ICMA goes to CHICAGO!

International Cement Microscopy Conference (ICMA) will hold its 35^th Conference in the City of Chicago, IL, Spring 2013.  Presentations are expected to include a good blend of practical applications, new techniques and novel approaches and the latest research efforts in the field of microscopic evaluation of portland cement, concrete and related materials.  A ‘CALL FOR PAPERS’ requests submission of an Abstract by Dec 15, 2012.  We encourage you to share your work and experiences by presenting paper(s) at the 2013 conference.  Your participation is what makes the ICMA conference one of the best cement and concrete technology conferences.  See the ICMA website for further information (www.cemmicro.org).

Concrete Microscopy Courses

Concrete Microscopy 

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands:  June 17 - 21, 2013

http://www.cmc.tudelft.nl/?goback=%2Egde_69622_member_140453056

Micro-defect Visualization in Concrete and Geomaterials

CIV1298H - Special Studies in Civil Engineering, Fall Semester 2012, University of Toronto, Instructor: Prof. Karl Peterson

http://www.civil.engineering.utoronto.ca/programs/courses/civ1298h.htm

14th Euroseminar on Microscopy Applied to Building Materials (EMABM 2013)

WHEN:  June 10-14th, 2013

WHERE: near Copenhagen, Denmark 

The Danish Technological Institute will host the seminar and invites all interested in microscopy of building materials to participate in the bi-annual event.  The seminar covers a wide range of topics related to microscopy in building materials as well as new trends in instrumentation and techniques for analysis and assessment.

Deadline for the Submission of Abstract: Sept 15, 2012    

Further inforation can be found at:  http://www.emabm2013.com/

SCP June 26, 2012 Meeting Minutes

Society of Concrete Petrography Meeting

ASTM, San Diego, CA

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

6:30 – 8:30 pm

1) Upcoming elections for new officers:

• Nancy will be putting together a ballot for new officers
• Discussed changing the By-Laws to change the officers term to 3 years
• Mauro suggested staggering of the officers positions

2) Laura reviewed the Secretary’s Report submitted by Nancy Whiting.  The full report is attached.  Some of the discussed items from the report follow.

3) Membership: The Membership Application was updated; new members were acknowledged and have been welcomed with a Welcome letter from our President Laura Powers; the Membership List has been updated.  The SCP roster now stands as: 79 Total Members, 63 Voting, 16 Associate which includes 12 New Members in last 2.5 years.

4) Responsibilities of Officers to be reviewed.

5) The Membership Committee needs Members.

6) Announcement of the 14^thEuroseminar on Microscopy Applied to Building Materials

• Copenhagen, Denmark from June 10th to 14th, 2013
• Hosted by the Danish Technological Institute
• Deadline for submission of abstracts is September 15, 2012

7) SCP has received several inquiries regarding training in concrete petrography.  Susanne Papas suggested SCP consider setting up an internship program between universities and    private industry.  Could provide a potential pool of future employees in addition to providing an education opportunity for students.

8) GSA 2011 Meeting in Minnesota: A Session on "Application of Petrography in Construction Materials" was proposed but Cancelled due to small number of proposed presentations submitted.

9) Consideration of Annual Webinar - would be good for members that can’t make it to the ASTM meetings

10) Mauro suggested broadcasting our meetings to the membership

11) Presentation by Fred Shrimer on “The Role of Petrography in Irish Pyritic Heave Litigation".

Secretary's Semi-Annual Report 2012

Membership Committee Activites

The Memberhsip application now requests that the applicant choose whether applying for Voting status of Associate Membership and to include a resume if applying for Voting Membership.

1)      Four new members have applied and been accepted:

• Robert, S Jenkins –Voting Member,  Consultant
• Callie LaFleur- Voting Member, WR Grace
• David Harro - Associate Member, G3 Group
• ManuelBarrantes - Associate Member, Costa Rican Institute of Electricity

2)      Re-established as Members (2): Doug Bedingfield - Voting Member, Jack B. Person Company and Ulla Jakobson – Voting Member, Teknologisk Institut

3)      An email was sent out last Fall to all SCP members to confirm contact information and Voting Member status before the upcoming elections.  After a couple of reminders a majority of the members replied and contact information was updated as necessary.  Combining this information with the new/renewed members the Membership of SCP as of June 2012 is:  79 Members: 63 Voting  and  16 Associate Members

Over the past 2.5 years under the watch of the current Secretary, as head of the Membership Committee 12 New Members have joined SCP.

The News pageof the SCP website has been maintained with job postings, meeting and conference announcements and SCP meeting minutes.  Besides SCP meeting and minutes information there are currently 2 job postings: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger,  and RJ Lee Group.  And an announcement for the 14^thEuroseminar on Microscopy Applied to Building Materials, June 10-14, 2013.  Abstracts submission date is Sept 15, 2012.

Several astute members notified me that our link to the Concrete Microscopy Library was outdated.  A new link was found and with Jason Cumming’s help re-established on our website

IDEAS for future activities:  Over the past 6 months 3 inquires have been received asking about training in concrete petrography.  As members become aware of training opportunities, workshops and related conferences please forward them to the Secretary for posting on our website.  SCP may want to sponsor a session at a related conference.  With the advances in technology perhaps we might consider an annual webinar to help with the exchange of information that may elevate and bring more uniformity to the practice. This would be especially valuable to newer practitioners and remotely located members.

Attendees

Nick Scaglione     Fred Shrimer        Laura Powers        Chrisitne Tillema        Derek Cong               Doug Hurcomb     Mauro Scali          Rachael Barbour     Ann Daugherty          Susanne Papas

Petrographer Career Opportunities

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger is seeking to hire an experience Senior  Petrographer for their corporate office located in Waltham, MA. For more information, please visit our website at : https://sgh.tms.hrdepartment.com/jobs/123/Senior-PetrographerWaltham-MA or visit our website at www.sgh.com  (posted 03/09/12)

RJ Lee Group, Inc. is currently seeking an experienced concrete Petrographer. The ideal candidate will have an in-depth understanding of the composition and structure of materials commonly used in building construction, with emphasis on concrete and concrete aggregates, and associated deterioration mechanisms of such materials. Please visit our website for more information at http://www.rjlg.com/about-us/careers.aspx   (posted 04/12/12)