Antonio Nanni, Ph.D. ’85, P.E., professor and chair, Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering at the University of Miami is now the 2023-24 president of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), an international organization with more than 30,000 members in 52 chapters.
“This honor reflects the strength of our College of Engineering, and the many contributions our faculty and students have made to the ACI through the years,” said Nanni, noting that Diana Arboleda, senior lecturer, serves as chair of ACI’s Education Activities Committee. “In the next year, I will visit ACI chapters in the U.S. and abroad, and our sister organizations around the world, advancing ACI’s vitally important sustainability initiatives, while raising our university’s visibility on the global stage.”
Nanni was elected to the leadership position last year, and took office on April 6 at the ACI’s annual conference in San Francisco. “My agenda is focused on building sustainability, along with strength and safety, into the ways we make, deliver and use concrete,” he said. “Our industry is making dramatic progress toward moving toward a net-zero carbon footprint, and ACI is developing technical codes and standards that are leading the way toward that goal.”
Nanni has been an active member of many ACI committees, and serves as a trustee for the ACI Foundation. His past service to ACI includes membership on the Board of Direction, Technical Activities Committee, Educational Activities Committee, and Financial Advisory Committee. He has been recognized by ACI for his many contributions with the 2021 Arthur J. Boase Award, 2018 Joe W. Kelly Award, 2006 Chapter Activities Award, and 1999 Delmar L. Bloem Distinguished Service Award.
Nanni’s research interests are in construction materials and their structural performance and field application, including monitoring and renewal with a focus on sustainability. He is currently site director of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for the Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) at the University of Miami.
During the past 35-plus years, Nanni has studied concrete and advanced composite-based systems as the principal investigator on several research projects sponsored by federal and state agencies and private industry. He has also contributed to field projects that have received awards from organizations such as the Florida Engineering Society and the International Concrete Repair Institute. His research in materials and structures has impacted the development of guides, specifications, and codes in the United States and abroad.
Nanni has received numerous awards, including the 2019 Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy from the President of Italy; 2018 John B. Scalzi Research Award from The Masonry Society; 2018 Grand Conceptor Award from The American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida; 2017 ASCE Richard R. Torrens Award for outstanding performance as editor of JMCE; 2017 Outstanding Service Award, Florida Engineering Society; and 2016 Foreign Member, Accademia delle Scienze dell’Istituto di Bologna, Italy.
Nanni also serves as editor-in-chief of the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering and serves on the editorial boards of other technical journals. He has advised 80-plus graduate students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees and has written or co-authored nearly 300 journal articles, contributed to 24 books or book chapters and made more than 400 presentations to academic and industry organizations.
