Civil Engineering Student Callender Showcases Work at ACI Conference

May 1, 2024

BATON ROUGE, LA – Andrew Callender, a senior in civil engineering from Baton Rouge, recently presented his research group’s work on producing low-carbon concrete using Louisiana-sourced materials at the American Concrete Institute’s (ACI) conference in New Orleans.

Thirty students from across the world applied to present at the conference. Callender was one of 10 chosen.

“Currently, about 8% of man-made carbon emissions come from the cement industry,” said Callender, who currently works as an undergraduate research assistant in Assistant Professor Yen-Fang Su’s laboratory. “A new cement blend called Limestone Calcined Clay (LC3) is shown to lower emissions by using clay and limestone in cement blends. For my project, I used Louisiana Clays for the clay portion and replaced the limestone with powdered oyster shells. This offers the potential to create extremely environmentally friendly cement in our state. The best part is the materials to create LC3 are cheaper than the ones to produce traditional cement.”

For Su, Callender’s success in research and at the conference came as no surprise, calling him one of the top undergraduate students he’s mentored at LSU.

“I always remember our first meeting with Andrew; I encountered a young soul brimming with passion, eager to immerse himself in the world of concrete research,” Su said. “He was genuinely driven by a desire to understand and contribute to advancements in low-carbon cementitious materials. After one year of research in my group, Andrew has equipped himself with most of the skills and mindset he needs to be successful in graduate study.”

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Contact: Joshua Duplechain
Director of Communications
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josh@lsu.edu