PCA's next round of committee meetings are scheduled for February 25-28, 2007, in Pheonix, Ariz.
Contact Michelle Nyquist.

PCA Education Foundation Awards Research Fellowships
PCA's Education Foundation awarded six graduate students with educational fellowships at a luncheon ceremony last week at the association’s fall meeting in Chicago.

The 2006 recipients are (listed by university, student, professor, research title):

• University of Kentucky, Lexington, Joe David Luck, Professor Stephen R. Workman, “Pervious Concrete for Solid/Liquid Separation and Waste Remediation”
• University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Kevin Riederer, Professor Kenneth J. Elwood, “Assessment of Confinement Models for Reinforced Concrete Columns Subjected to Seismic Loading”
• Iowa State University, Ames, John Kevern, Professors Kejin Wang and Vernon Schaefer, “Investigation into the Effect of Aggregate on the Freeze-Thaw Durability of Pervious Concrete”
• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, Luis Mata, Professor Michael J. Leming, “Serviceability of Pervious Concrete Pavements”
• University of Wisconsin, Madison, Jeremy Bough, Professor Tuncer B. Edil, “Use of Cement Kiln Dust for Reconstruction of Bituminous Roads”
• University of Missouri, Columbia, Alexandra Wayllace, Professor William J. Likos, “Innovative Reuse of Cement Manufacturing Byproducts: Hydrologic Modeling of Artificial Soil as an Evapotranspirative Cover System”

The PCA Education Foundation Research Fellowship identifies and rewards outstanding masters and doctoral students in the fields of engineering and physical sciences who are studying areas that advance the science and technology of cement and concrete. PCA’s Education Foundation presents the students with $20,000 each for university and study costs.
More at www.cement.org/newsroom

Energy-Efficient Cement Plants Recognized by EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week announced a group of first time winners of the Agency's Energy Star award for efficient manufacturing operations. Six cement plants were named:

• Ash Grove Cement Company's plant in Chanute, Kan.
• Ash Grove Cement Company's plant in Seattle, Wash.
• California Portland Cement Company's plant in Colton, Calif.
• California Portland Cement Company's plant in Mojave, Calif.
• Lafarge North America's plant in Calera, Ala.
• Lafarge North America's plant in Sugar Creek, Mo.

EPA Administrator Steve Johnson praised industry efforts. "Working with our manufacturing partners, we are implementing President Bush's aggressive and practical strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing the American economy," he said. "By committing to smart energy use, America's historic economic backbone is now supporting our nation's brightening environmental future.

The Agency also recognized several wet corn milling operations and auto manufacturing facilities.
Contact: Andy O'Hare

Results From Last Week:
Lessons Learned from 9/11
Question: Five years after destruction of the World Trade Center, what lessons, if any, should we have learned about how we design and build skyscrapers?
Number of responses (percent)

• Building components should be designed to resist blasts and progressive collapse: 35 (38.89%)
• The attacks were an extraordinary event and should not be the basis for changes: 23 (25.56%)
• Enhance safety by providing more stairwells that are wider and more fire resistant:. 21 (23.33%)
• We should stop building skyscrapers; they are too vulnerable to terrorist attacks and too difficult to evacuate: 11 (12.22%)
  

Notable comments:

"I don''t like the skyscraper concept to begin with."

"The most signicant issue NY is now facing with a possible reconstruction of the World Trade Center is that no one wants to work in those type of perceived 'terrorist targets.' We have to design escape routes from such buildings. Other sensible measures include enhanced security at the building as well as on a local and national level and keeping the terrorist on the defensive at all times."

"Wider, deeper, and twice as tall. Rooftop SAM site optional."

"After watching the PBS special on the investigation of the towers' collapse, we should take a lesson from the engineers working on the World Financial Center in Shanghai, and not only build wider staircases and more fire-resistant buildings, but also, drop-down 'safe rooms' that could protect building inhabitants from fire or other disaster for long periods of time."

"We neeed not change our concept of building tall buildings but design should definitely include additional loads such as blasts and include provisions to minimize progressive collapse. If developers do not want to include such features then they may build smaller (shorter) buildings where the risk to adjacent property is not as great."

"I think it was an extraordinary event and should not be the basis for imposing too much cost to consumers for changes. The world community and leaders should think and find the ways of eliminating the terrorism and its causes. "

Take this week's PCA Poll.