ACI Student Chapter Receives National Award

After only one year in action, the College of Engineering’s new student chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) has been named an ACI Outstanding University for 2010 by the national organization. This prestigious award was given to only 15 universities across the country this year to recognize student groups that have participated in ACI-related activities and shown a commitment to the society over the past year.

“I have exceptional pride in our group for reaching this high level of achievement, especially since so few universities received this award for participation in 2010,” says Dr. Aleksandra Radlinska, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “It is very rewarding and fulfilling to watch how far this organization has come over the past couple of years. I am happy to see my students put in hard work and succeed.”

Established in 2009, the Villanova chapter of ACI already has more than 50 student members and continues to grow in popularity. The group competes in national and local competitions to create concrete structures using different properties (such as fiber-reinforced polymers), plans group field trips, and hosts guest speakers to present engineering topics to the organization’s members.

“Receiving this award is really a testament to the seniors who brought this organization together from scratch. I have only stepped in to take control this past semester as ACI president, but it is thanks to them that there is an ACI chapter at Villanova,” says Joseph Shook CE ’12. “As for the future, we just look to continue expanding the club with new members and being competitive at the bi-annual ACI competition.”

The American Concrete Institute, established in 1904 is a nonprofit, technical, and educational society with more than 100 years of tradition. It is one of the world's leading authorities on concrete technology. ACI is a forum for the discussion of all matters related to concrete and the development of solutions to problems.