Gabriel Cook, M.S.

Gabriel Cook was the first member of my research group. Gabe studied the behavior of reinforced concrete beams made with rapid-setting BCSA cement. He completed his M.S. in December 2018 and currently works for Oncor Electric Delivery in Fort Worth, TX.

Samuel Spann, M.S.

Samuel Spann earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Arkansas State University in 2018. He began his M.S. in the Fall of 2018 and defended his thesis in the Fall of 2019. His project involved measuring capillary pressures in the surface of fresh concrete due to plastic shrinkage (Funded by ARDOT). Samuel is currently a junior project manager at Hazelwood Engineering in Salt Lake City, UT.

Fernando Benitez Ortiz, M.S.

Fernando Benitez Ortiz earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus in 2018. He began his M.S. in the Fall of 2018 and defended his thesis in the Fall of 2019. For his project he studied the causes of cracking in concrete bridge decks in Arkansas (Funded by ARDOT). Fernando was a 2019 Dwight D. Eisenhower Fellowship recipient. Fernando now works with CPM LLC in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Anazaria Ortega Gonzales, M.S.

Anazaria Ortega Gonzalez earned her B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2018. Anazaria was the president of the University of Arkansas chapter of Chi Epsilon. She started her M.S. in the Spring of 2019 and graduated in Fall 2020. Her M.S. research involved developing rapid setting mortars for use in underwater repair applications (Funded by MarTREC). Anazaria was a 2019 Dwight D. Eisenhower Fellowship recipient. Anazaria works in the research division of the Arkansas Department of Transportation in Little Rock, AR.

Yancy Schrader, M.S.

Yancy Schrader earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2018. Yancy was captain of the University of Arkansas steel bridge team and was a member of the marching band. Yancy began his M.S. in the Spring of 2019 and graduated in Fall 2020. His research involved refining a test method to determine the propensity of a fly ash to adsorb air entraining admixtures. He works for GTS, Inc., a geotechnical and testing services consultant.

Andrew Deschenes, M.S.

Andrew Deschenes earned his B.S. in civil engineering in the spring of 2019. He earned his M.S. in the Fall of 2020. Andrew’s thesis involved measuring the strength and stiffness of cement stabilized crushed stone base course at different cement contents. He is a structural engineer at Tatum-Smith-Welcher Engineers.

Israel (Gerardo) Aguilar, M.S.

Gerardo Aguilar graduated from the Escuela Politecnica Nacional in Quito, Ecuador in 2014. He earned his M.S. in the Fall of 2020 and was funded by a Fulbright Scholarship. Gerardo studied mixture design for BCSA concrete and his work was funded by a gift from the CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation. Gerardo practices as a structural engineer in Ecuador.

Wesley (Wes) Keys (M.S.)

Wes Keys earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas in Spring 2020. He began working on his M.S. in the Summer of 2020 and graduated in December 2021. He studied fiber reinforced concrete for concrete pavements. Wes currently works as a structural engineer at Engineering Services, Inc. in Springdale, AR.

Caleb Chesnut (M.S.)

Caleb Chesnut earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2020. Caleb began his M.S. in the Summer of 2020 and he graduated in December 2021. His thesis involved the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams made with rapid-setting BCSA cement. Caleb currently works as a structural engineer at Tatum-Smith-Welcher in Rogers, AR.

Andres Calzacorta (M.S.)

Andres is originally from Venezuela but earned his BS in Civil Engineering from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. Andres was a member of the tennis team at CBU. His research involved investigating the strength of various debonding materials used between cement treated base and concrete pavement. He received his M.S. in May 2023.

Grady Caton (M.S.)

Grady was raised in Inola, OK, but was raised an avid Razorback fan. Grady completed his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering before pursuing a different career path. His interest in structural engineering brought him back to the U of A. His research investigated specifications for drilled shaft concrete in Arkansas. He completed his M.S. in December 2023.

Jacob Ortlieb (M.S.)

Jacob is from Mountainburg, Arkansas, and he earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas in the spring of 2023. He began pursuing his M.S. in the summer of 2023 and studied the effects of optimized gradation on cement content in concrete roadway pavements. He graduated with his M.S. in summer 2024.

Micaiah Rivers (M.S.)

Cai is an MS student from Boston, Massachusetts. He earned his BS in civil engineering from Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. Cai also worked as the men's soccer team manager at Cedarville. His research involved testing the effects of batch and placement size on the setting time and temperature response of BCSA cement concrete. He received his M.S. in Summer 2024.

Mariel Mayori Rivero (M.S.)

Mariel is originally from Bolivia. She earned her BS in Civil Engineering from The University of Arkansas in 2020. Her BS Honors Thesis involved investigation of the required amount of BCSA cement for rapid strength gain soil-cement mixtures. She began her MS in Fall of 2022 and her research investigated the use of BCSA Soil-Cement to Repair Waterway Structures. She earned her M.S. in May 2024.

Swikar Pyakurel (M.S.)

Swikar is from Kathmandu, Nepal. He earned his BS from UofA in 2019 and worked as an Engineering Intern for 3 years before returning to the university for a master’s degree. His research involved developing a rapidly deployable bridge design for the military. Swikar’s hobbies include hiking, playing soccer and attending concerts. He completed his M.S. in summer 2024.

Alexander Cook (M.S., Started Summer 2023)

Alex is from Seneca, Missouri. He earned his B.S. from University of Arkansas in the spring of 2023. He began his M.S. in the summer of 2023 and is studying optimized gradation of concrete pavements.