CHICAGO, March 19, 2024 – The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s (PCI) Research and Development Council has awarded four Daniel P. Jenny Fellowships and one Dennis R. Mertz Bridge Research Fellowship. The fellowship program fosters collaboration between students, faculty, precast concrete producers, and industry experts, driving innovative research in precast concrete design, fabrication, and construction. PCI thanks its producer-members who provide in-kind support for universities advancing research in the industry.

“I’m excited to see how the researchers awarded these five fellowships will each improve a different aspect of our industry.” says Jared Brewe, PCI vice president, technical services. “The R&D council revamped our fellowship program in 2023, and the quality and quantity of applications made selecting these five awardees challenging. After seeing their enthusiasm for our industry, everyone should get excited for our future.”

The four Daniel P. Jenny Research Fellowships for the 2023-24 academic year are:

Khaled Al-Sakajai

Composite Ultra-High Performance Concrete Decked Beams Subjected to Heavy Podium Loading

University: North Carolina State University

Faculty advisor: Greg Lucier, Ph.D.

Producer support: Gage Brothers Concrete Products; Gate Construction Materials Group

Additional support: e.Construct USA LLC

Anupama Kamani

Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Use of UHPC to Simplify Structural Detailing of Precast Shear Walls in Seismic Regions

University: University of Alabama

Faculty advisor: Sriram Aaleti, Ph.D.

Producer support: Clark Pacific; Contech Engineered Solutions; Metromont Corporation

Lauran Liantero

Simplified Tools for Structural-Fire Design of Hollow-Core Slabs Based on Critical Temperatures                University: Lehigh University

Faculty advisors: Spencer Quiel, Ph.D. and Clay Naito, Ph.D.

Additional support: PCI Fire Committee

Tao Sun

Automatic Assembly of Rebar Cages: Computer-Vision-Based Manipulation Techniques

University: McGill University

Faculty advisor: Yi Shao, Ph.D.

Producer support: Metromont Corporation; Tindall Corporation

Additional support: Facca Incorporated; Lafarge Canda Inc.; BPDL

The recipient of the Dennis R. Mertz Research Fellowship is:

Tu Luong

Improving Splicing of Prestressed UHPC H-Piles and Long-term Loss Calculations

University: University of Alabama

Faculty advisor: Sriram Aaleti, Ph.D.

Producer support: Contech Engineered Solutions; Facca Incorporated; Standard Concrete Products

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About PCI

Founded in 1954, The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is a technical institute for the precast concrete structures and systems industry. PCI develops maintains, and disseminates the Body of Knowledge for the design, fabrication, and construction of precast concrete structures and systems. PCI develops consensus base standards, industry handbooks, quality assurance programs, certification, research and development projects, design manuals, continuing education, and periodical publications. PCI members include precast concrete producers, erectors, suppliers, professional engineers and architects, educators, students, and industry consultants who complement the wide range of knowledge of precast concrete. For more information, visit pci.org/howprecastbuilds.