News Detail

Celebration in Concrete -- Tokyo, Japan

7/17/2015

Concrete and glass sculpture presented to JCI

Japan Concrete Institute (JCI), an international partner with ACI, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and ACI was there to celebrate.

JCI was first established in July 1965 as the Japan National Council on Concrete, using the former ACI Japan Chapter as its organizational nucleus.  The name of the organization was changed to the Japan Concrete Institute in May 1975. JCI contributes to the advancement of society through supporting development and progress of studies and technologies related to concrete. They produce research documents, concrete technology reports, and concrete standards, as well as creating certification programs for concrete engineers and addressing social issues of especially high urgency.

ACI Past President James O. Jirsa, and JCI Past President Dr. Fuminori Tomosawa

The anniversary event took place in Tokyo, Japan, on July 12, 2015.  ACI President Sharon Wood, ACI Past President Jim Jirsa, and ACI Executive Vice President Ron Burg attended the celebration. JCI was presented with a unique concrete sculpture designed to commemorate the anniversary and the close working relationship between JCI and ACI.

Designed by artist Michael Scott Eddy, the concrete pillars within the sculpture represent the two institutions, while the colored glass represents the numerous exchanges and bonds between ACI and JCI that range from sharing of technical information and expertise to bonds of friendship and comradeship. Eddy is currently creating additional commissioned projects for ACI.

ACI President Sharon Wood addressing the event

“The American Concrete Institute is committed to engaging with all of our International Partners to disseminate reliable and accurate concrete knowledge to all parts of the world,” said Wood. “The two-way relationship helps develop and share concrete information and technology, which benefits the entire global concrete community.”

Following the 50th Anniversary Ceremony, three international conferences were held on July 13, 2015: "Systematization of Concrete Science and Technology Through Multi-Scale Modeling," "New Possibilities for Construction Materials:  Proposals for Application of Underutilized Resources as Construction Materials," and the second ACI-JCI Joint Seminar, “Resilience of Concrete Structures.”  A special publication including the eleven papers presented at the joint seminar will be available in 2016.

JCI 50th anniversary event

ACI International Partners are concrete-related associations committed to cooperation, coordination, and collaboration with other concrete-related societies in an effort to develop a worldwide unified concrete community of equal partners.

Learn more about JCI and the 50th anniversary celebrations at www.jci-net.or.jp.