NJIT Fall 2010 Patron's Meeting

Celebration of a great success and a promising CIM future resonated during the recent NJIT Patrons Fall 2010 meeting. Many gathered from all over the industry enthusiastic to hear about the current happenings of the NJIT CIM program and the new excitement and momentum portrayed by students and faculty alike. The meeting took place in the prestigious NJIT historic building, Eberhardt, with the attendance of 40 people, 15 patrons, 10 NJIT faculty and staff, and 15 CIM students(Please see the detailed list below). This was by far one of the most successful meetings CIM program has ever had. Many CIM program related subjects were presented including Financials, fund raising, student activities, scholarships, student research, employment and Co-op opportunities, and marketing. The meeting was attended by President Robert Altenkirch who gave a presentation about the university progress. The meeting was also attended by Dr. Ian Gatley, The Provost and Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Sunil Saigal, the Dean of Newark College of Engineering was also among the attendants. Seven active senior CIM students were offered scholarships for their outstanding effort in both educational and activities fronts. These students are: Gyasi Bryan Smith, Antonio Gallotta, Michael Ciallella, Julio Pecho, Christopher Worthington, krzysztof klemensowicz, and Eric Miller. For the first time, Three CIM graduates (two from NJIT and one from MTSU) were among the patrons. Please find below a list of the attendants. I would like to thank everybody who helped to make this event a great success. I really appreciate it. 

Mohamed Mahgoub

Attendants:

Northeast Patrons:

Jamie Gentoso                  Sika (Chairperson of the Northeast Patrons)

Bill Layton                         NJCAA

Larry Silvi                          Silvi

Mike Campion                   Sika (Member of CIM National Steering Committee)

John Burdi                         Lafarge

Bill Ryan                            Silvi

Mike Gentoso                   Eastern Concrete

Jan Sabo                            Hercules International

Steve Itts                            BASF

Michele Brenner                  STI

Ken Yuhas                          Grace (CIM-MTSU Graduate)

Mike Welch                        Euclid

Kenneth Krautheim             Ferrara Bros

Mark Bishop                       URS (CIM Graduate)

Anlee Orama                     Sika (CIM Graduate)

NJIT Faculty and Staff:

Robert Altenkirch            President of New Jersey Institute of Technology

Dr. Ian Gatley,                   Provost and Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Sunil Saigal                   Dean of Newark College of Engineering

Dr. Ron Rockland              Chairman of the Department of Engineering Technology

Dr. David Washington    Department of Engineering Technology (CIM Faculty)

David Hawes                      NJDOT (CIM Adjunct Professor)

Dr. Mohamed Mahgoub               CIM Program Director

Allyn Luke                           Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Edna Randolph                  Assistant to the Chairman of the Department of Engineering Technology

Marcia Eddings                  Administrative Assistant, Department of Engineering Technology

CIM Students:

Mark Hrubec                      Senior

Michael Ciallella                 Senior

Julio Pecho                         Senior

Antonio Gallotta                 Senior

krzysztof klemensowicz      Senior

Gyasi Bryan-Smith             Senior

Wilton Arellano                  Senior

Eric Miller                          Senior

Fady Pauls                          Senior

Sherif Girgis                        Senior

Christopher Worthington      Junior

Elvis Torres                         Sophomore

Andrew Smith                     Sophomore

Amin Jamali                        Graduate

Mohamed Bassiouny           Graduate

Donated Items List Grows For Annual CIM Auction

The list of items continues to increase for the sixth annual auction to be held at the World of Concrete on Thursday, January 20, 2011. The proceeds from the 2011 Auction will benefit the CIM National Steering Committee (NSC) and support the current CIM programs as well as help fund future program expansion.

According to Peter Brewin, Chairman of the CIM Auction Committee, "The proceeds from the 2011 Auction will benefit the CIM National Steering Committee (NSC) and support the current CIM programs as well as help fund future program expansion."


Current featured items include:


• McNeilus- Concrete Mixer
• BASF- $30,000 Admix, Color and Fiber Package
• Capitol Aggregates- 4 Loads of Cement
• Cemex- 10 Loads of Cement
• Command Alkon - Batch Control System
• Drake Cement- 4 Loads of Cement
• Erie Strayer- Laptop Computer
• GCC- 4 Loads of Cement
• Giant Cement- 4 Loads of Cement
• Holcim- 10 Loads of Cement
• LaFarge- 10 Loads of Cement
• Lehigh/Hanson- 10 Loads of Cement
• NPCA- NPCA Show Registration and 2 nights at the Sheraton
• Propex- Golf Package at TPC Sawgrass for 4 people
• Titan- 4 Loads of Cement
• Votorantim- 4 Loads of Cement

Additional auction items include: concrete saws, drills, mixers, vibrators, scaffolding, safety equipment, screeds, fiber transport systems, dust collectors, NDT equipment, decorative concrete tools, water meters, pumps, generators, training sessions, reference books, advertisements, laptop computers, sports memorabilia, sports travel packages, golf school packages and vacation travel packages.


