Everything old is new again: Researchers find ancient concrete technique superior to modern formula

To improve today’s concrete, do as the Romans did

By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | June 4, 2013

Chris Brandon of the ROMACONS project collects a sample of ancient Roman concrete drilled from a breakwater in Pozzuoli Bay, near Naples, Italy. The breakwater dates back to around 37 B.C. (D. Bartoli photo, courtesy of J.P. Oleson)

BERKELEY —In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the ancient Romans, whose massive concrete structures have withstood the elements for more than 2,000 years.Using the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a research team from the University of California, Berkeley, examined the fine-scale structure of Roman concrete. It described for the first time how the extraordinarily stable compound – calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) – binds the material used to build some of the most enduring structures in Western civilization.

The discovery could help improve the durability of modern concrete, which within 50 years often shows signs of degradation, particularly in ocean environments.

Sample of ancient Roman maritime concrete from Pozzuoli Bay near Naples, Italy. Its diameter is 9 centimeters, and it is composed of mortar formulated from lime, volcanic ash and chunks of volcanic tuff. (Carol Hagen photo)

The manufacturing of Roman concrete also leaves a smaller carbon footprint than does its modern counterpart. The process for creating Portland cement, a key ingredient in modern concrete, requires

Small town Alabama man makes good with Harvard education & Oxford scholarship

From Waterloo to Harvard to Oxford, Dowdy stresses the importance of college preparation

By Tom Smith, 9/27/12

Jamin Dowdy, a graduate of Waterloo and Harvard, talks with students in Adina Stone’s classes at Covenant Christian School in Tuscumbia about the importance of a college education and academic testing. (Jim Hannon/TimesDaily)

Jamin Dowdy hasn’t decided if he will settle on law or education as a profession once he finishes his studies.

What he does know and what he is trying to stress to high school students is the importance of getting a head start in preparing for college. Dowdy, 22, a 2008 graduate of Waterloo High School, finished at Harvard University in May with a degree in political philosophy.

This afternoon, he leaves from Huntsville International Airport for England, where he will attend Oxford University for a year, studying the connection between math and philosophy as the winner of the Harlech Scholarship.

While preparing for scholarships in high school, Dowdy realized

What do heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, stroke and cancer have in common?

Good news!

As Hippocrates is attributed as saying, “Let food be thy medicine.”

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The New Science Behind America’s Deadliest Diseases

• By LAURA LANDRO

  THE INFORMED PATIENT
  Updated July 16, 2012, 8:14 p.m. ET

  What do heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, stroke and cancer have in common? Scientists have linked each of these to a condition known as chronic inflammation, and they are studying how high-fat foods and excess body weight may increase the risk for fatal disorders.

  

  While much focus has been on fighting inflammation with drugs, researchers are getting a better understanding of the links connecting diet, inflammation and illness and discovering ways that foods can help keep inflammation in check. Laura Landro has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.

  Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury and outside irritants. But when the irritants don’t let up, because of a diet of high-fat foods, too much body fat and smoking, for example, the immune system can spiral out of control and increase the risk for disease. Experts say when inflammation becomes chronic it can damage heart valves and brain cells, trigger strokes, and promote resistance to insulin, which leads to diabetes. It also is associated with the development of cancer.

  Much of the research on chronic inflammation has