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The Hyatt Regency Savannah Hotel will be the meeting place for AMAP’s 11th annual conference, being held Feb. 1-3. AMAP gears up for 11th annual conference in SavannahMark your calendars now to join us for our 11th annual conference, set for Feb. 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah Hotel in downtown Savannah, Ga. Attendees will gain insight on the pros and cons of the economic stimulus package as it relates to the asphalt paving industry, get an update on the availability of global raw material supplies and hear industry perspectives on the use of modified asphalt in the changing economic environment. In addition, state department of transportation officials will also be on hand to discuss their experiences with modified asphalt use in their specific geographic regions. During the conference, we will also induct another honoree into our distinguished Paving Hall of Fame, which is designed to pay tribute to one individual each year who has dedicated his or her career to the improvement of highway materials and construction. This year, we will induct Byron E. Ruth, PhD, P.E. and Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida. Ruth has been a faculty member with the University of Florida’s Civil and Coastal Engineering Department since 1970. The conference will also feature the inaugural presentation of AMAP’s David R. Jones IV Scholarship to University of Akron student Eric Coffman. As always, the conference provides excellent opportunities for networking with leaders in the asphalt industry and a wide range of individuals with business, academic and/or employment interests in the use of modified asphalt binders for our nation’s highway systems. This is definitely an event that you won’t want to miss, so be sure to sign up early to reserve your spot. Hotel reservations can be made by calling the Hyatt Regency Savannah at (912) 238-1234. Room rates will be discounted for attendees. Just mention you are staying with the AMAP group. For further information, please call Bob Berkley at (314) 843-2627 or send an e-mail to amap@sbcglobal.net. We hope to see you there! Message from the Executive Director
The stimulus package could have worked, at least temporarily, if industry people had taken charge of how and when the money was distributed and where it went. Unfortunately, politicians were in charge. It was a shame that the White House and Congress couldn’t see clearly enough to appoint a commission of 30 or so industry leaders and challenge them with the goal of getting shovels in the dirt immediately and responsibly. To me, it is imminently clear that no matter what Congress tries to do to stimulate the economy—such as an infusion of big time capital in this coming "second phase"—nothing will work better than a gasoline tax. It’s ongoing, accountable and accessible. Last year, I called for a 25 cent per gallon raise in the gasoline tax, suggesting that with the vacillating fuel prices, the timing was perfect to push through such a small increase. I said that the money generated from that tax must be earmarked strictly for the maintenance and building of our nation’s highways and bridges. Now, I see Tom Friedman from the New York Times on "Meet the Press" calling for a one dollar gas tax increase to be used to eliminate the deficit. One dollar! He thinks he has discovered something new. I am also concerned over the deficit, but at this time, I’m more concerned over the current unemployment statistics. If a dramatic increase of one dollar was to be introduced, at least 25 cents of that increase should be dedicated strictly for roads. That way at least we would be getting what the people want and our nation’s economy needs—more jobs and better highways. AMAP selects first David R. Jones IV scholarship recipient
Chosen from a pool of highly-qualified candidates, Coffman is receiving the award based on his outstanding academic record and the work experience he’s garnered during his ongoing internship at Momentum Technologies. Currently pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering with a specialization in Polymers, Coffman has been interning at Momentum Technologies since June 2009. During his time with the company, he has been assisting with the development of a surfactant-coated cellulose for the asphalt industry. And, he says his work on the project has stimulated his interest in pursuing a career in asphalt technology. "Before I got to Momentum, I really didn’t know much about polymer science," said Coffman. "But, now I can really see a future for myself in the asphalt industry." Witnessing Coffman’s growing interest in polymers and asphalt first-hand, his internship supervisor encouraged him to apply for the scholarship. After submitting his application in September 2009, Coffman received word from AMAP in November that he’d been selected as the first recipient of a $1,000 monetary award as part of the organization’s newly-established David R. Jones IV Scholarship Fund. "I was ecstatic when I found out I’d won," said Coffman. "It’s an honor to have been chosen as AMAP’s first Dave Jones scholarship winner. The money will help me complete school and put me one step closer to making an impact in the asphalt industry." The David R. Jones IV Scholarship Fund was founded by AMAP in memory of late asphalt industry leader Dave Jones IV, who served in a variety of capacities in the asphalt industry, including time at the University of Texas, where he was a key member of the Asphalt Research Team responsible for Performance Graded (PG) Asphalt Binder Specification. The scholarship fund is designed to provide a $1,000 scholarship annually to college juniors and seniors majoring in a field of study related to asphalt technology. "Dave Jones was an outstanding representative of the asphalt industry, and this scholarship fund is our way of honoring him and his many contributions," said Bob Berkley, Executive Director, AMAP. "Dave’s memory will live on in our scholarship recipients, and we congratulate Eric Coffman for being our first award winner. The future of the asphalt industry depends on talented individuals like Eric, and we hope our scholarship goes a long way towards helping him achieve his career goals." The David R. Jones IV Scholarship program will be funded by contributions from AMAP and outside donations. To make a donation, or for more information on the scholarship fund, contact Kevin Hardin, Chairman of AMAP’s Scholarship Committee, via e-mail at amapscholarship@marianiasphalt.com. AMAP Honors: M.J. "Jay" Hensley, P.E., BSCE, University of Arkansas
