Civil Engineering Student Receives American Concrete Institute Fellowship

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Sydney Dickson in the civil engineering lab.

Sydney Dickson, a junior majoring in civil engineering, has been awarded the ACI Baker Student Fellowship award for the 2014-15 academic year. The fellowship provides a stipend of $7,000 over two semesters, and awardees also participate in internships in the concrete industry. Dickson will be interning with Murphy Oil in Houston, Texas. Dickson has also been invited to attend the ACI convention in Washington, D.C. in October, where she will be assigned a mentor from the concrete industry.

“I’m very proud of Sydney’s accomplishments, including this fellowship,” said Micah Hale, professor of civil engineering and Dickson’s faculty mentor. “The recognition is an honor for her and for the department. Over the years, ACI has provided many avenues for our students to network with other schools and with industry, and I’m very happy Sydney will benefit from this opportunity.”

An Honors College student minoring in sustainability, Dickson is currently conducting research on ways to mitigate alkali silica reaction in concrete. This reaction occurs when silica in the aggregates reacts with alkaline chemicals in concrete to form a gel that expands when it comes into contact with water. This expansion compromises the strength, durability, and ultimately the design life of the concrete. Dickson is investigating the use of fly ash to prevent alkali silica reaction.

Dickson is also involved with the Society of Women Engineers student group, or SWE, and as a sophomore, she was in charge of public relations for the organization. Dickson feels strongly about the mission of SWE, which is to inform girls about the field of engineering. “Girls aren’t any less capable than guys when it comes to engineering,” she said. “I want younger girls to be able to see that, to at least know that the option is there.”