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BY: IRENE CALAIZIS

The Concrete Institute of Australia (CIA) held its Biennial Conference 17-19 September at the landmark Luna Park venue in Sydney.

The conference is the premier Concrete Conference event on the Australian calendar and was attended by over 350 Industry and Academic representatives. Five outstanding international keynote speakers from Europe, North America and Japan also accepted invitations to present plenary papers at the conference.

In responding to the issues facing the concrete industry, Concrete Solutions 09 aimed to not only build on the success of previous Biennial Conferences which have been held every two years since 1963, but to also provide the opportunity for interaction on specific contemporary issues and to identify ideas and solutions for direct application to the current challenges facing the industry.
In responding to the rapidly changing climates in which the concrete industry now operates, the broad theme for the conference was in adding value in changing climates, particularly in the areas of technology (such as new materials, advanced design), performance (such as better quality, more efficient delivery) and environment (such as innovative applications, increased sustainability).

Professor Ian Gilbert - Deputy Director of CIES (Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety) - was the Editor of the conference proceedings and Chair of the Technical Committee responsible for overseeing the organization of the Technical Program for the Conference. Other members of CIES who submitted and or presented papers at the conference included: Dr Zora Vrcelj, Prof. Steve Foster, Dr Emre Erkmen, Prof Mark Bradford, Dr Wei Gao and  Prof. Francis Tin Loi and PhD students Zafer Sakka and Mark Wu.

The mission of Concrete Institute of Australia is to promote and develop excellence in concrete technology, application, design and construction throughout Australia. 

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Concrete Institute of Australia (CIA) Members contribute their knowledge and expertise on a voluntary basis to enhance the integrity of this material for the betterment of the industry and for all Australians.