1964-1965 ACI President
Director, Structures Laboratory, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Industry Leader

Dr. Bryant Mather began his relationship with ACI in 1944, and through the years was extremely active in ACI technical committee work—serving on 17 different committees with an accumulated total of 288 years of participation. Dr. Mather became a Fellow of the Institute in 1960, served as President of ACI from 1964-1965, and was bestowed with Honorary Membership in 1969. Dr. Mather was the author or coauthor of almost 800 technical reports and professional papers.

Dr. Mather retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with 59 years of service in 2000, upon which he donated a substantial portion of his personal library to ACI. "ACI introduced me to aspects of concrete technology I would not have heard about any other way," Dr. Mather stated at the time. "More particularly, it introduced me to people I would not have known otherwise, who have sorted things out for me and straightened me up when I needed it, which was often."

Dr. Mather created a scholarship in his and his wife's name, and remained active with both ACI and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until his death in 2002. A champion of dedication to ACI and a passionate leader for our industry, Dr. Mather gifted a percentage of his estate to ACI's building fund.

Since the creation of the Mather Scholarship award, ACI Foundation has given the award to deserving students. View past recipients of the award here.

2010 ACI President
Principal, American Engineering Testing, Inc.

Richard (Dick) D. Stehly, principal of American Engineering Testing, Inc., in Minneapolis, MN, and a member of ACI since 1980, was elected president of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) in March 2010. President Stehly passed away suddenly September 18, 2010 after enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, hockey, with teammates and friends. During his short time as president, he championed several ACI initiatives in sustainable development regarding the use of concrete. He was a recent chair of the Board Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development and had been extremely involved regarding the EPA's proposed regulation of fly ash disposal, and even testified on ACI's behalf in July 2010 before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, and Trade.

President Stehly was a member of numerous ACI committees including ACI committees 130, Sustainability of Concrete; 318 WA, International Workshop-Structural Concrete in the Americas; Financial Advisory Committee; and Seminar Oversight Committee. He served on the ACI Board of Direction and the Executive Committee. Additionally, he was an officer of the ACI Foundation and Creative Association Management, ACI's for-profit subsidiary, and served on the Editorial Review Panel of the U.S. Green Concrete Council.

A Fellow of ACI, President Stehly was a past Chair of the Chapter Activities Committee and was a member of the Task Group on International Strategy, which led to the formation of the International Committee, for which he served as the first chair. President Stehly traveled to more than 25 countries on behalf of ACI, presenting lectures on various concrete topics to ACI chapter members. President Stehly had only days earlier returned from a three-week international trip to India, Germany, Italy, and Poland with ACI Executive Vice President Ron Burg. Together, President Stehly and Mr. Burg attended various conferences and forums, and had the opportunity to meet with the ACI Chapters of India and Italy.

"The untimely passing of my friend and colleague Richard Stehly is a tremendous loss for the concrete industry and for anyone who had the privilege of knowing him and working with him," said Ron Burg, ACI Executive Vice President. "His enthusiasm for the American Concrete Institute and the concrete industry was infectious, and our membership, staff, and the entire concrete industry will feel his loss, both personally and professionally."

President Stehly was a principal of American Engineering Testing, Inc., based in Minneapolis, MN, and was a licensed civil engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He received his BS degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. He worked as an intern at Twin City Testing, Minneapolis, MN, while a college junior and was hired as a field engineer after graduation. He became Project Engineer, Chief Engineer, and eventually President of the firm. In 1988, he joined the Anchor Block Co., one of the few block makers using the autoclave process, as President. He then returned to the testing business by founding American Engineering Testing with three others in December 1989. He started American Petrographic Services in 1990. The businesses currently have 15 offices and 300 employees.

Inspired by Past President Dan Baker's passion to expand ACI's funding of Scholarships and Fellowships, the ACI Foundation provided Dick with the opportunity to bequest a portion of his estate to fund engagement of future students in ACI.

"ACI has enabled me to remain technically competent, and ACI continues to expose me to all the happenings and new developments in our industry," said Dick. "More importantly, though, I am motivated to give back to this industry that has shown such support for me throughout my career."

Since the creation of the Dick Stehly Memorial Fellowship and Scholarship awards, ACI Foundation has given the award to deserving students. View past recipients of the award here. A memorial video of Dick shows his involvement and passion for ACI.