ACI Structural Journal Editorial Board Appoints CEE’s Sergio Breña Its Chair and Editor in Chief

Content

The ACI Structural Journal Editorial Board of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) has appointed Professor Sergio Breña, the head of the UMass Amherst Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department, to become its next chair and editor in chief. The ACI Structural Journal is a peer-reviewed publication with the longest history in the U.S. of publishing papers on research and advances related to concrete. The first issue came out in 1929 under its previous name, Journal of the American Concrete Institute. See ACI Structural Journal.

Breña’s new position with the ACI Structural Journal takes effect after the ACI Spring 2026 Convention, to be held from March 29 to April 1 in Rosemont, Illinois, and is a one-year appointment, ending after the ACI Spring 2027 Convention. The aim of the journal is to expand the discussion of research in structural engineering, composite material, reinforced concrete, geotechnical engineering, and reinforcement. 

According to the ACI website, “This peer-reviewed journal continues the publishing tradition the Institute started in 1904. Information published in ACI Structural Journal includes: structural design, analysis of concrete elements and structures, research related to concrete elements and structures, and papers addressing design and analysis theory.”

Breña has been a highly valued faculty member of the CEE department at UMass Amherst since 2000. He is a renowned expert in the design and behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, the use of fiber-reinforced materials in civil-infrastructure applications, the field performance of bridges, the structural testing of bridge and building structural components, and the performance of concrete in infrastructure applications. 

Before taking over as CEE Department Head in 2024, Breña served with distinction as the Associate Department Head of CEE, beginning in 2018. He was also part of the college's senior leadership team as the Chair of Faculty Diversity.

In that context, Breña was one of the co-principal investigators and leaders of the UMass Amherst ADVANCE grant to boost the progress of women and underrepresented faculty in science and engineering, a project funded from 2018 through 2024 by an award from the National Science Foundation. 

According to the UMass ADVANCE website, the mission of UMass ADVANCE is “to produce research-backed solutions to shape policy and practices that support faculty equity…ADVANCE cultivates faculty equity, inclusion, and success by providing the resources, recognition, and relationship building that are critical for equitable and successful collaboration in the 21st century academy.”

Among many other honors, Breña is a Fellow of the ACI and a Fellow of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), accomplishments that add to his rich history of recognition, service, and stewardship within the ACI and PCI.

Breña serves in various ACI committees, including the Structural Concrete Building Code Committee (Committee 318) and the Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit Code Committee (Committee 369S). He received a curriculum development award from the PCI in 2022, and he has also received the PCI Distinguished Educator Award, its Young Educator Award, and itsDaniel P. Jenny Research Fellowship. In addition, he has served on the PCI’s Northeast Bridge Technical Committee, as the chair of its Student Education Committee, in its Design Handbook Committee, and on its Design Standard Committee.

Breña earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.S. from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.