NRMCA Notes Death of Ward Malisch

Ward R. Malisch of Lebanon, TN, died on Sunday, May 18. Mr. Malisch was most recently the director of engineering at the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) where he supported engineering and construction issues for contractor members; authored ASCC position statements and established the ASCC Hotline to respond to contractor and other questions on concrete materials and construction. He retired in 2020.

Prior to ASCC, Ward served as senior managing director at the American Concrete Institute (ACI), editor-in-chief of Concrete Construction magazine, director of the World of Concrete seminar program and director of construction information services for the Portland Cement Association (now the American Cement Association). He was an Honorary Member and Fellow of ACI and an active member of several ACI committees on dealing with specifications, tolerances and construction of floors. Mr. Malisch was the recipient of several ACI awards and the ASCC Lifetime Achievement award. He also received NRMCA's Richard D. Gaynor Award in 2008.

Mr. Malisch authored more than 200 articles, books, reports and papers and helped write and edit most of the NRMCA's CIP and TIP topics. He earned his bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois; taught civil engineering subjects at three different universities and also managed a testing laboratory. He was a licensed professional engineer in several states.