SDC Session #26 Recap
SDC held its regular meeting, Session #26, earlier this month near Denver, Colorado.  The event was a huge success with 14 presentations and over 70 attendees.  Highlights of the meeting included:

Building Information Modeling (BIM)
During the meeting, Building Information Modeling (BIM) was discussed at length, and SDC secured a total of $75,000 from the Charles Pankow Foundation and the RMC Research & Education Foundation. SDC will use these funds for strategic planning and development of roadmaps, with an immediate goal to provide interoperability standards, whose absence is an obstacle to wider use of BIM in the concrete industry. This initiative to drive a more widespread use of BIM in the concrete industry will be coordinated with the American Concrete Institute’s (ACI) newly formed technical Committee 131, Building Information Modeling of Concrete Structures. Peter Carrato was a featured speaker on BIM during the SDC session, and will chair the ACI Committee 131’s first meeting at next month’s ACI Fall 2009 Convention in New Orleans.

Formwork Pressure Research - Self-Consolidating Concrete
A final report on the research of formwork pressures for self-consolidating concrete was presented by the principal investigator, Dr. Kamal Khayat of the University of Sherbrooke located near Montreal, Canada. Results of this two-year, $385,000 research program – with 40 percent funding coming directly from SDC members – will be used to provide technical data for ACI committee 347, Formwork for Concrete. It is anticipated that research results, which include suggested formulae for computing formwork pressures and suggested field testing equipment, will provide guidance and technical information to the industry when using self-consolidating concrete.  

Performance Criteria for Concrete Materials
Attendees heard a report by ACI Innovative Task Group 8 (ITG-8), Performance Criteria for Concrete Materials.  SDC will continue to work closely with the ACI committee to focus efforts on acceptance of performance specifications of concrete.

Technology Showcases
Meeting attendees viewed four Technology Showcases, which have become a staple of SDC meetings. These allow industry innovators to provide information on emerging concrete technologies that have the potential to improve and possibly transform the concrete industry. At Session #26, the Technology Showcases included “Techniques of Recycling Demolished Concrete & Asphalt into Specification Aggregates for Reuse,” “Verifi: Process Control for the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry,” “Vitro Minerals: VCAS White Pozzolans, High Performance SCMs for Use in Sustainable Concrete,” and “Carbon-Neutral Rice Hull Ash: A Green Supplementary Cementitious Material.”

SDC Session #26 Presentations
Select presentations from SDC Session #26 are now posted online for SDC members.  Click here to view these presentations.

SDC Session #27 Announced - Save the Date!
SDC will hold its next regular meeting May 6-7, 2010 in Kansas City, Missouri.  Additional details will be posted to the SDC Web site in the coming months.

Welcome, Chris Darnell!
As most of you know by now, Chris Darnell has joined the SDC staff as manager of SDC operations.  Chris has been on staff with the American Concrete Institute for over 20 years, working in certification operations and process improvement.  Earlier this year, Chris became the executive director of the American Shotcrete Association, and is also the staff liaison to the Foundation's Concrete Research Council.  Chris will assist Doug Sordyl, managing director of SDC, with day to day operations. 

SDC Announces New Board of Direction
SDC members recently elected a new Board of Direction:

Claude Bedard, Chair - The Euclid Chemical Company
Kevin Cail - Lafarge North America
Michael Campion - Sika Corp.
Dan Cuoco - Thornton Tomasetti
Peter Emmons, Past Chair - Structural Group
Bev Garnant - American Society of Concrete Contractors
Francis "Al" Innis - Holcim (U.S.)
Claudio Manissero - FMC Corp., Lithium Division
William Phelan - The Euclid Chemical Company
Robert Risser - Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
Joseph Sanders - Charles Pankow Builders
K Nam Shiu - Walker Parking Consultants
Bradley Violetta - BASF Construction Chemicals

New Members Join SDC
SDC would like to welcome the following newest members of the organization:

Epoxy Special Interest Group of CRSI - David McDonald
Hycrete - Aaron Ayer
Mapei Corporation - Todd Miller
Northeast Solite Corporation - Bruce Jones
Tourney Consulting Group, LLC - Paul Tourney
Webcor Builders, Inc. - Phil Williams