SKOKIE, Ill.--The Portland Cement Association (PCA) Education Foundation awarded eight graduate students with educational fellowships at the association’s recent fall meeting in Chicago.

The 2007 recipients are (listed by university, student, professor, research title):

• Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
  G. Ben Reese
  Professor W. Spencer Guthrie
  Title: Use of the Heavy Clegg Impact Soil Tester to Assess Rutting of Cement-Treated Base Material under Early Trafficking
  
  
• The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  Nicholas DeBlasis
  Professor John L. Daniels
  Title: Optimization of Soil Cement Mixtures for Cold Weather Construction
  
  
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  Jaehong Kim
  Professors James M. LaFave
  Title: Development of Plastic Rotation Capacity Prediction Models for Intermediate Reinforced Concrete (RC) Frames Based on Beam-Column Connections Subjected to Seismic Lateral Loading
  
  
• University of Norte Dame, South Bend, Ind.
  Adam Knaack
  Professor Yahya Kurama
  Title: Properties of Reinforced Concrete for Use in Fire-Design of Concrete Structure
  
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
  Aleksandra Radlinksa
  Professor Jason Weiss
  Title:  Using Limestone Fillers to Reduce Cracking Potential and Improve Shrinkage Performance of Low w/c Mixtures

• University of Louisville, Kentucky
  Giri Venkiteela
  Professor Zhihui Sun
  Title:  Measuring and Modeling the Setting Behavior of Cement Pastes

• University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  Lindsay Lashley
  Professor R. Douglas Hooton
  Title:  Prediction of Cementitious Materials-Chemical Admixture Compatibility and Performance

• Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
  Jun Chen
  Professor Kimberly Kurtis
  Title:  Ultra-Accelerated Assessment of Alkali-Reactivity of Aggregate

PCA Education Foundation Fellows and Professors (from left to right): First row: Lindsay Lashley, Aleksandra Radlinska, Adam Knaack, Jun Chen, Nicholas DeBlasis, Giri Venkiteela, Jaehong Kim, Ben Reese, Dan Fritz, Votorantim Cimentos North America, Vice Chair of the PCA Education Foundation. Second Row : Prof. Gino Kurama, Prof. Kimberly Kurtis, Prof. Vincent Ogunro, Prof. Zhihui Sun, Prof. James LaFave, Prof. Spencer Guthrie
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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 Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs. More information on PCA programs is available at www.cement.org.