Dr. Aleksandra Radlinska Wins ACI Young Member Award

Dr. Aleksandra Radlińska, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, received the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Young Member Award for Professional Achievement. Recipients of this award must be under age 35 and are selected for their achievements in the areas of participation in local and national ACI chapter activities, service to the advancement of the industry, and mentoring. Dr. Radlińska was honored on March 18 during the organization’s convention in Dallas, Texas.

“Receiving this award is a rewarding experience. ACI is the most important organization for civil engineers working with cement-based materials. Not only is this a great addition to the College of Engineering’s achievements, but it also sends a positive message to the surrounding community about the caliber of work being accomplished here,” says Dr. Radlińska.

Dr. Radlińska has been an active member of ACI since 2007, during which time she has advised student chapter organizations, including the Villanova chapter, which has been named both an “Outstanding” chapter in 2010 and an “Excellent” chapter in 2011 by the national organization. She has also organized multiple research sessions and holds the title of secretary for the ACI 123 Committee on Research and Current Developments.

In her own research, Dr. Radlińska examines the durability of cement-based infrastructure components. For example, she has recently investigated a novel, Portland cement-free concrete. Instead of using Portland cement, which yields about 7 percent of manmade carbon emissions, Dr. Radlińska, with her students, developed a 100 percent fly ash-based binder with material properties equal to or better than traditional concrete. Nicholas Mascitelli CE ’12 worked alongside her on this project and won third place in the ACI 2011 Concrete Projects Competition.

“Previous design and construction of our bridges has resulted in an alarming infrastructure condition. While originally planned to last decades, many bridges undergo premature deterioration. This results in large investments in repairs. We need to change our approach to materials and structural design to design bridges that last 100 years” says Dr. Radlińska.

The American Concrete Institute is the premier organization for the advancement of concrete technology and development of student and professional engineers.