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2/1/2021
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As ACI President, one of the great honors of the office is representing the Institute at meetings and events, both domestically and internationally. I admit I had high expectations of traveling the globe in 2020 on behalf of ACI. I was looking forward to a conference in Italy in May, the ASCC Executive Leadership Forum in Hawaii in July, the Concrete Expo in Colombia in September, and the gracious invitation to inaugurate the 4th R.N. Raikar International Conference in Mumbai, India, in December. Of course, none of this happened. In fact, I will be the only President in recent history who will not travel anywhere—not even to ACI headquarters. When faced with adversity, we have choices—we can complain or we can make the best of the situation. Adopting the latter approach, I asked our staff to arrange a series of virtual meetings. Some were simply an opportunity to introduce and kick off a chapter meeting. Some were opportunities to present a topic, and some were meetings with our international and domestic partner organizations. Highlights of my itinerary included: In July, the Fédération internationale du béton (fib) agreed to add ACI staff engineers to the fib Model Code 2020 committee and fib members to ACI Committees 318, 319, and 320. Also, fib will join the ACI Foundation’s Strategic Development Council (SDC). The next meeting was with RILEM, who we found is interested in co-organizing the Spring 2024 ACI Concrete Convention and partnering with ACI on a series of joint webinars. The Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT) and The Concrete Society, United Kingdom, reported in August on the progress of our co-developed certification program: ACI-ICT EN Standards Concrete Field Testing Technician; plans have progressed to add a concrete strength testing technician certification too. Instituto Brasileiro do Concreto (IBRACON), Brazil, is interested in mapping its 10 technical committees to ACI’s 130 technical committees for further cooperation. The Concrete Institute of Australia (CIA) updated us on increased participation in activities and growth in membership, despite the pandemic. Iberoamerican Federation of Ready Mixed Concrete (FIHP)—a network of 21 partner organizations in Latin America—expressed interest in more joint webinars. In September, Instituto del Cemento y del Concreto de Guatemala (ICCG) and the ACI Guatemala Chapter described how focused efforts on developing student chapters/members have resulted in 20 ACI student chapters and 1300 student members in Guatemala. The Thailand Concrete Association (TCA) asked ACI to co-sponsor its ICCC3 conference in 2023 and requested translation of additional ACI publications into the Thai language. Asociacion de Productores de Cemento (ASOCEM), Peru, is interested in helping with ACI translations and becoming a sponsoring group for ACI certification. During the last quarter of 2020, we learned that the ACI India Chapter is interested in adopting an India standards-based concrete field testing technician certification program. They have seen significant growth in student membership. The Philippine Constructors Association (PCA) has launched an Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards program with the ACI Philippines Chapter. The Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) has plans to organize the Fifth ACI-JCI Joint Seminar in 2021 and develop a publication about the state of the art of performance-based seismic design. Members of the ACI UAE Chapter, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), report they feel fortunate to have the ACI MENA Regional Office in Dubai. In UAE, there is a great interest in 3-D printing of concrete, low-carbon cement, geopolymers, and green building/sustainability. The Vietnam Concrete Association (VCA), Institute for Building Science and Technology (IBST), Ministry of Construction (MOC), and National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) expressed interest in translating ACI 318-19 (and ACI 319 and 320 when they are finished) into Vietnamese, as well as conducting webinars with ACI to learn more about the codes. In addition, I gave keynote presentations at the Philippine Constructors Association Students Event; the IBRACON Virtual Congress; the ACI Concrete Conference on Sustainability and Durability, supported by the ACI MENA Regional Office in Dubai; and the Instituto Chileno del Cemento y del Hormigón's Expo Hormigón. It was an honor to represent ACI in this virtual tour, and, frankly, I visited many more chapters and partners than I ever could have in person. Our symbiotic relationships with other international organizations help us work toward the common goal of improving concrete technology throughout the world. Jeffrey W. Coleman American Concrete Institute
As ACI President, one of the great honors of the office is representing the Institute at meetings and events, both domestically and internationally. I admit I had high expectations of traveling the globe in 2020 on behalf of ACI. I was looking forward to a conference in Italy in May, the ASCC Executive Leadership Forum in Hawaii in July, the Concrete Expo in Colombia in September, and the gracious invitation to inaugurate the 4th R.N. Raikar International Conference in Mumbai, India, in December. Of course, none of this happened. In fact, I will be the only President in recent history who will not travel anywhere—not even to ACI headquarters.