Known simply as "Jay" to his friends and colleagues, M.J. Hensley, spent 33 years with the Asphalt Institute. He began his career working with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department in construction and research for seven years. In 1967, he joined the Asphalt Institute as an Area Engineer in Arkansas and worked his way up to Chief Engineer, a position he held until his retirement. Hensley’s work was focused on the creative promotion of asphalt. Using his strong leadership and relationship-building skills, he worked tirelessly to develop innovative new ways to use asphalt and became a major contributor to the overall increased use of asphalt across the industry. Colleagues note that Hensley walked, talked and promoted the excellence of asphalt 24 hours a day, and his contributions have been instrumental in helping to demonstrate the excellence of the product and the positive impact it could have on the transportation industry. "Good asphalt pavements require the right combination of various aggregates and liquid asphalt to work properly, and I worked to educate the transportation industry on this," noted Hensley. His extensive list of accomplishments include the pioneering of concepts such as full-depth asphalt, crack-relief design systems, open-graded friction courses, stabilized asphalt base courses, asphalt underlayments for railway trackbeds, pavement cold milling, the rubblization of Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements and the use of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements (RAP) in hot-mix recycling. Hensley was also a leader in the development and updating of the Asphalt Institute’s many design and construction manuals. He has also published over 60 papers on asphalt materials and design concepts for industry journals and was responsible for training countless Asphalt Institute Field Engineers. Among his most important contribution to the asphalt industry was his work to help initiate training courses for contractors and Department of Transportation personnel. He helped teach the Federal Aviation Training Courses at Oklahoma City for 22 years and participated in research activities at the FAA National Test Center in Atlantic City, N.J. "It’s really rewarding to know that my work and that of my colleagues has helped create improvements in the acceptability of asphalt," said Hensley. "By doing what we did for the right reasons, we were able to demonstrate that asphalt is a product that works well, and one the highway industry can be proud of." In 2000, Hensley retired from the Asphalt Institute and began working as an Engineering Consultant. As a consultant, he has consulted on projects domestically and across the globe. Currently, Hensley provides consulting services for the Transportation Technology Center for railway trackbeds at the Pueblo, Colo., Test Track. The asphalt trackbed that Hensley helped develop in Pueblo is now being used worldwide on both high speed and heavy load railways. He also maintains contact with the University of Kentucky, which is one of the nation’s leading railroad-engineering schools and has provided consulting services to the Buffalo, N.Y., Sacramento and Niagara Falls International Airports. Closer to home, Hensley continues to use his engineering knowledge by serving on the Planning Commission in his hometown of Pea Ridge, Ark. Hensley’s many career contributions have been recognized by the Asphalt Institute, which named Hensley to its Roll of Honor. Hensley is also an Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists Life Member, and a Life Member of the University of Arkansas Civil Engineering Academy. "Prior to my time, 70 percent of interstates were built with concrete," said Hensley. "Today, asphalt is the industry norm, and it’s an incredible feeling to know that I played a role in making that happen. Asphalt is truly the most creative engineering material out there, and it’s been great to have spent my career educating, researching and providing technical services worldwide about all it has to offer." FDOT study demonstrates potential benefits of hybrid bindersThis summer, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) released a special study designed to determine whether commercially available hybrid asphalt binders can exceed the performance characteristics of unmodified asphalt and asphalt rubber binders and meet or exceed the performance characteristics of polymer-modified binders. As part of the study, FDOT conducted binder and mixture tests to evaluate the relative performance of a PG 67-22 based binder and six other binders produced by modifying the base binder with one SBS polymer, three commercially available hybrid binders composed of different percentages of rubber and SBS polymer, and two asphalt rubber binders (ARB-5 and ARB-12). Results indicated that hybrid binders modified with more rubber than SBS can exceed the cracking performance characteristics of unmodified binders and asphalt rubber binders. Additionally, the study determined that hybrid binders can have nearly the same cracking performance characteristics of SBS polymer-modified