morgan’s Student Chapter – ACI and a member of the 2016 winning team, passed away at the beginning of the school year. He had a great sense of humor and an incredible competitive spirit. He would have made a great engineer and we are shocked and saddened at his passing.  Click on the link to see the article in CI Magazine:   UMD CI October 2017.pdf