Design and Construction Report staff writer
Undergraduate teams from 11 countries gathered Oct. 26, for the annual ACI Egg Protection Device Competition, a flagship student challenge sponsored by the American Concrete Institute’s S801 Student Competitions Committee, 239 Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Committee, 239-0E Educational Outreach Committee and 124 Concrete Aesthetics Committee.
In the competition at the Fall 2025 ACI Concrete Convention in Baltimore, Md., undergraduate, 37 teams from the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Egypt, Peru, Guatemala, Chile, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Bangladesh submitted moulds of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) “egg protection devices” (EPDs) that were then impact-tested and judged not only on technical performance (highest impact load resisted) but also on aesthetic design.
Technical Performance Awards:
- First place: Universidad Iberoamericana CDMX
- Second place: Aburn University
- Third place: Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon
Teams in this category dived deeply into UHPC mix design, reinforcing fibre choice, geometry of the protective shell and impact‐testing strategy. The top prize is USD $750 for first, $500 for second and $250 for third.
Aesthetics Awards:
- First place: Universidad Panamericana Campus Guadalajara
- Second place: University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez
- Third place: Unicersidad Nacional de Ingenieria
A Judges’ Choice Award was presented to Mariano Galvez University of Guatamala, recognizing “exceptional innovation or ingenuity beyond the standard ranking”.
The event reflects ACI’s commitment to engaging the next generation of concrete-industry professionals by challenging them to demonstrate sustainability, durability and impact resistance benefits of UHPC in a hands-on context. “Design and build the highest-impact-load resistant UHPC egg protection device” is the challenge statement.
ACI will host its other major student competition, the ACI FRP Composites Competition March 29, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont/Chicago, Ill., with registration opening Nov. 3, and closing Feb. 3, 2026.
For full results and team affiliations from the Egg Protection Device-competition, visit https://www.concrete.org/students/studentcompetitions.aspx.
