Alexander S. Brand, associate professor in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been honored with the Early Career Award from the Cements Division of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). The honor was announced at the 15th Advances in Cement-Based Materials Conference hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder in June 2025.

This prestigious award recognizes “an outstanding early career scientist who is conducting research in the field of cement and concrete in an academic, industry, or government-funded laboratory.”

Brand’s work focuses on microstructural characterization, reaction kinetics, recycled and by-product materials, and 3D printing of cementitious composites. Since joining Virginia Tech in 2018, he has established a strong research portfolio that bridges materials science and infrastructure engineering. He previously served as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In addition to this national recognition, Brand has been named the 2025-2026 Chair of the Cements Division of ACerS, with his term beginning in October 2025. He also holds affiliate faculty positions in Virginia Tech’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Myers-Lawson School of Construction.

Brand has been recognized for his achievements with many other recent awards include an NSF CAREER Award (2023), a Certificate of Teaching Excellence (2023), a College of Engineering Faculty Fellow (2025), and two Le Chatelier Distinguished Paper Awards from Cement and Concrete Research.

More information about the ACerS Early Career Award is available at ceramics.org/award/early-career-award-cements-division.