Nestled in a former airplane hangar in the sprawling former Navy base at Magnuson Park, construction and engineering students from the University of Washington stress-test recipes for concrete—one of the world’s most used substances. Made with a combination of cement, water and aggregates, some type of concrete has been produced by every civilization since the Babylonians. Now, university students are joining in the centuries-long quest to refine and perfect this essential material at the University of Washington Center for Education and Research in Construction (CERC).
Dr. Fred Aguayo, who joined the faculty of the College of Built Environments in 2021, is the director of the Construction Methods and Concrete Materials Laboratory (which Aguayo has dubbed CM2L), as well as an assistant professor with the Department of Construction Management and an adjunct assistant professor with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. You could say he enjoys watching cement “dry”—but of course he’s heard that one before. Since joining the UW, it’s his expertise in the field that has allowed more of a focus into concrete and its potential.