Organizations

Portland Cement Association named Jim Niehoff director of residential construction programs, where he will oversee activities to expand the use of cement-based

Portland Cement Association named Jim Niehoff director of residential construction programs, where he will oversee activities to expand the use of cement-based products in residential construction and assure coordination with national material allies. He will also play an active part in the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Concrete Home Building Council.

Previously program manager for residential promotion, Niehoff has raised awareness over the past decade of residential applications of cement-based systems. At PCA, he has served as residential department media spokesperson, as well as liaison for the NAHB and The New American Home program. Niehoff is an active member of the Insulating Concrete Form Association and currently serves on its board of directors and as chair of its Promotion Committee.

Michael Maroney has joined National Concrete Masonry Association as production specialist, bringing 10 years’ experience in the industry to install lab equipment, support research and development initiatives, provide technical support to NCMA members, and assist in developing production-related educational programs and training. He was previously a technical/quality assurance director for Oldcastle Architectural.

Amanda Bordelon, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the 2007 Katharine and Bryant Mather Scholarship recipient. Sponsored by ASTM International Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates, the scholarship is presented to undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing degrees specializing in cement or concrete materials technology or concrete construction. Bordelon holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Illinois. As a graduate research assistant at the university since 2005, she works on fiber-reinforced concrete, fracture mechanics, ultra-thin whitetopping and multi-functional graded concrete pavement design.