CEE Ph.D. student and graduate research and teaching assistant Yousef Abu Amneh recently represented the University of Houston at the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Project Precast design competition held during the PCI annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Serving as the structural engineering member of the Wells Southeast-sponsored team, he became the first UH student to win the competition’s Award of Excellence for Project Precast Outstanding Structural Design.
Project Precast — described as “a blend of Project Runway and Shark Tank… for architecture, engineering and construction management students” in which “competing teams will own their creative solutions and vie for cash prizes, bragging rights and real-world exposure — brings together eight multidisciplinary teams from universities across the United States for an intensive three-day precast design challenge.
Each four-person team consists of two architecture students, one engineering student and one construction management student, and these 32 total students are selected through a national draft led by major precast industry sponsors.
The design project was revealed on the first day of the competition. Teams worked closely with industry mentors to develop a complete precast structural solution under strict time constraints, and final designs were presented in live, 10-minute presentations to over 150 industry professionals, professors, engineers, executives and manufacturers.
“I was responsible for developing the building’s primary load-resisting system and overall structural framing and precast moment connections,” said Abu Amneh. “The architectural concept introduced significant geometric and load-transfer complexity, requiring a structurally innovative yet precast-friendly constructible solution. I translated that architectural vision into a cohesive and feasible total precast structural framework, and the structural design I provided was central to the project’s success and to receiving national recognition in the structural design category.”
He was formally recognized with the Project Precast Outstanding Structural Design Award at the PCI Design Awards event. This award was presented by the PCI Foundation and the Tadros Family Foundation in recognition of “excellence in structural system innovation and engineering performance within a precast framework,” and awarded $2,000 in team prize funds.
“While it was a collaborative team effort, I led the structural system development as the engineering student on the team, and the award was presented to me in recognition of that contribution, while acknowledging the team’s collective work and the guidance of our Wells Southeast industry mentors,” Abu Amneh said.
He also noted that the competition aligns with his doctoral research on advancing ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) for marine, offshore and precast structural applications. His work includes UHPC hull concepts for wave energy converters, studies on FRP-reinforced end zones in prestressed precast members and fresh-state casting behavior of UHPC.
“My research focuses on improving the performance and durability of high-performance precast systems,” he said. “Project Precast provided a valuable opportunity to apply those principles at the structural scale.”
“For me personally, this recognition reflects the strength of the civil engineering graduate program at the University of Houston, where advanced research and high-level engineering industry practice are closely integrated. I would also like to acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Dimitrios Kalliontzis, whose mentorship has continually encouraged me to aim higher and push the boundaries of structural engineering research and practice,” he added.