Having grown up in the Middle East, concrete has always been an inseparable part of my story. For 17 years, I lived in a seismically active region within a building that utilized reinforced concrete shear walls. My father, a civil engineer, laid the foundation for my interest as he often took me to construction sites where I watched concrete structures come to life. However, witnessing the devastation of homes and infrastructure in the aftermath of earthquakes is what truly cemented my determination to advance the design of concrete structures. After completing my bachelor's and master's degrees in civil and structural engineering at UCLA, I am now pursuing a PhD focused on the nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete core walls in tall buildings. My research aims to provide a deeper understanding of their behavior under seismic loading, with the potential to inform retrofitting schemes that reduce the need for new construction. Such advancements could significantly lower carbon emissions, aligning with the industry's goals for sustainability.
My journey into civil engineering began with a fascination for building and structures, but it was my introduction to the field of concrete during my coursework at Cal Poly Pomona that solidified my career direction. These all began in a materials class, where I first explored the properties and applications of concrete. I was intrigued by its versatility. Historically, concrete has been a cornerstone of development, famously used in Roman aqueducts and modern marvels like the Hoover Dam. Currently, it stands as the most widely used man-made material. As we are facing a changing landscape, the industry has reached a critical juncture where traditional techniques and modern technology intersect. My interest in concrete grew further during my internship with Reyes Construction, where I witnessed concrete application in real life, from formulation to final pouring. To advance my knowledge of concrete, I participated in the ACI Pervious Concrete Cylinder Competition, where my team won third place in Philadelphia this November. For college students, the concrete industry offers a unique blend of traditional engineering roles and opportunities in emerging technologies. Students can engage in research, design, and field applications, contributing to groundbreaking projects that redefine landscapes and improve quality of life.
My name is Kyle Honsik. I am a fourth year Architectural Engineering major with a minor in Construction Management, and a passion for every aspect of the built environment. My path in college has allowed me to be uniquely exposed to both the design side and the construction side of the industry. I’ve learned so much and made numerous relationships along the way I began my time at Cal Poly in the Construction Management degree path having had experience working for a contractor throughout high school. I loved the program and the atmosphere of the industry. I quickly involved myself within the department in any way I could, joining the delegation from Cal Poly to attend the AGC conference in my freshman year, becoming a member of the ASC Concrete Solutions Team, and participating frequently in the ASCM activities and info sessions. My involvement in the Construction Management program eventually brought me in contact with multiple self-perform concrete groups. I ended up working for Webcor Concrete in San Francisco my freshman summer as a project engineer intern. This experience had me hooked on the concrete industry. I knew that this was where the action was and I loved it.
Hello ACI Members,
I sincerely hope that everyone’s 2025 has started off on a positive note. We certainly had a busy end to 2024, with the Presidential election, the holiday season, and then the horrific wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area to begin the year. The ACI wishes to send our deepest condolences to all those affected by the fires and our heartfelt thanks to the fire, police, and first responders who worked tirelessly during this crisis. We are confident that Southern California will come back stronger and rebuild those affected areas.
It has been my honor to serve as your Chapter President in 2024. It feels like just yesterday I was taking the iron gavel from Nathan Forrest at last year’s Sam Hobbs Awards. This Thursday, it will be my turn to pass the gavel as I welcome our Chapter’s second female President, Sydney Zaragoza from CalPortland. We will also honor Don Kahn from Largo Concrete as the deserving recipient of the 2025 Sam Hobbs Award. I hope to see you all there as we celebrate Mr. Kahn, and the new Board of Directors begins their term. We will also be recognizing our ACI Scholarship winners and presenting their checks.
I am proud to share that our Chapter welcomed two new student chapters over the past year. The students at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo will lead the charge as the next generation of concrete professionals. Speaking of students, our Chapter sponsored a group from CPP at the ACI National Convention, where they competed in the Pervious Concrete Competition. Out of 30+ universities, the students from CPP finished 1st in the "Best of Show" category and 3rd in "Performance." Combining those scores, they ended up finishing 1st Overall. What a remarkable accomplishment!
Our Chapter held a couple of well-attended events in the last quarter of 2024. In November, we hosted our 2nd Annual TopGolf event, which brought together many in the concrete industry to network and enjoy some swings. Our holiday mixer, held at Brewheim in Anaheim, was a laid-back event at a great venue where people had the chance to celebrate the holiday season.
