- Professors Christopher Ferraro, Jim Baciak and Kyle Riding received the Wason Medal.
- Ferraro said the award reflects the value of collaboration between civil and nuclear engineering
- The research team will present their winning paper at the ACI Convention in October.
Associate Professor, ESSIE
Professor, MSE
Department Head, CCE
The American Concrete Institute, or ACI, awarded the Wason Medal for Materials Research to a research team anchored by faculty members across three departments in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
Their collaborative research seeks to develop a stronger concrete material used in nuclear reactors to become safer and more sustainable for communities.
Christopher Ferraro, Ph.D., PE, Jim Baciak, Ph.D., and Kyle Riding, Ph.D., PE, received the Wason Medal for their research paper, “Thin Cement-Based Composites for Efficient Neutron Attenuation,” published last year in “ACI Materials Journal.”
The Wason Medal for Materials Research is an annual award presented to researchers of peer-reviewed papers published by the journal who make remarkable contributions to cement-based materials used in the construction industry.
Ferraro, associate director and associate professor at the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, or ESSIE, is an ACI fellow and has been an active member since 2002. Baciak is a professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering/Nuclear Engineering, or MSE. Riding is the department head and professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, or CCE.
“This recognition reflects why civil and nuclear engineering are natural partners: concrete is the structural backbone of nuclear facilities,” said Ferraro.
Riding agreed.
“This research brought together experts and unique facilities that no one group had on their own. Nuclear Engineering had the expertise in radiation and shielding, while Civil Engineering had the expertise in concrete material science”.
One of the major discoveries from the paper was enhancing radiation shielding, Baciak noted.
“One of the things that I thought was really fascinating with this work is how we were trying to create a new concoction of concrete that would enhance the radiation-shielding properties without degrading the structural properties of the material,” said Baciak. “Usually those two things kind of work against one another. Being able to maintain those structural properties has the potential to reduce the physical amount of shielding that we need for radiological safety.”
This unique concrete solution of boron carbide and high-density polyethylene aims to improve near-surface shielding and potentially reduce radiation-related degradation in nuclear reactors.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) awarded Ferraro $1.1 million to support his research to improve concrete durability when exposed to radiation.
“Through our ARPA-E-supported research, we’re engineering boron-based concrete solutions to ensure safety and develop solutions to extend reactor lifespans well beyond current limits,” said Ferraro, “Ultimately, we are working to build the durable infrastructure America’s nuclear renaissance demands.”
This work is a product of Ferraro’s lab at the University of Florida, highlighting the critical role concrete materials play in the power industry and the ubiquitous nature of concrete as the world’s most widely used construction material”
“This research will hopefully pave the way for smaller, modular nuclear reactors at lower cost to help power our communities,” said Riding
Jerry Paris, Ph.D. PE, Eric Giannini and Ashish Patel, Ph.D., were also contributors to the paper and are honored with this recognition as well.
The research team will have the opportunity to present their winning paper at the ACI Fall 2026 Concrete Convention this October in Atlanta, Georgia.