binder. These findings mean that properly specified hybrid binders have the potential to replace SBS polymer-modified asphalt and asphalt rubber binders, ARB-5 and ARB-12. FDOT will continue conducting test projects over the next two years to further validate the study findings. And, if they are validated, Kevin Hardin, Vice President, Materials and Research, with Associated Asphalt, says the findings could result in numerous benefits for the asphalt industry. "If FDOT decides to begin using hybrid binders, the industry will likely see continued and increased use of ground tire rubber in asphalt, as well as the simplification of the storage of binders at hot mix plants, since the hybrid binder will replace three currently used binders," noted Hardin. "Ground tire rubber is also less likely to settle out when incorporated into a hybrid binder than asphalt rubber binders. During the next couple of years, it will be interesting to see how FDOT’s testing evolves and whether hybrid binders will become a future norm across the state." AMAP welcomes Seneca Petroleum and the Modified Asphalt Research Center as new membersWe are pleased to announce that Seneca Petroleum Company and the Modified Asphalt Research Center have recently joined our distinguished list of member organizations. Based in Crestwood, Ill., Seneca Petroleum Company is dedicated to the continued production and development of high quality liquid asphalt products for the highway construction industry. The company currently serves as the Midwest manufacturer and distributor of the Seal-O-Flex process of modification, and maintains exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute ground tire rubber asphalt products using Vestenamer technology. Seneca is also credited with the development of a high quality cold mix product known as SMP, which provides permanent repairs to highway defects. The Modified Asphalt Research Center, or MARC, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was created to be an unbiased resource for information, education and collaboration among all key players in the field of modified asphalts, including highway owners, asphalt producers, asphalt pavement contractors and additive manufacturers. Registration for 2010 World of Asphalt conference now underwayAMAP is proud to be an Official Supporting Organization for World of Asphalt 2010. World of Asphalt 2010 will be the meeting place for asphalt industry professionals and a crucial event for you, our members. The show will take place Feb. 15-18, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Take this opportunity to participate in the leading exposition and education for the asphalt, pavement maintenance and traffic safety industries. The show will feature:
The World of Asphalt will also co-locate with AGG1 2010 Aggregates Forum & Expo. Together, World of Asphalt and AGG1 will be your complete resource for the asphalt industry! Advanced registration is now open! Register before Jan. 22, 2010 to receive discounted pricing. This is an important event for our industry, and we want to make sure you are there! Click here to register. For more information, visit the website at www.worldofasphalt.com. See you in Cincinnati! We need your contact information!As we head into the New Year, AMAP is looking to expand its newsletter distribution list. If you enjoy reading our newsletter, we encourage you to provide us with contact information for colleagues that you feel may be interested in receiving AMAP News. Your assistance will help us build our list of contacts, so that we can provide more professionals in the asphalt industry with the latest news and information on our organization. We also encourage you to alert us if your own personal contact information has changed or will be changing soon. Please feel free to send names, e-mail addresses and other pertinent contact information for yourself or your colleagues directly to Bob Berkley via e-mail at amap@sbcglobal.net. You may also send contact information to Shelene Treptow with The Hauser Group at shelene@hausergrouppr.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
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I was truly excited about the economic stimulus package. I really was. I envisioned billions of dollars going to our state highway departments for work they had ready to bid but didn’t yet have money to begin work on. I saw contractors having to hire and train new employees to accomplish the work that would be let. I saw equipment companies gearing up to increase the production of rollers and pavers with new employees getting hired. I saw the economy turning around with new jobs being created, money being spent and loans being made. But, somewhere along the line something happened. Or rather, little happened.
After formally establishing its David R. Jones IV Scholarship Fund this summer, AMAP has chosen The University of Akron senior Eric Coffman as its first scholarship recipient. Coffman will be presented with his $1,000 monetary award on Feb. 2 during AMAP’s annual conference in Savannah, Ga.
In each issue of AMAP News, we work to recognize individuals whose efforts have helped advance the asphalt industry. And in this issue, we’re paying tribute to a retired asphalt industry statesman whose career was devoted to the promotion of asphalt.|
INSIDE THIS ISSUE AMAP gears up for 11th annual conference in Savannah Message from the Executive Director AMAP selects first David R. Jones IV scholarship recipient AMAP Honors: M.J. "Jay" Hensley, P.E., BSCE, University of Arkansas FDOT study demonstrates potential benefits of hybrid binders AMAP welcomes Seneca Petroleum and the Modified Asphalt Research Center as new members Registration for 2010 World of Asphalt conference now underway We need your contact information! AMAP Headquarters AMAP MEMBERS
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