Engineering Student Receives PCA Education Foundation 2014 Research Fellowship Award

SKOKIE, Ill.—The Portland Cement Association (PCA) Education Foundation has awarded Stephen Stacey a 2014 PCA Education Foundation Fellowship Award. The fellowships will be presented individually to the student by PCA’s regional executive directors.

John P. Gleason, Jr., served as PCA president from 1986 until his retirement in 2007. He excelled at recognizing long-term opportunities and strove to bring more of a market focus to PCA programs. With the proceeds from a property sale, he created the Education Foundation.

Stacey from the University of Texas at Austin is studying for his Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering.  He, under the guidance of Professor Kevin J. Folliard, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, will seek to verify a new accelerated and more reliable means of testing aggregates for susceptibility to alkali-silica reaction (ASR). 

Alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) is one of the leading causes of concrete deterioration, especially alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Although there are a range of laboratory test methods that are aimed at evaluating aggregate reactivity and preventive measures, there does not yet exist a standardized test method that is rapid, reliable, and that correlates well with the performance of outdoor exposure blocks and/or field structures.

Stacey is one of four graduate students presented with 2014 PCA Fellowship awards.  He was honored at the PCA Fall Meetings in Chicago, August 25 and will be recognized by the Foundation at the Spring 2014 American Concrete Institute Convention in San Antonio.

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.

PCA established the Foundation in 2001 to help finance education programs in nearly every facet of the cement and concrete industries, from university research fellowships to career recruitment and craft training.

About PCA

Based in Washington, DC, with offices in Skokie, Illinois, the Portland Cement Association represents cement manufacturing companies in the United States. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.