After the American Concrete Institute determined there was a need to offer training and certification programs in Ecuador, CCEE Lecturer and Senior Construction Extension Specialist Roberto Nunez began organizing a group of students and alumni to implement the program. In June, a group traveled to Quito, Ecuador and worked in conjunction with the University San Francisco of Quito (USFQ)to implement the pilot program. They worked closely with Dr. Juan Jose Recalde, a Professor of Civil Engineering at USFQ and an alumnus of CCEE who completed his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 2010 after also earning his Masters of Science in 2005 in Construction Engineering and Management.

Nunez is Chairman of ACI’s International Certification Programs Committee. Working in conjunction with NCSU, USFQ, ACI, and alumnus Dr. Luis Mata (MSCE 2005, Ph.D. 2008) from the University of Toledo, the team helped create a new ACI Local Sponsoring Group (LSG) and implement a training and certification program at USFQ. Fourteen engineering students from USFQ completed the program and passed the examinations making them certified to perform Quality Control and Quality Assurance of Concrete.