Bridging the Carolinas with Fast-Track Innovations

Concrete International, Aug 2006

Highlights of the ACI spring 2006 Convention

In the heart of NASCAR country, ACI members had an opportunity to "kick it into gear" at a Concrete Mixer styled with an auto racing motif-one of the special events sponsored by the ACI Carolinas Chapter during the ACI Spring 2006 Convention, March 26-30, 2006, in Charlotte, NC. Fast-track innovations in concrete technology comprised the theme for the convention technical program as a total registration of 1387 attendees, which included 145 students, gathered for committee meetings, technical sessions, student competitions, and the presentation of ACI's annual awards. In addition, 146 guests attended.

Convention highlights included:

PAUL ZIA HONORED

A daylong technical session honoring the career of ACI Honorary Member Paul Zia was held March 27, 2006, and the tributes from colleagues and former students regarding his influence on the concrete industry continued at an evening dinner event. Zia is a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, NC. Among his many achievements, he served as ACI President in 1989 and was the first ACI President to visit China. Zia was instrumental in starting ACI's international conferences program. He also recommended establishing the ACI Faculty Network and was the founding Chair of the ACI Carolinas Chapter. Zia's career has spanned more than 50 years of involvement with concrete, and he was also honored this year as a 50-year member of ACI. In that time, he has taught numerous PhD candidates and worked with many ACI members on research projects, and some of those individuals helped celebrate Zia's long career.

Session speakers included Dale Berner, Ben C. Gerwick, Inc.; George C. Hoff, Hoff Consulting LLC; Henry G. Russell, Henry G. Russell, Inc.; Man-Chung Tang, T.Y. Lin International; Linda Figg, Figg Engineering Group; Juan Murillo, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas; Edward J. Swierz, Thornton-Tomasetti; Thomas J. D'Arcy, The Consulting Engineers Group; and Thomas T.C. Hsu, University of Houston.

David W. Johnston, NCSU Distinguished Professor, gave the final presentation of the session on "Paul Zia- Legacy at North Carolina State University," crediting him as the spirit behind the formation of the ACI Carolinas Chapter. Zia was also a driving force in creation of the Constructed Facilities Laboratory, built in 1996 on the NCSU campus. Johnston praised him as an educator, researcher, mentor, and leader who "always sought to do what was right for the student, the university, ACI, and the engineering profession." Zia summarized the technical session by saying it had been quite a remarkable day for vations him and how he "thoroughly enjoyed the sessions," while thanking the speakers. He humbly remarked, "I don't know what I have done to deserve this because I have enjoyed doing this all these years. I believe I have learned more from my ACI colleagues than anything I have contributed."

Later that day, Cecil Jones, State Materials Engineer, North Carolina Department of Transportation, served as the master of ceremonies for the Paul Zia Dinner and welcomed the guests. Sami Rizkalla, NCSU Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering and Construction, presented a review of Zia's personal history, starting with his emigration from China as a young boy, and covering the high points of an award-winning career.

Other speakers on the dinner program honoring Zia included: James R. Cagley, 2005-2006 ACI President; David Darwin, ACI Vice President and Deane E. Ackers Distinguished Professor, University of Kansas; James Jirsa, ACI Past President and Janet S. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas at Austin; Robert Mast, ACI Past President and Senior Principal, BERGER/ABAM Engineers, Inc.; Roberto Nunez, Lecturer and Senior Construction Extension Specialist, NCSU; John Schemmel, Director of Product Development, eTEC, LLC; and William R. Tolley, ACI Executive Vice President.

ANNUAL AWARDS AT THE OPENING SESSION

At the ACI Spring 2006 Convention in Charlotte, NC, ACI's annual awards included four new Honorary Memberships. ACI's highest citation is given in recognition of "persons of eminence in the field of the Institute's interest, or one who has performed extraordinary meritorious service to the Institute." Since establishing this rank in 1926, 189 have now been elected to Honorary Membership. Those honored this year were:

* Carl Bimel, retired Business Owner and Consultant, Cincinnati, OH;

* P. Kumar Mehta, Professor Emeritus in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA;

* Ramnath Narayan Swamy, Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, England; and

* Richard N. White, retired James A. Friend Professor of Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

ACI also honored the firm Structural Preservation Systems and 31 individuals with personal and paper awards from the Institute, and 35 new ACI Fellows were announced. The Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) received the ACI Distinguished Achievement Award, which is given to a nominee, based within the region of the convention, who has made notable contributions to the advancement of the concrete industry. Finley Messick, CRMCA Director of Education and Marketing, attended the Opening Session to receive the award on behalf of the organization. The association was recognized for its innovative leadership in promoting concrete throughout the Carolinas through educating the construction community.