Those interested in making a donation should contact CIM Auction Committee Chairman Peter Brewin at peter.brewin@gmail.com or 214-693-6669.

Download Donation Forms

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CIM Shines at ACI NJ Meeting

It was one of the nights I will never forget, especially when part of the audiences kept chanting and shouting “CIM..CIM..CIM!!!”. Ten CIM students showed up at the NJ ACI Chapter Dinner tonight which took place at NJIT Atrium. I, Mohamed Mahgoub, the CIM program director, gave a presentation showing all the recent CIM program activities. After the presentation, I have been approached by several companies offering our CIM students several job opportunities. CIM students did a great effort putting up the CIM and ACI Student Chapter Banners and distributing the CIM Brochures. Besides, Antonio Gallotta, a CIM senior student, had a wonderful poster and samples of concrete pavers, a product of his own company “Anchor, concrete products”. Eric Miller, another senior CIM senior student, showed a small tabletop display of water going through a pervious concrete sample that he put together. Mike Ciallella, another senior CIM senior student, put together a poster showing pictures of NJIT-ACI Student Chapter team participated in the ACI student Competition that took place at the ACI conference in Pittsburgh, October 24.(NJIT ranked 6th among 25 teams from all over the world). At the end, Mr. Casimir J. Bognacki, Chief of Materials Engineering at Port Authority of NY & NJ gave a great presentation titled “ Lessons Learned About High Strength Concrete in Rebuilding the world Trade Center”. The event was attended by the Dean of Newark College of Engineering, Dr. Sunil Saigal, and the chair person of the Northeast Patrons, Jamie Gentoso. I would like to thank the following companies who sponsored our students dinner:


(1) Joel Tanis and sons (Jim Rizzo)

(2) Weldon Materials

(3) Terra Tech (Steve Zimmerman)



Finally I would like to deliver a great thank you to the following NJ ACI Chapter Officers for their great effort supporting our program :

(1) Rich Laptick, the President of NJ ACI Chapter

(2) Dr. Hani Nassif, the Vice President

(3) Casimir Bognacki, the Treasurer

(4) Dianne Johnston, the Executive Director

(5) Allyn Luke, Steve Zimmerman, John Burdi, and Mark Wierciszewski , the Directors

Thank you all and enjoy the photos that were taken by Sherif Girgis, senior CIM senior student.


Mohamed Mahgoub

Texas State CIM Students Receive Second Place in ACI Competition

Five CIM students participated in the ACI Egg Protection Device Competition in the ACI Fall 2010 Convention at Pittsburgh, PA. The objective of this contest is to build a small concrete frame that has the highest-impact-load resistance, and to promote a sustainable use of concrete. Texas State CIM majors Chris Traina, Travis Mouser, Griffin Taylor, Charles Carter and Chase Copenhaver, who worked under the supervision of Dr. Cristian Gaedicke, explored how the strategies used in the design and construction of their Egg Protection Device (EPD) could be applied to broader applications of concrete in sustainable development. In order to promote the positive social, economic, and environmental impacts of concrete, the students used 50% recycled aggregate and Class C fly ash in their mix. Their work received 2nd place in the sustainability ategory. More than ten teams from different universities in the United States and overseas participated in this competition.

Successful CIM NSC Meeting Held at Texas State

Update from Fall NSC Meeting

The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) National Steering Committee (NSC) Meeting, Board of Directors Meeting and various Committee Meetings met October 14 -15 at Texas State University (TSU) in San Marcos. We had a very successful and productive meeting and the NSC members thank the faculty and staff at TSU for their hospitality!

Our meetings were followed by a bus tour of the facilities at TSU. We had the opportunity to see the new concrete lab, a full-service facility complete with both wet and dry testing of concrete and materials. The facility includes a high strength compression testing machine and moisture controlled curing room as well as numerous other concrete testing machines. This facility would rival many labs in the concrete industry and certainly would rank high among concrete testing labs located on college campuses.

Meeting highlights included:

University Reporting

Highlights of the meeting included reports from all five CIM universities. The reports included 2010-2011 academic year program enrollment, the number of declared majors and projected number of graduates. Of particular interest in the reports was the number and unique aspects of the projects that the students are engaged in at each program. CIM students are definitely being exposed to the wonderful world of concrete and its thousands of varied constructive uses. Chairman Schneider commented on a special committee that met at the end of the 2009-2010 fiscal year to discuss what has been termed The Path Forward for NSC.

