Sergio Godinez, a Structural Engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego, recently achieved the prestigious Darrell F. Elliott Louisiana Fellowship from the ACI (American Concrete Institute) Foundation. This foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of ACI, is dedicated to advancing progress, fostering innovation, and encouraging collaboration within the concrete industry. It accomplishes this by strategically investing in ideas, research, and individuals to shape the future of the concrete industry.

Recipients of the fellowship are granted an educational stipend, coverage for travel expenses and attendance fees at two ACI conventions, and assistance in connecting with an industry mentor. Since its launch in 2008, the ACI Foundation's Fellowship program has supported over 275 students, providing them with financial backing, mentorship, and internship opportunities.

Sergio's research is centered on the nonlinear seismic behavior of high-rise reinforced concrete structures. He is specifically investigating the application of macro-elements to forecast force distribution on reinforced concrete floor diaphragms in nonlinear time-history analyses. His ultimate career aspiration is to work at a research-oriented university, where he can contribute to the evaluation of design guidelines for concrete structures. Sergio's passion for teaching has also been nurtured during his time at UC San Diego, where he has served as an instructional assistant for both undergraduate and graduate courses, and even as the instructor for an undergraduate class.