"[1] He made contributions to the understanding of the structure of fresh and hardened cement paste and achieved fundamental results on concrete rheology, workability, consistency, durability, shrinkage and swelling, creep, and resistance of concrete to frost, sulfates and abrasion.
[citation needed] He was the father of systems theory pioneer William T. Powers.
Born on February 8, 1900, in Palouse, Washington, Powers studied chemistry at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, a small private college founded in 1846.
From 1930 until his retirement in 1965 he conducted research at the famous PCA (Portland Cement Association) Laboratories (located initially in Chicago and later in Skokie, Illinois).
The ACI (American Concrete Institute) bestowed on Powers its highest award, the Wason Medal for Materials Research; in fact, it did so three times, in 1933, 1940 and 1948, which is a singular case in ACI history testifying to his fundamental contributions.