CAREER Award
Assistant Professor Erika La Plante received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award to discover and improve new cements, such as magnesium silicate hydrates, that will eliminate the need for scarce materials and reduce the environmental impact of concrete production.
The CAREER Award is the NSF's most prestigious honor for junior faculty. Winners are outstanding researchers, but also are expected to be outstanding teachers through research, educational excellence, and the integration of education and research at their home institutions.
"It is an honor to receive a CAREER Award, and I'm excited to be able to pursue my research further because of it,” says Dr. La Plante, an expert in cementitious materials.
The current process used to create cement leads to high carbon dioxide emissions, which account for up to 10% of global emissions. La Plante's research is an attempt to improve durability and partially replace or create new binder chemicals that do not require the high carbon dioxide processes currently in use.