We are the local chapter of ACI International, and we invite you to join our chapter if you are not already a member. ACI International members can join for a mere $65 per year; non-members of ACI International can join as affiliate members. With this membership come the following benefits: Networking, Education, Recognition and Information.
 
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Carl Sparano

Chapter President Carl Sparano graduated in 1983 from the Villanova University College of Civil Engineering where he was on the Men's Springboard Diving Team for four years.

A capsule summary of Carl's extensive professional experience:

• Arnold Diamond (Mechanical Construction) - 8 years
• Ken Klipper Associates (Water & Wastewater Treatment) - 6 years
• C&T Associates (Water & Wastewater Treatment) - 3 years
• Madison Concrete (Concrete Contractor, Project Manager) - 9 years

Noted projects:

• Revel Entertainment Casino Tower, Atlantic City
• Harrah's Casino Bay Tower, Atlantic City
• The National Condos, Philadelphia

Activities and volunteering:

• Recreational Road Cyclist (MS City to Shore - raised more than $30K for MS research over 10 years)
• Spinning Instructor
• Little League Umpire
• Phoenixville Area YMCA Swim Team Official
• Parents Aquatic Club Vice President, Past Treasurer

Carl is married to Joan with two children:  Zachary, age 12, and Simone, age 8.  They have an Old English Sheep Dog named Max.

It has been a pleasure to introduce our new chapter president.  We appreciate Carl's efforts and dedication to this chapter, and we look forward to working with him.

Sincerely,

Ted Smulski
Delaware Engineering and Design Corp.

Immediate Past President and Webmaster of EPDACI

During what may be called the golden age of concrete shell construction, from the 1920s to the early 1960s, a variety of innovative landmark shells were constructed.  The first large thin concrete shell in the U.S. was a barrel shell for an ice hockey arena in Hershey, Pa., designed by Anton Tedesko in 1936.  In more recent years, however, interest in thin concrete shell construction has faded.  Reasons for this decline were explored in a paper by Christian Meyer and Michael H. Sheer, published in the October 2005 issue of Concrete International.

Many prominent structural engineers in the United States consider concrete shells to be too expensive and currently out of style.  Perhaps provocative wierd shapes are more popular this week than structural elegance.  Large graceful concrete shells continue to be built in Europe.  A few experts in this country have found that more shells are being built using novel methods such as modular formwork and air-inflated forms.  Two recent concrete shells are shown here.  The shell in the photograph above was constructed using a system created by Italian engineer Dante Bini in which concrete and reinforcing steel are placed on the ground over a form which is then inflated to form the desired geometry.  The Public Works Complex in Price, Utah, shown below, was constructed using a system developed by David and Barry South in which polyurethane foam is sprayed onto the inside of an inflated fabric form to provide stiffness, reinforcing steel is placed, and shotcrete is applied to the interior of the form.

Author Christian Meyer, FACI, PE, is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Columbia University in New York City.  Author Michael H. Sheer, PE, is an ACI member, EPDACI Chapter member, and Project Manager at Joseph L. Barbato Associates in Chadds Ford, Pa.  The Board of Directors of the Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware Chapter ACI would like to commend the authors for their insightful exploration of this elegant structural form.  Do concrete shells deserve another look?