WELCOME
FROM THE CHAIR
2019 marks the 62nd appearance of the Asphalt Conference, going back to 1958,
which makes it one of the oldest asphalt conferences in the country.
I’ve been privileged to be the director since 1985, building on the
success of the six directors that preceded me. The conference has seen
many changes through the years. The conference has grown from a partial
day to a full day-and-a- half, numbers of presentations from 7 to over
20, and registration from 150 to well over 300 participants.
Presentation media in the old days included 35 mm slides and overhead
transparencies. The technology today is strikingly different! The
location of the conference has remained primarily in Rolla, but has
shifted sites on campus. The one constant that has been true from the
get-go is the high quality of speakers, including nationally prominent
individuals. Throughout the years, the conference has maintained strong
ties to the Asphalt Institute, MoDOT, and the Missouri Asphalt Pavement
Association. The topics presented, of course, have changed with the
needs of the day, from the “Ottawa Road Test” to smoothness
specifications to Superpave to recycling and sustainability. The
introduction of industry exhibitors and corporate sponsors round out
the changes over the last 6 decades.
Through
it all, the goals of the conference have always been the same: to
provide timely, up-to-date, and relevant topics covering the spectrum
of activity in the asphalt paving industry, all at a reasonable price.
Keeping abreast of the current desired topical trends is only possible
by the hard work and expertise of the conference planning committee: 10
to 20 members of the asphalt community drawn from all walks of the
asphalt world.
Who
should attend? The short answer is anyone that works in the asphalt
world: pavement construction, design, specification, maintenance, and
material production and supply. So, the folks that attend are typically
paving contractors, binder and mixture material suppliers, aggregate
producers, equipment suppliers, public agency engineers and staff at
the local, state, and national levels, consulting engineers, and
testing lab personnel.
Do
you want to get your questions answered? Learn new things? See old
friends? Network with employers? Well then, mark your calendars and
come on down to Rolla December 3rd and 4th, 2019! |
David Richardson P.E., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Department of Civil, Architectural
and Environmental Engineering
Missouri University
of Science and Technology |
