The American Concrete Institute announces that the ACI Virtual Concrete Convention will be held March 28-April 1, 2021. This event was originally scheduled as an in-person event in Baltimore, Maryland. However, now that it is 100% virtual the event will provide ease for participation from anywhere around the world while prioritizing attendee safety.
“The ACI Virtual Concrete Convention held last October provided a record-breaking number of attendees the opportunity to participate in our programming,” stated Ronald G. Burg, PE, Executive Vice President, American Concrete Institute. “For this coming March, we’ve assembled a lineup featuring hundreds of the industry’s brightest speakers sharing industry-leading information on a diverse offering of concrete materials, design, construction, and repair topics. Registered attendees to the ACI Virtual Concrete Convention will be presented with 5 days packed full of live presentations, expert discussions, committee meetings, virtual networking opportunities, and more.”
A total of 45 technical sessions will be presented live with on-demand viewing available afterwards. This will provide attendees substantial opportunity to advance knowledge and also earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs)/Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Of the 45 total sessions, five featured sessions include:
Legal Issues in Concrete Construction – Lessons Learned
This session will bring together individuals with extensive experience in litigation related to concrete construction to share their experiences as lawyers, expert witnesses, and engineers through case studies and also experience-based recommendations. Moderated by Jeff Coleman, with speakers Randy Poston, Bill Rushing, Matt D’Ambrosia, and Jeff Coleman.
The Concrete Industry in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
This session will provide insight on the merit of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the concrete industry. Additionally, it will focus on how to better the performance of concrete materials at both ambient and elevated temperatures. It will also showcase the substantial potential of using AI to improve design of concrete structures under traditional and fire conditions. Moderated by M. Z. Naser, with speakers Henry Burton, Andrew Fahim, Pouria Ghods, Aali Alizadeh, Tahmid Medhi, Hayder Rasheed, Alaaeldin Abouelleil, Eric Fletcher, Emilio Taenqua, Liberato Ferrara, Ali Al-Obaidi, S. Gupta, and M. Z. Naser.
Adjusting Workability of Successful 3-D Concrete Printing
This two-part session will highlight the importance of controlling fresh-state properties for the successful execution of 3-D concrete printing. Moderated by Shiho Kawashima and Scott Jones, with speakers Mohamadreza Moini, Jan Olek, Pablo Zavattieri, Jeffrey Youngblood, Gaurav Sant, Jason Timmons, Iman Mehdipour, Shang Gao, Hakan Atahan, Narayanan Neithalath, Mathieu Bauchy, Edward Garboczi, Samanvaya Srivastava, Wilson Ricardo Leal da Silva, Thomas Andersen, Nicos Martys, Scott Jones, William George, Timothy Wangler, Robert Flatt, Peter Stynoski, Eric Kreiger, Megan Kreiger, Viktor Mechtcherine, Karthik Pattaje, Chuanyue Shen, David Lange, Lex Reiter, Sooraj Nair, Manu Santhanam, Gaurav Sant, Narayanan Neithalath, Mohammed Sonebi, M. Dedenis, Sofiane Amziane, Arnaud Perrot, Joseph Biernacki, Hajar Afarani, Edward Garboczi, Newell Moser, and Ebrahim Nasr-Esfahani.
Impact of Hot Weather Conditions on Concrete Repair
This two-part session will assist contractors, material suppliers, and specifiers with practical information that can be used for planning, constructing, and designing successful hot weather repair projects. Moderated by G. Terry Harris.
Productivity in the Concrete Industry – Why Has it Stagnated and How Can ACI Help?
Productivity in the U.S. construction industry has been flat for 50 years, while productivity of U.S. industry in general has nearly doubled in that same time frame. Why? And what can ACI do about it? This session will explore answers to these and other questions. It will also include presentations from both designers and contractors offering their perspectives on how ACI can help confront this very important industry issue. Moderated by Cary Kopczynski, with speakers Oscar Antommattei, Mike Schneider, Mario Garza, Mike Tholen, and Cary Kopczynski.
The ACI Virtual Concrete Convention will also include 300+ virtual meeting. This will enable ACI committees the opportunity to collaborate on advancing concrete codes, specifications, and practices. Additional convention programming is also open to registered attendee. This includes an Opening Session with keynote speaker, International Forum, Concrete Mixer, President’s Reception and also several student activities.
Sponsors of the ACI Virtual Concrete Convention include Advancing Organizational Excellence (AOE), Concrete Sealants, Inc., and also GCP Applied Technologies. Additional sponsorship opportunities are also available.
Discounted registration is available to ACI members, and additionally, complimentary registration available to ACI student members. Learn more and register at ACIConvention.org.
About the American Concrete Institute
The American Concrete Institute is a leading global authority for the development, dissemination, and adoption of its consensus-based standards, technical resources, and educational, training, & certification programs. Founded in 1904, ACI has its headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. ACI’s regional office in Dubai, UAE, and also has a resource center in Southern California. Visit concrete.org for additional information.