NSC Budget Review

The daylong meeting developed a number of longer term initiatives that will be a part of this year’s program of work and eventually be presented to the board. The board was informed that the 2009-2010 audit had been successfully completed with no qualifications. The proposed 2010-2011 budget was presented and discussed. Highlights included the marketing committee budget which is focused on continuing to expand the industry’s awareness of CIM. Significant marketing and promotion dollars are earmarked for the annual auction at the World of Concrete. This event is the significant fund raiser to support the NSC activities as it provides direct cash contributions to participating programs.

2009-2010 NSC Funds and Annual Report Distributed

Chairman Mike Schneider of Baker Concrete distributed checks amounting to $217,500 to the various universities at this meeting. The 2009-2010 annual report was distributed for those in attendance. This is another significant marketing piece that is included in this year’s marketing committee budget. This marks the second year of publishing an annual report and it is a good way of capturing the many activities of both the program and the NSC.

Masters Program/CIM Auction Update

The education committee reported on its numerous initiatives including the activities of the ad hoc Masters program committee. The results of a survey that was sent to the industry regarding the proposed Masters program were presented. The survey indicated significant industry support for development of such a program. Chairman Schneider reminded all in attendance of the importance of the World of Concrete CIM auction January 20, 2011. Auction committee chairman Peter Brewin of GCC indicated that the committee has been actively working at soliciting donations for the auction and they are off to a good start. The next NSC board and committee meeting will be held on the 19th and 20th of January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in conjunction with the auction.

Next Meeting at World of Concrete in Las Vegas

The next Concrete Industry Management (CIM) National Steering Committee (NSC) Meeting, Board of Directors Meeting and various Committee Meetings will be held on January 19-20 at World of Concrete in Las Vegas. For information on the meeting, please contact Nicole Maher, nmaher@nrmca.org.

CIM Participation in NRMCA's ConcreteWorks

A total of ten Concrete Industry Management (CIM) students (eight from MTSU and two from NJIT) attended NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks Conference and Expo, held October 10 - 12 in Charlotte, NC. The students had a full slate of activities, including staffing a CIM booth in the Expo Hall to raise awareness of the program, acting as room monitors for the seminar programs, interviewing for internships and full-time job placement, and acting as judges for the Challenge Course at NRMCA’s National Mixer Driver Championship. Attendance at industry association events such as NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks provides students with educational opportunities as well as the chance to network with industry personnel who can provide advice and insight into their futures in the concrete industry. For more information about this conference, click here.

ASU ACI Student Club Activities

Alex Bertheau, one of the officers of the student ACI Club was honored at the ACI Convention in Pittsburgh as the third place winner in the 2010 ACI student paper competition. Congratulations Alex! We are pleased to announce that the club has been active in recruiting new students to the program and offer free tutoring during the fall semester. The tutoring includes upper-class students offers free help for students in all CIM courses with a particular focus on students in CIM 205. Upon completion of Grade Level 1 ACI certification, all CIM students are required to assist AZ-ACI as supplemental examiners at one monthly session.

Faculty Profile- Jiong Hu, Texas State

Jiong Hu, Assistant Professor - Texas State University-San Marcos


This month, we chose to highlight CIM faculty member Jiong Hu . We asked him a few questions about his experiences with the CIM Program.

What interesting projects have your students been involved with during this last school year?

In this last year, I have CIM students involved in one externally funded project (Evaluation, Presentation and Repair of Microbial Acid-Produced Attack of Concrete) and two internally funded projects (Use of Waste Clay Brick as Cement Additive in Concrete: Feasibility Study in the State of Texas and Self-compacting Concrete Using Recycled Concrete Aggregate). The projects offer CIM majors valuable experience as research assistants involved in real-life projects, as well as the use of state-of-the-art research facilities.

Why should incoming students consider CIM as a major course of study?

CIM is a unique program with emphasis on both concrete technology and management. Students will have great "hands-on" experiences through participation in a variety of laboratory activities and "real life" experience with a series of industry-related activities. With their very unique skill set, CIM students have excellent employment opportunities upon graduation.

Can you describe the different career paths that graduates of the CIM program can take?

With strong skill sets in concrete technology, construction management and business administration, the CIM program prepares professionals in either management or technical positions in concrete-related industries.

What is unique about the graduates of the CIM program?

The CIM program addresses the needs of the modern concrete industry. The program produces "industry prepared" students with "real world" experiences grounded in the basics of concrete's production techniques and its use in a multitude of construction applications.

What are your thoughts about the industry/academic partnership between CIM and its industry partners?

The industry-patented academic degree program represents a very unique academia/industry partnership at national and local levels. The NSC provides funding and oversight direction for each program and local patrons provide opportunities to engage the local concrete industry in advancing and growing the CIM program.

Why should companies in the concrete industry get involved in the CIM program?

CIM is a practice-oriented degree with strong industrial focus, built on the strong relationship between industry and academia. The program needs heavy involvement from local industry such as guest lectures and field trips to provide students with "real life" experience. A strong connection between industry and students is also needed through different social activities.

