Ava Montoya entered the final phase in May 2025 with her Master of Science diploma in civil engineering in hand, but her work continued after graduation with a presentation of her master's thesis at the International Conference on Sustainable Building Materials (ICSBM) in Einhoven, Netherlands in August 2025.
Montoya's conference paper, “Predicting the Compressive Strength of Compressed Clay Walls from Unit Strength,” focused on creating an equation to standardize compressed clay blocks in the construction industry. Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) are building materials made from a mixture of earth, clay and sand that are mechanically compressed into dense blocks under high pressure. CEBs can be deployed on-site using local soil, are cost-effective and an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional bricks or concrete blocks. They are widely used for their environmental benefits, low cost and structural performance.
Montoya worked on her technical work and her master's thesis with Dr. Salah Sarhat, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management. Sarhat encouraged Montoya to find an international conference where she could present her work, and ICSBM was the perfect opportunity.
“Together, we worked together during my master’s degree and after graduation, with the common goal of improving the current state of CEB,” Montoya said. “I am honored by the amount of knowledge I have gained from working closely with someone as knowledgeable about CEB as Dr. Sarhat. He has enabled me to advance my career as a facilitator on a topic he has studied for years, and I am incredibly grateful to have been involved in research with him.”
Although presenting to colleagues on an international stage can be intimidating, Montoya felt prepared and proud to share her work with others. “My MSOE education gave me many opportunities to learn how to present effectively,” Montoya said.
Montoya puts these skills into practice in her job as a civil engineer at Thornton Tomasetti. Here she is responsible for structural design, modeling, quality assurance and quality control for a variety of projects including stadiums, high-rise residential buildings, hospitals, data centers, airports and large manufacturing facilities.
She and Sarhat plan to continue developing papers and presentations on CEBs. “Currently, Dr. Sarhat and I are working on a paper for an upcoming presentation to the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM). In this paper, we hope to focus more conceptually on CEB, leveraging some of the research I conducted during my master's thesis.”