RES Committee Meets at Annual Convention, Announces Key Highlights

The Research Engineering and Standards Committee met with 70 members and visitors at last week's NRMCA Annual Convention in Tucson, AZ. The committee is chaired by Justin Lazenby, Thomas Concrete, and the vice chairman is Bobby Dowdy, MMC Materials. Highlights of the meeting include:

• Discussed strategies for the committee and Engineering Division for the NRMCA Strategic Plan being finalized by October
• Received a report on changes to NRMCA education courses, including those to the technical courses, presented by Jeannette Munroe
• A presentation by Tyler Ley with Oklahoma State University outlining a new test method to measure the w/cm ratio of fresh concrete with a suggestion to reduce strength-based acceptance tests
• Selected topics for the Technical Track at NRMCA ConcreteWorks to be held this Fall
• Discussed to move forward several initiatives related to sustainability, performance specifications and quality
• Received an update on research at the NRMCA Research Laboratory
• Discussed several updates to standards in ACI, ASTM and other organizations
• Updates from task groups on publications, plant certification, acceptance testing, research and standards
• Updates from the Portland Cement Association and the Concrete Advancement Foundation
• Update on NRMCA technical education programs, including certification statistics for the Technical Short Course and Durability Course

The committee also presented the Richard D. Gaynor Award for 2025 to G. Terry Harris with Chryso at the convention Awards Luncheon. Nominations are being solicited for the 2026 award recipient. The committee continues to work on several publications and technical initiatives benefitting the ready mixed concrete industry. The next meeting of the committee will be at NRMCA ConcreteWorks in October in Orlando, FL.

For more information, contact Colin Lobo.