Four students from the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) recently earned scholarships at the 48th Annual Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA) Workshop.
Construction engineering sophomore Justin Menke, environmental engineering PhD candidate Joel Sikkema, civil engineering senior Caitlin Weber and civil engineering senior Jacob Weiss were honored at the ICPA Workshop awards, held February 2 in Des Moines.
Sikkema was awarded the $5,000 James Cable Graduate Fellowship. He plans to use it to support his research in photocatalytic concrete pavement, both for field and lab research equipment and materials. Photocatalytic concrete converts nitrogen oxides into nitrate, acting as an air purifier while serving as a road surface.
The fellowship is named after CCEE Associate Professor Emeritus James Cable, who taught materials engineering at Iowa State from 1986 to 2007. Cable is a leading expert in concrete pavement engineering and continues to work with concrete engineers on projects throughout Iowa. He also graduated from Iowa State with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering in 1964 and 1976, respectively.
Weber earned the ICPA Scholarship, worth $1,000. In addition to classroom instruction, from May to December 2011 she interned for the City of Ames’ Public Works/Engineering Department. There she gained experience in field inspection, as well as documentation of concrete paving, asphalt paving, water main, storm sewer and sanitary sewer installations. “I was happy to see and be honored by my former supervisors at the workshop,” she says.
Weiss also earned a $1,000 scholarship from the ICPA. As an intern for Winnebago County, Iowa, last summer he inspected many construction job sites, including a six-inch thick, five-mile long concrete overlay and a Portland cement concrete pavement project through Thompson. Weiss also inspected the beginning of a new bridge and estimated costs related to adding six-foot shoulders to a Winnebago County road.
Menke, too, earned the $1,000 ICPA scholarship. He worked for JDM Contracting (West Point, Iowa) in high school, where he worked with concrete forms, pouring and finishing. In summer 2011 he interned with Kiewit Building Group in Omaha, Nebraska, assisting with a remodel of Nebraska Medical Center’s Adult Intensive Care Unit.
Winners were chosen based on scholarship, financial need, civil/construction engineering experience and intent to enter the construction industry in Iowa. The goal of Iowa Concrete Paving Association is to develop future construction management for the Iowa highway construction industry by providing scholarships to civil and construction engineering students at Iowa State University.
TOP: CCEE students earn scholarships from the Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA) based on academic excellence and civil/construction engineering experience in Iowa. (Left to right) Construction engineering sophomore Justin Menke with a $1,000 ICPA scholarship, civil engineering senior Caitlin Weber with a $1,000 ICPA scholarship, CCEE Associate Professor Emeritus James Cable, environmental engineering PhD candidate Joel Sikkema with the $5,000 James Cable Graduate Fellowship, and civil engineering senior Jacob Weiss with a $1,000 ICPA scholarship.
BOTTOM: Sikkema stands with Associate Professor Emeritus James Cable, materials engineering associate professor from 1986 to 2007, as he is honored with the $5,000 James Cable Graduate Fellowship.