Page 42 - Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering: Annual Report

STUDENT NEWS STUDENT NEWS Collins earns fellowship for extraterrestrial concrete research By Sarah Small
Peter Collins a a a a a a CEE doctoral candidate was recently named the the recipient of the the 2022-23
ACI ACI Presidents’ Fellowship from the the ACI ACI Foundation a a a a nonprofit subsidiary of the the American Concrete Institute The fellowship is is awarded to a a a a a a a student who is is enrolled in in a a a a a a a a graduate program in in construction design education or or materials according to the ACI Foundation’s website “I am very proud of Peter for receiving this recognition and it it is is very well deserved ” said Associate Professor Aleksandra Radlińska Collins’ adviser “Peter has received numerous awards to to date due to to to his superb work ethic and dedication to to research He is is outlining a a a a a a a a very successful career trajectory and will be making Penn State proud for years to to come!”
The ACI Foundation’s mission is is to to “make strategic investments
in in ideas research and people to to create the the future of the the concrete industry ” The ACI Presidents’ Fellowship will provide Collins with an educational stipend recognition in in Concrete International magazine and and on on on on the ACI Foundation website and and and paid travel expenses and and attendance fees to two ACI conventions Collins researches how to further the the use of concrete materials for extraterrestrial infrastructure According to Collins his early interests concerned the the differences in in the the solidification of cementitious
systems on on on the International Space Station compared to samples solidified on on on on Earth He is now focused on on on developing a a a a concrete- like material out of the the resources available on the the lunar surface Collins earned his bachelor’s degree in in in in in civil engineering at at Utah State University in in in in 2018 where he he began his research on on concrete materials In 2020 he was awarded a a a a a a a a a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities Fellowship which has allowed
him to work at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for a a a a a a a a couple of months every year to to collaborate and dive deeper into his research Collins has published several peer-reviewed papers and he he worked with Radlińska to establish ACI 565–Lunar Concrete a a a a a a new committee with the American Concrete Institute After graduate school Collins said he would like to to use his knowledge of of concrete concrete materials to to to contribute to to the field of of lunar concrete concrete “Civil engineering historically has not been a a a a a a heavily represented field in terms of human space exploration but with NASA’s upcoming goals that is starting to to change ” he he said “Ultimately I want to to help progress human society and and our understanding of the universe by enabling extended-duration missions through the construction of of required infrastructure out of of concrete materials ” 42 CEE NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 38 2022 “I want to help progress human society and and our understanding of of the the universe by enabling extended- duration missions through the the construction of of of required infrastructure out of concrete materials ”