The Cements Division’s Early Career Award recognizes an outstanding early career scientist who is conducting research in the field of cement and concrete in an academic, industry, or government funded laboratory.
Nomination Process
Criteria and eligibility:
- Nominee must be a member of the ACerS Cements Division, or become a member before the nomination deadline;
- Nominee must have completed their terminal academic degree no more than 10 years previous to July 15, 2025.
- Nominee must be working primarily in the field of cement and concrete science;
- Self-nominations are not permitted.
The selection of the awardee will be based on the nomination and accompanying evidence of scientific contributions, such as a list of publications, selected abstracts, and receipt of other awards or recognitions.
Nomination materials must include:
- Cover page containing name, affiliation, confirmation of ACerS Cements Division membership, and year of terminal academic degree of the nominee, along with the name and affiliation of the nominator;
- Written statement summarizing the scientific contributions and other qualifications of the nominee – not to exceed 500 words;
- A copy of the nominee’s current academic-style CV (i.e. long-form) giving professional background, professional achievements, publications, presentations, etc.
The awardee will be announced at the annual Advances in Cement-Based Materials Meeting.
Contact
The nomination should be submitted electronically to Prannoy Suraneni, Chair of the Cements Division, and to Vicki Evans, ACerS Cements Division Liaison. The subject heading should read “ACerS Early Career Award Nomination.”
All nominators should have received a confirmation email from Prannoy Suraneni. If you did not, please contact Prannoy at suranenip@miami.edu.
Award Winners
Alexander S. Brand
Alexander Brand, Ph.D., P.E., is an Associate Professor in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. Prior to joining Virginia Tech in 2018, he was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include microstructural characterization, dissolution and reaction kinetics, recycled and by-product materials, and 3D printing of cementitious composites. He is the Chair-Elect of the Cements Division of the American Ceramic Society and is an Associate Editor for International Journal of Pavement Engineering and Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. He has received an NSF CAREER Award in 2023, is a two-time recipient of a Le Chatelier Distinguished Paper Award from Cement and Concrete Research for manuscripts published in 2019 and 2020, and was named a Faculty Fellow in 2025 and received a Certificate of Teaching Excellence in 2023 from the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.