The development of my career parallels the historical growth of the computational materials science of concrete. Thus, my hope is that my personal point of view might help some of the younger ACerS members see how a career can develop (mostly unplanned). In addition, I believe the facts of history can be much more stimulating when acquired in a biographical context, another reason for the added personal touch.

From its humble beginnings back in the 1960s, computational materials science has come a long way. The field currently is getting even more exciting with ideas like integrated computational materials engineering¹ being seriously considered in the beginning of national programs like the Materials Genome Initiative.² Of course, the development of computational materials science, in general, has gone hand-in-hand with the startling increases in computer processing speed and memory over the same time period. The computational materials science of concrete is no different. With this type of work now firmly established for cement and concrete, this seems like a good time to examine the origins of this field from a viewpoint—possibly a bit distorted by looking through my personal lens—and to delineate where it needs to go in the future, with, I hope, a more objective vision.