Nathan is a graduate student at Northwestern University in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His current research focuses on important issues facing the concrete industry, both from a fundamental science and application perspective. His research focuses on developing a basic understanding of mechanisms that dictate the balance between flowability and shape-stability of fresh concrete. Processing during and right after mixing and placing has taken a forefront in concrete research, as opposed to the hardened-state properties. In addition, Nathan brings a cross-disciplinary approach to his research, incorporating techniques from civil engineering, chemistry, materials science, and applied-math. Using his analytical and experimental skills and his attention to detail, he has been able to achieve important results that he has presented at concrete conferences and a recent ceramics conference. In addition to his research, he has also had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant (TA) for several Mechanics of Materials classes and my Properties of Concrete class. He has supervised undergraduate students conducting research with our group. Nathan is well respected by the other graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in my group. He serves on the Civil Engineering Graduate Student board, which is responsible for organizing student extracurricular activities.

Thesis Title: Optimization of a Minimal Compaction Energy Slipform Concrete

Nathan was named the 2007 ITI Student of the Year.