MTSU Concrete Masonry Class Introducted

As the MTSU CIM Program has just introduced its first Concrete Masonry class this fall semester, Dr. Marcus Knight, instructor for that class, and Jon Huddleston attended a NCMA Testing Procedures Course & Certified Concrete Masonry Testing Technician Certification Program at NCMA Headquarters in Herndon, VA in mid-October.

Chico State Students Provide Demonstration of Alcatraz Work at ASCC Conference

The Chico State CIM Summer Field School was represented at the American Society of Concrete Contractor’s National Conference in Salt Lake City at the Decorative Concrete Council’s outdoor display area by CIM Students and Alcatraz Interns Trevor Prater and Bryan James. Shellie Rigsby of Acanthus, Inc., a decorative concrete staining firm in Dallas, and Clark Branam of Scofield served as the student advisors for the project and were the leaders of the decorative aspects of the Field School during summer 2010. In their demonstration, Prater and James created a replica of a staircase they repaired on Alcatraz Island and demonstrated various standard and creative techniques they used on Alcatraz to match the colors and textures of 100-year old, bay-weathered concrete. By preparing the entire demonstration on site the students were able to create a live demonstration throughout the 3-day conference. The repair demonstration strongly correlated with the sustainable theme of ASCC’s Decorative Concrete Council display area, as the nature of both historic concrete repair and the Alcatraz internship requires a focus on concrete durability and restoration rather than demolition by selectively repairing only problem areas and minimizing waste.


The 10-week long Chico State CIM Summer Field School served as an internship for five Chico State CIM students, completing over 2000 hours of cumulative work on the infamous prison grounds and highlighting many unique features the Bachelor of Science Degree encompasses. It was an industry-supported pilot project designed to engage CIM students in managing and performing the evaluation, estimating, repair, and preservation of concrete structures while working outside of the technical parameters of a classroom. The Field School is planned to continue in future summers providing the opportunity for many more CIM students to gain valuable field experience.

“ Seismic Charactererization of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC)”

Today, my PhD student, Amin Jamali, has defended his PhD which is titled “ Seismic Charactererization of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC)”. This hard working and advanced state of the art thesis was described as one of the best at NJIT history. The one and quarter year experimental work that took place at High Performance Concrete laboratory at NJIT was funded by CIM program. Amin wrote in his acknowledgement the following:


“ It is an opportunity to show my appreciation to the Concrete Industry Management program at NJIT for their financial support to this study. “

“I am also very grateful to Jamie M. Gentoso and David White from Sika”. Sika donated the GFRP raps for Amin’s 44 concrete columns

“I am also very grateful to Ricardo Arocha, Roby Roberts, Gilbert Morales, Michael McKendrick, Terry Moony and Bill Hall from Weldon Mistrials”. Weldon Materials donated space, aggregate, cement, and RAC crushing for Amin’s RAC.

“I thank Mr. Allyn Luke for his generous Laboratory support”

Congratulations Dr. Jamali!!! You need a deserving break.

Enjoy the three photos.

Mohamed

NJIT CIM presentation at the Freshman Colloquia resulted in two new CIM students!!!

Today, Monday, Nov 1 at 11:30 am, it was the day of the Freshman Colloquia. Department of Engineering Technology (ET) had about 1 hour to present some of its new programs. Dr. Ron Rockland, the department Chair gave an introduction to ET, followed by brief (10-12 minute) presentations of three new ET program directors (Surveying Engineering technology (SET); Medical Informatics, (IT); and Concrete Industry Management (CIM)). Many of the freshman students did not belong to ET. The freshman have to attend two of the colloquia, and since we were almost the last ones, we had some who did not attend the other colloquia. I was excited presenting the CIM program as usual. The CIM presentation paid off. Two new students have joined our program and they finished their paper work today. Congratulations!! Enjoy the photos!!!




Mohamed Mahgoub

CIM Students Attend ACI and ICRI Conferences in Pittsburgh

CIM students and faculty attended the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) conferences during October in Pittsburgh, Pa.

During the ACI Conference, the students competed along with 25 other teams from all over the United States in the Student Egg Protection Device Competition and finished in sixth place overall! The students also attended the ACI Concrete Sustainability Forum and enjoyed listening to presentations about the latest concrete sustainability measurements in China, India, Korea, and Brazil. One of the presentations was the MIT joint research with NRCMA and PCA of Life Cycle Assessment of Pavements which provided the students with useful information regarding concrete sustainability.

During the ICRI conference the students attending technical presentations about bridge concrete repair and how to overcome reinforcement corrosion problems. The students enjoyed networking, attending technical sessions, and attending the awards banquet. The CIM students presence was acknowledged by the ICRI President, Chuck Knight.