Date: Mar 11, 2016 Source: University Press Release (
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A young company in Allegany County is poised for growth, with some help from an Alfred University (AU) researcher, some students, and a federal grant.
Spherical Block, LLC, located on Moland Road in Alfred, has received about $150,000 from the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research program to fund a Phase I project.
Founded by Peter Roberts, a 1999 alumnus of Alfred University, Spherical Block is developing revolutionary designs for that venerable building material: the concrete block.
Roberts says his company is the only one that has successfully built masonry roofs, arches, domes and spheres from manufactured concrete block, but he hopes the research at Alfred University will help him commercialize the specialized concrete blocks.
Working with Roberts will be Dr. William Carty, professor of ceramic engineering, whose research focuses on ceramic processing and how that affects material characteristics. The research he will undertake for Spherical Block will focus on how to maximize the strength of Roberts' articulated, interlocking blocks by optimizing the concrete recipe.
Concrete blocks are a low-cost, low-maintenance building material, but their application has been limited to vertical walls, landscaping retaining walls, and as pavers for sidewalks and roads.
Roberts says his novel technology, however, transforms concrete blocks into material that can be used for a wider range of applications, providing a high-performing, affordable, low-maintenance, attractive and efficient means to create an entire building --including the roof- used around the world.
He is already in negotiations with several companies to bring the product to market on a global basis. Roberts envisions his block being used for "significant public infrastructure works," like bridges, tunnels, levees, breakwaters and sea walls, and benefitting homeowners, businesses, and local, state and government agencies by giving them a viable alternative building material. Roberts also sees this technology as providing affordable safe rooms for area prone to tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis.
There is another benefit for Alfred University as well. For the past two years, senior engineering students have worked with Roberts at Spherical Block, and the recent teams are getting patents as a result.
Last year's team of Dillon Jones of Silver Creek, Stephen LiVoti of Oswego, Corey Bergandahl of Kings Park, Jacob Brown of Emporium, PA and Andrew Schermerhorn of Lockport, all 2105 graduates with degrees in mechanical engineering, have already received a patent for their work.
The 2016 team applied for a patent in January. Members, all senior mechanical engineering majors, include: Sanket Patel of Auburn; Nicholas Roberts of Holland Patent; Wanrui He of West Hartford, CT; Nolan Jessop of Churchville; Patrick Byrne of Hamburg; Pavel Boyuk of Rochester; and Alexander Wessner of Pineville, PA. Working with them on the NSF-funded work is Martin Monk, a graduate student in ceramic engineering from West Falmouth, MA.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1547958. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
