Ernesto Pérez-Claros did his undergrad in civil engineering in El Salvador at the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas. His professor and mentor, Erick Burgos Ganuza, encouraged him to consider pursuing a graduate education in the United States. Motivated by the UIUC’s prolific status in civil engineering publications, great faculty, and challenging course catalog, Pérez-Claros decided to pursue his PhD here.
He joined UIUC civil engineering professor Bassem Andrawes in 2020 to do research on innovative reinforcement for concrete transportation elements, continuing the work for five years. He also participated in TRANS-IPIC’s appearance at the Future of Transportation summit in Washington D.C. and the Grainger Engineering ‘City Designers and Builders’ Summer Camp, among other events.
For his efforts, Pérez-Claros was recognized with an American Concrete Institute Foundation Fellowship in the 2025-2026 award season, which supports students pursuing a career in concrete. In light of this honor, we sat down with him to discuss the lessons he has learned in his time at UIUC as he prepares to start his last year as a PhD student and his hopes for the future – not only for himself but also for the industry.
What are your research interests?
My research focuses on innovative reinforcement. That’s what I have worked on with Professor Andrawes, innovative reinforcement for concrete transportation elements.
Specifically, over the last years, I have been studying two types of novel materials. One of them is the textured epoxy-coated reinforcement, which is basically a steel bar with a roughened protective coating. The traditional coating was developed in the 1970s, but now the new idea is to give texture to this coating so that it has friction to help overcome cracking and, of course, increase the durability of elements. The second materials are shape memory alloys. Shape memory alloys are materials capable of recovering their shape, and we are using them as a new way to prestress concrete elements. By using these types of reinforcement, we intend to guarantee that the transportation infrastructural systems have continuous operability and can resist different deterioration mechanisms, giving elements resilience to withstand harsh environments and increasing live loads.
What projects are you working on?
Right now, I’m working on two projects. The first one focuses on evaluating the self-healing performance of precast railroad crossties reinforced longitudinally with large-scale shape memory alloy bars. The second project combines experimental and computation modeling. It focuses on evaluating the use of large-scale shape memory alloy bars as transverse reinforcement in precast concrete columns to relieve steel congestion in seismic regions.
None or very limited information exists about these topics, so it feels like when we do these tests and we gather some results from the models or experiments, we are revealing something new to the world that nobody has seen before.
How did you get involved in this research?
I started working with Professor Andrawes in 2020. What drew me to working with him was that I felt motivated to work with concrete – something that involved concrete design or prestressed concrete. Also, having grown up in a seismic country, I have a built-in interest in developing infrastructure that is able to resist seismic loads and extreme demands. I have always been curious about that, maybe because I was afraid of earthquakes. Based on this, I felt that my interests aligned well with the interests of my advisor, and now, of course, TRANS-IPIC.
What drew you to the study of precast concrete and civil engineering?
I believe that precast and prestressed elements have a lot of advantages that align with the challenges society is facing now in terms of infrastructure. Deterioration is a national problem.
Precast is a very efficient type of construction. You can decrease construction times significantly. And the fact that you build these elements under a controlled environment allows you to improve the quality significantly. You have more precise geometries and control for casting the concrete and placing the reinforcement. It also has the advantage of adaptability. You can use it in many conditions. Also, it’s sustainable because it optimizes the materials, reducing carbon emissions. That’s something that is important now for the industry. It seems that it’s going to be very crucial in the upcoming years.
What are the most important skills or lessons you’ve learned here at UIUC?
As a PhD student, I have been fortunate to gain both technical and personal skills, which are very important to be a professional. I think that one of the main things I learned is that you have to be persistent. If we face a complex problem, we have to split it into manageable chunks.
Professor Andrawes has a strong belief in creating new knowledge and sharing it with others through publications or TRANS-IPIC, so I’ve learned that mindset. By working with him, I learned how to think critically and communicate the results with others. And I have learned from him that we also have to enjoy work. That’s what we do. We have to find the joy. Sometimes research can have stressful moments, but the challenges bring you one step closer to something valuable. I’m really thankful to work with my advisor – he’s been supportive.
I have also been lucky because I have been able to develop another interest of mine, which is teaching. I have been working with Professor Jacob Henschen for two years. He’s part of the CEE faculty, and he gave me the chance to assist in a class that focuses on developing graduate teaching skills. That has been a very nice pedagogical training because knowing how to engage with students, explain difficult concepts effectively, and manage the dynamics of a classroom is sometimes difficult. I feel very thankful for the things I have learned and for being able to work with Professor Henschen and learn from him.
How have you benefited from working with TRANS-IPIC?
You have the opportunity to work on great, interesting projects that probably very few places are working on right now. There is also the opportunity to get involved in the workshops and seminars. Those are great for meeting students and professors from all over the United States – from UIUC, Purdue, University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Buffalo, and Louisiana State University. You get to know these contacts and exchange ideas and that’s a great thing. Just to know different perspectives is another way to learn.
Last year, I participated in a summer camp, which aligns with my teaching interest. The high school students came to learn about the research that we do. These activities in the end are fun because you introduce yourself to the next generation who are very curious about these topics. You have the privilege to introduce them to these technologies and not only to that, but also to a potential career path. That’s very meaningful.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I’m about to start the last year of my PhD. After that, I would like to become a professor. I have learned that progress in our field is achieved by creating new knowledge and sharing it with others.
In the future, I see myself as an educator who will advance the design of prestressed precast concrete structures and also teach concrete to new generations. I envision my career to be a platform to promote the use of these technologies, promote the use of concrete, and inspire others to learn about designing with this incredible material that we have. I want to motivate students to stay engaged with the community and make a positive impact on it.
Do you have advice for anyone interested in pursuing precast concrete or civil engineering?
I think that for anyone interested in pursuing this path, my advice would be to try to build a solid foundation in structural engineering and construction management because these are the fields that are very important for understanding the challenges and the solutions to the problems we have. Precast systems require careful planning and precision in design, so you have to be very aware of these concepts. I recommend that people stay updated on innovations in the materials and sustainable practices that are becoming increasingly important these days.
It’s like every road, every student has struggles, but I feel that persistence is very crucial because that’s what keeps you moving forward. In the same way we design our structures to be resilient, we also have to be resilient and find a way to overcome problems. I feel that we are fortunate that our career is versatile. It opens up a lot of opportunities for us.
TRANS-IPIC is a Tier 1 University Transportation Center (UTC) funded by the USDOT and is working to develop solutions for the transportation infrastructure challenges by innovating precast concrete related technologies that are durable, safe, and economic.