Low-activity waste at Hanford site
The National Academy of Sciences has published our committee’s final report, in which we address the public comments on our previous reports and the study overall. Our committee provided oversight […]
Sustainability
Making use of marginal fly ash
Electric utilities are under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants from their power stations. More and more, they are shutting down their coal-fired plants in favor of natural […]
Embodied carbon in concrete
The January 2020 issue of Architect, the journal of the American Institute of Architects, quotes Julie Buffenbarger in its article on zero-net-carbon structural materials. Seeking to reduce the carbon footprint […]
Buffenbarger featured in ENR article and at ACI session
Julie Buffenbarger, our senior scientist and sustainability principal, was recently quoted in the article, Voices of the Concrete Sector, in the October 14/21 issue of the Engineering News- Record. When […]
2019-2020 ABET criteria for student outcomes
For would-be engineers, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) sets the standards for university education. University engineering departments seeking accreditation must demonstrate how they meet the ABET criteria. […]
Design for resilient infrastructure
While it may seem that natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe, it isn’t necessarily so. However, more people are moving to areas that are exposed to flooding, […]
ASTM C1709 promotes sustainability
ASTM C1709 provides a way to introduce alternative supplementary cementitious materials (ASCMs) into the marketplace. Supplementary cementitious materials include fly ash, slag cement, silica fume, and calcined clay. They can […]
Buffenbarger article focuses on concrete’s environmental footprint
Beton’s Julie Buffenbarger wrote an article for the May 2019 issue of Gulf Construction magazine about factors that impact concrete’s environmental footprint. She asserts that it is imperative that the […]
Grout may immobilize radioactive wastes at Hanford
The Tri-City Herald reports that certain radioactive wastes at the Hanford site in Washington State may be treated by mixing them into cement-based grout. The radioactive wastes from the Manhattan […]
Sustainability is fashionable
In addition to my work with Beton, I teach technical writing as part of a two-semester capstone course in the School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas in […]