Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Achievements

IN THIS ISSUE: ENGINEERING | GRAD COLLEGE | LAS | McKINLEY | SOCIAL WORK

engineering

Arthur R. Schmidt, a research assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently was named a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, a subsidiary of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Ning Wang, a professor of mechanical science and engineering, has been named a member of the Cell Structure Function Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

graduate college

Kevin Sightler, director of the Illinois Professional Science Master’s, a unit of the Graduate College, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the board of the National Professional Science Master’s Association. The association is a collaborative of professional science master’s degree programs nationwide that engages with businesses, industry, government and non-profit organizations to aid the development of PSM programs, and to provide resources for graduates. Funded in part from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Illinois PSM is a nationally recognized model in which students earn a master of science degree that combines rigorous study in science with applied business knowledge and skills. Three Illinois PSM programs are approved to begin in the fall: agricultural production, bioenergy, and food science and human nutrition.

liberal arts and science

Mara R. Wade, professor and head of Germanic languages and literatures, has been invited to serve on the editorial board of Spektrum: Publications of the German Studies Association. The German Studies Association is the multi- and interdisciplinary association of scholars in German, Austrian and Swiss history, literature, culture studies, political science and economics.

mckinley health center

Dr. Marshall L Garrick, a McKinley Health Center psychiatrist, has been approved for fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association. The honor of fellow reflects dedication to the work of the organization and the psychiatric profession. New fellows will be honored at the convocation ceremony held at the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco in May.

social work

Alicia Beck, coordinator of advancement in the School of Social Work, was recognized as an “emerging leader” by the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Social Work. Beck was one of six winners of the inaugural award and was honored during a brief ceremony held as part of NASW-IL’s networking event on Feb. 5 in Chicago. Winners were selected based upon recommendations of NASW-IL’s staff and board members.

 

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Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

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Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Nishant Garg, center, is joined by fellow researchers, from left: Yujia Min, Hossein Kabir, Nishant Garg, center, Chirayu Kothari and M. Farjad Iqbal, front right. In front are examples of clay samples dissolved at different concentrations in a NaOH solution. The team invented a new test that can predict the performance of cementitious materials in mere 5 minutes. This is in contrast to the standard ASTM tests, which take up to 28 days. This new advance enables real-time quality control at production plants of emerging, sustainable materials. Photo taken at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Researchers develop a five-minute quality test for sustainable cement industry materials

A new test developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can predict the performance of a new type of cementitious construction material in five minutes — a significant improvement over the current industry standard method, which takes seven or more days to complete. This development is poised to advance the use of next-generation resources called supplementary cementitious materials — or SCMs — by speeding up the quality-check process before leaving the production floor.

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