When faced with adversity, we have choices—we can complain or we can make the best of the situation. Adopting the latter approach, I asked our staff to arrange a series of virtual meetings. Some were simply an opportunity to introduce and kick off a chapter meeting. Some were opportunities to present a topic, and some were meetings with our international and domestic partner organizations.
Highlights of my itinerary included:
In July, the Fédération internationale du béton (fib) agreed to add ACI staff engineers to the fib Model Code 2020 committee and fib members to ACI Committees 318, 319, and 320. Also, fib will join the ACI Foundation’s Strategic Development Council (SDC). The next meeting was with RILEM, who we found is interested in co-organizing the Spring 2024 ACI Concrete Convention and partnering with ACI on a series of joint webinars.
The Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT) and The Concrete Society, United Kingdom, reported in August on the progress of our co-developed certification program: ACI-ICT EN Standards Concrete Field Testing Technician; plans have progressed to add a concrete strength testing technician certification too. Instituto Brasileiro do Concreto (IBRACON), Brazil, is interested in mapping its 10 technical committees to ACI’s 130 technical committees for further cooperation. The Concrete Institute of Australia (CIA) updated us on increased participation in activities and growth in membership, despite the pandemic. Iberoamerican Federation of Ready Mixed Concrete (FIHP)—a network of 21 partner organizations in Latin America—expressed interest in more joint webinars.
In September, Instituto del Cemento y del Concreto de Guatemala (ICCG) and the ACI Guatemala Chapter described how focused efforts on developing student chapters/members have resulted in 20 ACI student chapters and 1300 student members in Guatemala. The Thailand Concrete Association (TCA) asked ACI to co-sponsor its ICCC3 conference in 2023 and requested translation of additional ACI publications into the Thai language. Asociacion de Productores de Cemento (ASOCEM), Peru, is interested in helping with ACI translations and becoming a sponsoring group for ACI certification.
During the last quarter of 2020, we learned that the ACI India Chapter is interested in adopting an India standards-based concrete field testing technician certification program. They have seen significant growth in student membership. The Philippine Constructors Association (PCA) has launched an Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards program with the ACI Philippines Chapter.
The Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) has plans to organize the Fifth ACI-JCI Joint Seminar in 2021 and develop a publication about the state of the art of performance-based seismic design.
Members of the ACI UAE Chapter, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), report they feel fortunate to have the ACI MENA Regional Office in Dubai. In UAE, there is a great interest in 3-D printing of concrete, low-carbon cement, geopolymers, and green building/sustainability.
The Vietnam Concrete Association (VCA), Institute for Building Science and Technology (IBST), Ministry of Construction (MOC), and National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) expressed interest in translating ACI 318-19 (and ACI 319 and 320 when they are finished) into Vietnamese, as well as conducting webinars with ACI to learn more about the codes.
In addition, I gave keynote presentations at the Philippine Constructors Association Students Event; the IBRACON Virtual Congress; the ACI Concrete Conference on Sustainability and Durability, supported by the ACI MENA Regional Office in Dubai; and the Instituto Chileno del Cemento y del Hormigón's Expo Hormigón.
It was an honor to represent ACI in this virtual tour, and, frankly, I visited many more chapters and partners than I ever could have in person. Our symbiotic relationships with other international organizations help us work toward the common goal of improving concrete technology throughout the world.
Jeffrey W. Coleman American Concrete Institute
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