Many of you may have seen the email blast with the "Save the Date" for events we already have scheduled for this year. Please make sure to add these to your calendar so you won’t miss out on the education and fun!
Once again, it has been my pleasure to serve as Chapter President over the past 12 months. I look forward to assisting the Board for another year as Past President and continuing the legacy of one of the most recognized and respected ACI Chapters in the country.
Warm Regards, Jacob Brennan Chapter President 2024
As we transition into Fall, I hope this message finds you excited about the pending holiday season. Here’s to finishing 2024 on a positive note and generating momentum for 2025!
I’d like to start off with a recap of some of the chapter’s events this past quarter. In July, we held our 2nd Annual Pickleball social at iPickle in La Habra. This event was well attended and welcomed players of all skill levels. The evening culminated with our single-elimination tournament, which was won by Marcus Brown from National Ready Mix and Robert Pelayo from Drinkward Construction. Congratulations, gentlemen! We look forward to you defending your title at next year’s event! After being dark in August, we returned on September 11th for an informative dinner technical presentation on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona. At this fabulous venue, we celebrated and welcomed many students from our first ACI Student chapter. Tarak Kahn presented on the informative topic of Embodied Carbon Footprint and the Role of the Engineer. Speaking of those students, ACI SoCal is proud to be sponsoring a group from CPP to attend the Pervious Concrete Competition at the National Convention in Philadelphia later this month. Good luck Broncos!! On October 24th, we held our marquee event of the year, the ACI Concrete Awards. This was a spectacular gala held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, where the chapter recognized outstanding achievements in concrete construction. Congratulations to the Intuit Dome project, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, which took home the Charles J. Pankow Jr. Award (AECOM/Hunt/Turner JV, Walter P. Moore, Largo Concrete, Catalina Pacific Concrete). The winners of the various categories will be submitted for recognition at the ACI National Concrete Awards. A special thanks to Heather Todak and her committee for their efforts in planning such a memorable evening.
Looking at the calendar ahead, we have our Top Golf event again on November 20th in Ontario. This was a sold-out event last year, so if you have not registered yet, don’t miss out! We are also still accepting sponsorships for this event as well. We are planning on having our Young Professionals/ACI Holiday Social in mid-December at Brewheim in Anaheim. This will be a great opportunity to spend some time with your concrete colleagues and celebrate the holiday season, so keep an eye out for details on this festive event. Lastly, save the date of January 30, 2025, for our yearly Sam Hobbs Presentation where we will recognize one of ACI SoCal’s great contributors to the concrete industry. This is also when we will transition to the new Board of Directors.
I wish all of you nothing but the best this holiday season. I hope spending time with your friends and family will energize you to start 2025 with a bang! Stay safe, and I look forward to seeing all of you at our ACI functions in the coming months!
Kindest Regards,
Jacob Brennan Chapter President 2024
Deadline to Apply - Sunday, December 1, 2024
The Southern California Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) has approved a cash award of $3,000 to be granted to up to three local University students pursuing a degree in Civil or Structural Engineering, Construction Management, or Architecture. The candidates must be U.S. citizens in their junior, senior, or graduate years, which have displayed enthusiastic promise in their engineering studies. Please submit the application package for each individual:
Requirements
Los Angeles Orange Riverside San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Ventura Santa Barbara
Complete the ACI Award Application, below. If you have any questions, or require further information, please feel free to contact the ACI Office at 213-290-1282, or e-mail at info@acisocal.org.
Instructions: Type your application using standard spelling, punctuation, and grammar. An incomplete application may disqualify you from being considered for this scholarship.
Send in your submission
My name is Ryan Cobb, and I am a third-year Civil Engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona. I will be graduating in May 2025, and I am planning on entering the construction industry immediately upon graduation. I have been actively involved in clubs and organizations on campus since I first got to college, which began when I relaunched the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), Cal Poly Pomona student chapter after it was inactive during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I served as the President of the DBIA student chapter for two years from Fall 2021 to Spring 2023, which allowed me to attend multiple DBIA conferences where I made key connections in the industry. My interest in concrete motivated me to join the ASC Reno Competition, Concrete Solutions team where I will be competing against other schools to put together a proposal for a concrete focused construction project. I plan on staying involved with ACI SoCal to grow my knowledge of concrete and its applications.
