By Ines Aviles-Spadoni, M.S., Research Coordinator, UFTI
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) Student Chapter at UF recently organized a hands-on certification event, allowing students to acquire an ACI Field Technician Grade 1 Certification. This five-year certification equips students with practical fieldwork knowledge, making graduates competitive for internships or jobs.
“We decided to organize this event as I was supposed to get this certification at one of my internships but couldn’t due to time constraints,” said Tanner Fortier, the student chapter’s president, who is also an undergraduate student in civil engineering. “Other members wanted to get the certification as it makes us more qualified for a lot of the research testing we do in the Weil Hall Structures and Materials Lab.”
Fortier, along with Lenny Moranz, the student chapter’s vice president, collaborated with Diep Tu of the Florida Prestressed Concrete Association and Chris Robinson from CMEC, a non-governmental organization providing accreditation services to public and private sector organizations. The students also worked closely with Taylor Rawlinson, an associate engineer and director of the Weil Hall Structures and Materials Laboratory in the UF Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, and their faculty adviser, associate professor Chris Ferraro. Together, they all worked to organize the certification event, which included training sessions to help prepare students for the certification exam.
“The lab is excited to facilitate this student-led effort,” said Taylor Rawlinson, an associate engineer in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering who also holds ACI certifications as a Cement Physical Tester, Concrete Field-Testing (Grade I) Technician and Concrete Strength Testing Technician.
“In addition to the professional development opportunity for the students, the certification also significantly bolsters the laboratory research programs. Having students certificated in proper concrete testing ensures repeatability of research and validity of results.”
The ACI student chapter had been considering organizing the Field Technician Grade 1 Certification for over a year. Finally, after 10 to 15 hours of coordinated planning, the event was successfully held on the UF campus at Weil Hall and attended by 11 undergraduate and graduate students. Testing included three proctors who facilitated the process. The certification event provided a great networking opportunity for students.
The ACI Field Technician Grade 1 Certification is an essential qualification for construction and civil engineering professionals. Individuals with these qualifications have demonstrated they have the knowledge to perform and record a variety of basic field tests on freshly mixed concrete.
“Those of us who passed – most attendees passed – have gained the ACI Field Technician Grade 1 Certification, a five-year certification that gives us technical and practical knowledge on how to assess the plastic (fresh) properties of a concrete mix in the field,” Fortier said. “This is important, especially in applying for internships or jobs that emphasize fieldwork experience, as already having the certification saves costs to prospective employers.”
Events like this speak to the ACI student chapter’s commitment to providing members with the tools to gain valuable skills and industry credentials, making them more marketable to employers and preparing them for a future career in civil engineering.
“This opportunity stands out as a rare chance for students to directly engage with industry certification programs during their undergraduate studies,” said Ferraro. “The program offers long-term value by fostering collaboration between academia and industry, jointly driving the advancement and improvement of built infrastructure.”