CEAT team unveils process for 3D-printed concrete columns at 2025 Senior Design Expo

CEAT team unveils process for 3D-printed concrete columns at 2025 Senior Design Expo

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | [email protected]

Students in the Oklahoma State University School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology studying under Dr. Tyler Ley, accomplished a world-first by 3D printing a reinforced concrete column for their capstone project during the Fall 2025 Senior Design Expo.  At the Senior Design Expo, the team was recognized with the Zink Center Award for Collaborative Innovation.

Ley's abundant enthusiasm for concrete served as an inspiration for students to develop a method for producing concrete columns that are printed around rebar which result in not using support forms and less time waiting for it to strengthen. These improvements are geared toward the construction industry becoming more modern and efficient.  

Concrete Cowboys, a team of Nathan Alvarez, Eastyn Becker, Nathan Ezell, Macey Reese and Colton Rhodes, all seniors graduating in fall 2025 or spring 2026, designed a nozzle that can print 10-inch by 10-inch reinforced concrete columns up to 36 inches tall. The nozzle is lifted by either a crane or a piece of equipment such as a forklift as it is filled with concrete. 

When Ley first proposed the idea to the students, it was a novel concept that would require innovation and collaboration. Students worked to overcome traditional methods, which involve using forms and wait time for a week before the forms are removed.

This project provided students with a chance to work on a problem without a definitive answer at the outset. This experience is like what students will be doing in their future careers.   

"With this, you don't have to put up any forms," Ley said. "Once you print the concrete around the rebar it will stand on its own and gain strength. Once it gains strength, it is the same quality of concrete that you would use for any other application. This is how everything is going to be done in the future of building with concrete."   

Discovery through collaboration 

Alvarez said the overall experience was amazing, especially with the realization that the number of hours and effort the team put in led to their success. They worked diligently through the cycle of planning, building and refining to create the working nozzle.  

"It was something that hadn't been done before," Alvarez said. "We would try something, and if it worked, great, but if not, we worked to figure out how to fix the problem. We had a lot of weekly meetings and late nights trying to figure out how we would do this. It was surreal to see the first column that actually stood up ... we were all shocked." 

Ezell said 3D printing concrete columns would be advantageous for industry to save time, money, materials and labor, increasing productivity and efficiency.  

"By just focusing on the nozzle, we started off with just a simple box and a goal to make changes to the box each week to improve what we noticed from the week before," Ezell said. "And that gave us the success we had with the senior design test." 

This team of students showcased exactly what OSU students have come to be known for. Their gritty attitudes lead to innovation, especially first-of-its-kind innovation.