Javier Estrada is an ambitious and dedicated student at Cal Poly Pomona (CPP), and is currently enrolled in the curriculum of Construction Engineering and Management. His passion for the construction industry ignited during a transformative summer internship with CalPortland, which eventually led to a part-time position during the school year. Javier's journey started when he earned an Associate’s degree in Business Administration at Pasadena City College with a GPA of 4.0.He then redirected his academic focus to Civil Engineering. At Cal Poly Pomona, Javier is a proactive member of the Construction Engineering Management Association, demonstrating his commitment to academic and professional excellence. Furthermore, he lends his skills and enthusiasm to CPP’s concrete canoe team, showcasing his determination and drive as they prepare for upcoming competitions. Javier’s story is a testament to his resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to his chosen field. Javier is very grateful to receive this scholarship from American Concrete Institution.
I'm a 5th year student in a program called the 3+2 program in conjunction with Biola University and California Baptist University, where I complete 3 years at Biola and 2 years at CBU, then receive 2 degrees for the 5 years (B.S. Engineering Physics, B.S. Civil Engineering). I was born and raised 30 minutes east of Sacramento, California. I have 3 other siblings, and in recent news, just became an uncle! In high school I used to row and fish in my free time. I also like to 3D print, air fry, and play ultimate frisbee. Concrete is important to me not only because I reap the benefits from its use every day when I walk across the sidewalk, but it also is involved with my future career choice as a civil engineer. I thoroughly enjoy my concrete-related classes that I’m taking in school and hope to work with it more in the days ahead!
Students from the newly formed Cal Poly Pomona ACI Student Chapter participated in the 2023 FRP Composites Competition at the Fall ’23 ACI Convention in Boston. Students Newton Chew, Riley Garcia, Itzel Sanchez, Miguel Souza, Charles Tran, and Michelle Vien made the trip to along with their advisor, Dragos Andrei. Under Mr. Andrei’s guidance, the team worked together to design and construct a concrete beam reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement. Per the competition rules, the beam was to fit into a 7.87” x 7.97” x 39.4” long box and have a total weight ranging between 11.0-33.1 pounds.
After testing a variety of design mixes using the materials available in the lab the team worked through the challenges of producing a mix for lightweight concrete. With the generous donation from Arcosa Lightweight, they were able to use lightweight aggregate in the final design mix. Their concrete beam turned out to be ultra-light with an impressive weight of 28 pounds. The ultimate strength tested for the beam on competition day was 13,901N. Overall, the Cal Poly Pomona ACI Student Chapter placed 19th out of the 37 schools who competed.
As a brand new and recently initiated student chapter, the ACI SoCal Chapter is proud of their efforts representing the SoCal region and Cal Poly Pomona at this year’s 2023 ACI Concrete Convention in Boston, MA. Their goal was to compete, to qualify, and to learn from one another during this experience – success all around.
In conjunction with the competition, students also attended technical sessions and workshops that were both educational and enlightening throughout the convention. The team would like to express their thanks to the community of talented and diverse individuals in the concrete industry who have a passion for advancing concrete technology to the next level. The chapter looks forward to continued participation in future ACI events and applying the lessons learned in this year’s competition.
Pre-Entry Form Entry Form
Click here to view Board of Director Nominee Bios.
2023 Board of Directors:
Past President: Don Kahn - Largo Concrete
President: Nathan Forrest - California Nevada Cement Association
Vice President: Jacob Brennan - Sika
Directors (to serve a 3-year term):
Andrew Metropolis - Turner Construction
Bob Stephens - Largo Concrete
2022 Nominations Committee Slate:
Amir Bonakdar - Euclid Chemical
Ken Sears - Polaris Materials
Janeen Oliver - Catalina Pacific
Ann Harrer - Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc
Amir Bonakdar - Fyfe FRP
Kirk Van Matre - Van Matre Lumber
The Nominations Committee thanks all the slated nominees for their dedication to the Chapter as well as the continuing Board members.
