ORGANIZATIONS – August 2014

ASTM International Committee C01 on Cement presented the Award of Merit to David Norris, assistant plant manager at Riverside Cement, Oro Grande, Calif., citing his technical and administrative contributions to the industry, especially in hydraulic cement standards development. The award is ASTM’s highest recognition for individual contributions to standards activities.

Norris currently serves as C01 executive subcommittee member at large, and participates in Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates activities. He joined Riverside Cement in 1989 as chief chemist; under TXI ownership, he became a technical services manager in 2000 and assumed his current role in 2007. Prior to Riverside, he held managerial, chemist and engineering positions at General Portland Inc./Lafarge North America plants in Texas and Ohio.

The American Concrete Institute’s ACI Foundation is accepting through October 15 applications for 10 undergraduate fellowships, plus one undergraduate and eight graduate scholarships during the 2015-2016 academic year. Fellowships range from $7,000 to $10,000, and are awarded to high-potential students who are studying engineering, construction management or related fields of study in the area of concrete. Applicants must be nominated by a faculty member who belongs to ACI. Fellowship recipients are also provided travel and registration to two ACI conventions, assignment to an industry mentor, and prospective summer internships. Among Institute members and sponsors for whom Fellowships are named: Dan Baker, Elmer Baker, Richard White, BASF Construction Chemicals, Cagley & Associates, Charles Pankow, and Richard Stehly.

ACI Foundation Scholarships range from $3,000 to $5,000, and are awarded to high-potential graduate and undergraduate students who are studying concrete-related subjects. Among Institute members and sponsors for whom scholarships are named: Kumar Mehta, Bertold Weinberg, Katharine and Bryant Mather, Schwing America, Stewart Watson, Richard Stehly, and Gene Corley. Applications will be accepted from anywhere in the world but the program of study must be ABET-accredited or a mutually recognized program by ABET. More information, including application requirements, instructions, tips for student applicants, and information for educators can be found at www.scholarshipcouncil.org.

Separately, the ACI Foundation has announced leadership changes for its board, Strategic Development Council and Concrete Research Council. The new ACI Foundation Chair is Debrethann Orsak, FACI, vice president of Cagley & Associates, Inc. in Rockville, Md., where she is the main principal responsible for business development, while remaining active in project management. Previously, she was a field engineer for Miller & Long Co., a major concrete contractor in the Washington, D.C. area.

Succeeding Michael Schneider as SDC chair is Joseph Sanders, FACI, recently retired senior vice president of Operations for Charles Pankow Builders. He currently consults for concrete and construction projects, and began his construction career with Pankow as an engineer and then superintendent—often overseeing construction of key concrete buildings on the West Coast and in Hawaii. The new CRC chair is Joseph Bracci, FACI, the A.P. and Florence Wiley Professor II in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University. He succeeds Joseph Sanders.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has named Sara Truesdale Mooney ConExpo-Con/Agg show director, managing the Milwaukee group’s flagship exposition. The assignment is in addition to her role as senior director, Exhibitions and Strategy, where she is also responsible for ICUEE–The Demo Expo while leading AEM Agriculture Sector exhibitions.

Mooney takes over day-to-day ConExpo-Con/Agg planning responsibilities from Megan Tanel, vice president of Exhibition & Events, who will focus on expanded strategy and planning duties for the association’s growing portfolio of trade shows, meetings and events. Part of the AEM senior management team, Tanel is also 2015 International Association of Exhibitions and Events chair.

Melissa Magestro has assumed lead staff liaison responsibilities for AEM’s international exhibitions, including ConExpo Latin America, which launches next year in Santiago. As senior director, Exhibitions, she heads up AEM exhibit and sponsorship sales and serves as IFPE show director. Event Services Manager Rich Prausa continues to serve as AEM staff lead plus World of Asphalt Show & Conference and AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo manager.

Nick Tovar has joined Associated Builders and Contractors as director of Business Development and Partnerships after nearly 10 years at Meridian One Corp., where as director of Sales he worked with associations and businesses to create, market and manage member discount programs.
The American Institute of Architects elected Russell Davidson, FAIA, of KG&D Architects in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., to serve as the 2015 AIA first vice president/president-elect and 2016 AIA president.

The Green Building Initiative in Portland, Ore., has appointed Glumac Consulting Engineers CEO Steve Straus and Plum Creek Director of Real Estate Doug Cole to its board of directors.

Chad Gill, who heads Concreate Inc. in Midlothian, Va., has been named Concrete Polishing Association of America president. A licensed professional engineer with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Virginia Military Institute, he joined CPAA in 2012 and was elected to the board last year.