Construction

History of Concrete -  How it Started

Presented by Luke M. Snell, P.E.
Honorary Member - ACI, Emeritus Professor of Construction,  SIUE

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 12:00 pm

 Concrete is the second most used material in the world only exceeded by water. It is also one of our oldest construction materials starting  over  thousands of years ago.  It continues to evolve and allows us to make the tallest buildings, bridges and roadways

So how did our ancestors find out that if we heated  rocks, we could make a cement and  then  make concrete?  How did we discover  the multi-step process of making our modern concrete?

This presentation will take us through the  journey of how cement and concrete developed. Along this journey we will see how discovery of fire, bricks, pottery, pyramids, lighthouses played a major role in the development of concrete.
Luke M. Snell is a Concrete Consultant Concrete and an Emeritus Professor of Construction from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

He has done extensive consulting work on construction and concrete problems throughout the U.S. and internationally. He has also written over 400 articles on concrete, construction materials, and construction education. He has been instrumental in starting concrete certification programs in China, India, Taiwan, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia. He is the past chair of several ACI committees including the ACI 120 History of Concrete, the Educational Activities Committee and the Chapter Activities Committee.

Snell is an Honorary Member of ACI and has received numerous awards and was named one of the Ten Most Influential People of the Year in the Concrete Industry by Concrete Construction and Concrete Producer magazines (2007), Construction Laureate of Mongolia (2007), the Henry L Kennedy Award from ACI (2008), a Honorary Doctorate from Aria University of Sciences and Sustainability (2011) and the ACI Certification Award (2015).

He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri and Illinois.