Aleta attends Ventura College where she will earn two Associate of Science degrees (Spring of 2023); one in Construction Technology-Building Inspection and the other in Architectural Design. While attending Ventura College Aleta has remained on the Dean’s List. Aleta was born and raised in Los Angeles County. She has consistently contributed to her communities. She was a founding board member of the Mission Hills Neighborhood Council. She currently works as the manager for the Mildas Drive Road Association in the Santa Monica Mountains, where she resides. While working for the family business Aleta was exposed to architectural and product design, manufacturing and steel construction for projects such as the Biosphere II in Oracle, AZ and Freemont Street LV, NV. Aleta finds the design and installation of concrete a compelling process with many technical intricacies this is why the concrete industry is a great fit for her innate interests and passions. With decades of work experience, and technical talent Aleta enjoys contributing to the global team who creates our built environments.
Hello everybody! My name is Colette Burd, and I am a third year Construction Management major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Being born and raised in San Diego, I love spending my time outside of school hitting the beach, hiking, and traveling. In addition, my hobbies include playing soccer, chess, and doing art. At school, I am proud to be on the Women in Construction board managing our Public Relations and planning events, and on the ASC Pre-Construction team competing in Chicago and Reno. I have one older brother and a twin brother who shaped me into the person I am today. I am very grateful for this scholarship opportunity; it will make a huge impact for me to be able to pay for all of the costs of attending college!
My name is Jake Pizzifred, I'm a 4th year Construction Management student from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I am 21 years old, and I am originally from Riverside, California. I grew up in construction with my family's business constructing residential and commercial swimming pools for Bogner Pools. I'm graduating this upcoming spring and wish to pursue a career in commercial construction.
Khan Muhammad is a 5th year undergraduate IPAL student of architecture at Woodbury University. A proud Southern California resident, Khan has served as 2018-2020 Student Board Member of SoCal NOMA, President of the Student Leadership Council at WSoA, and the Co-Director of Operations of the National SMASH Alumni Board. He is dedicated to building environments that cultivate people to become change agents who can manifest a better and sustainable future.
As the summer draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of the exciting things the chapter has been doing as well as some of the upcoming events.
Recently we accepted applications for scholarships for the upcoming Fall 2022 semester. 12 students from various schools submitted applications. The Chapter will be awarding 3 scholarships for $3,000 each. The scholarships are based on academic performance, work history, community contributions and an essay. The winners will be announced in mid-September. In addition, the Student Activities Committee will be working with construction programs at both Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Pomona to establish ACI student chapters on those campuses.
A couple of upcoming seminars and webinars include the following. First, on Thursday, September 15th, the ACI SoCal Chapter will host an introductory webinar with Drew Burns, Executive Director of NEU: An ACI Center of Excellence in Carbon Neutral Concrete. The session will go through the formation of NEU, its mission, and the path to carbon-neutral concrete. Then on October 11th, the California Nevada Cement Association is hosting an economic outlook forum at the Four Points Sheraton in Sacramento. Ed Sullivan, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Market Intelligence for the Portland Cement Association will present PCA's most current thinking on the near-term economy, construction markets and their impact on cement consumption. This will be followed by a presentation on how the national outlook will translate to California and the surrounding region’s construction sector and cement performance. Moody’s Analytics will also share their outlook for the macroeconomy which will include region-specific data. Following the September webinar, we’ll be back to our regular in-person dinner meetings. For more information on these and other events please visit the ACI SoCal website.
Nationally, this year’s ACI Fall 2022 Convention will be held in Dallas, Texas. The Chapter has elected to participate as a sponsor for this year’s convention. Some of our ACI SoCal members serve on various committees and they will be attending the convention. If you have an interest in learning more about the convention activities, please reach out.
Finally, this year’s Pankow Awards celebration will be held November 2nd. Following up on the success of last year’s event, the dinner and awards presentation will be held at Banc of California stadium. There are seven different categories including 3 structure categories, decorative, infrastructure, flatwork, and repair/restoration. The deadline for entries is Friday, September 9th. Please sign up early and join us for an exciting evening at an awesome venue.
In closing, there are many exciting things coming with the Chapter. I invite you to join us for one, or all, of these upcoming events and look forward to seeing you soon.
Donald Kahn ACI Chapter President
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