IC-IMPACTS was present as a sponsor at the 2015 ConMat Conference, the fifth international conference on construction materials. Held in Whistler, BC from August 19-21, the conference brought infrastructure researchers and companies from around the world to learn about new advances in building materials.
“By bringing experts from around the world, we’re creating a multi-disciplinary approach to foster innovative solutions in the infrastructure industry,” said Dr. Nemy Banthia, CEO and Scientific Director of IC-IMPACTS.
Presentations on fibre reinforced concrete, concrete durability, structural health monitoring and many other topics were shared and discussed.
Two project leads from IC-IMPACTS infrastructure projects also presented their work at the conference. Professor Shamim Sheikh’s research on glass fibre reinforced concrete and Dr. Vivek Bindiganavile’s work on oil well cement paste were shared and were very well received. “It’s important to expose research to different audiences and have it endorsed by the research committee,” said Dr. Vivek Bindiganavile, University of Alberta
“Public sector funding for infrastructure research is challenging to acquire,” said Salman Soleimani, Steering Committee member of the ConMat’15 Conference. “However, industry support for research advances are helping fill this gap.”
Abdussamad Siddiqui, Director of Starmass Environmental Technologies enjoys attending technical research conferences like ConMat’15. “The research community really understands our technologies and participate in engaging discussions with us. We were able to make very meaningful connections here.”
“The only way to innovate and create better products is to have academia and industry collaborate,” said Gene Latour, President of V-ROD Canada. “Researchers help validate our solution for industry needs.”
“In Belgium, the infrastructure industry is very receptive to new methods developed by academia,” said Rutger Vrijdaghs. Rutger Vrijdaghs and Kristof De Wilder are researchers from Belgium and flew to Canada to present their work on long term behaviour of fibres and shear capacity of prestressed concrete respectively at the conference. “We really enjoyed our experience here at the conference and our first experience in Canada. We’re looking forward to presenting our work at BEFIB 2016.”
BEFIB 2016 is infrastructure-related conference focused on fibre reinforced concrete. IC-IMPACTS is also sponsoring the conference, held in Vancouver on September 19-21, 2016.
2024 IC-IMPACTS Conference in Delhi December 9 - 11, 2024 New Delhi, India
