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Dear colleagues, Some of you know that for about 30 years I have been in ever closer contact and cooperation with the cement and concrete research community in the United States, see e.g., NMAB-361, (Ed. D. M. Roy, 1980), papers to MRS symposia in 1981, 1982 and 1983, and ACI: Raymond E. Davis lecture 1983. On November 1, 1984, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) took steps to strengthen concrete materials research in the United States. ACI is an engineering organization, and I am a civil engineer. I write because my long-term R&D service to concrete technology in its entirety is based upon past physico-chemical research in the United States, and I cannot help but seeing the profession now in urgent need for support from the basic regimes of materials science: • The decay of America's infrastructure— anticipated to cost $2.5-3 trillion in rehabilitation this decade—much depends on concrete and is largely due todeclined attention to basic physico-chemical research for more than one decade. • The residual basic cement and concrete materials research, which for the last few years has found a welcome annual sanctuary
in MRS, has but little association with how laboratory specimen research and modeling can be converted into technology to reduce or eliminate the structural decay, or to innovate processing and products. • Many of the U.S. cement firms—now also concrete industries — are c u r r e n t l y investment objectives for foreign industries, which have their own powerful, integrated R&D for business development. They surely enjoy basic input, also from MRS, but innovation moves to the homelands and young Americans can look forward to becoming wholesalers and retailers of foreign technology. This is wrong. My experience and knowledge of the U.S. tells me that a strong science-engineering basis in your country is globally desirable. ACI's incipient move needs cooperative efforts to strengthen its scientific base. Therefore, consider how to activate topics for discussions in MRS: 1. Arrange for a group of motivated academic and public/private researchers of quality to discuss the science-technology issues, to make scientific research more realistically oriented, and to restore civil engineering belief in science.
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2. Approach those universities that are preparing or acting towards reconstruction of science-based materials research and new courses (MIT, Hopkins, UM, Berkeley to name a few), and arrange for collegial support (workshops, fellowships) at those universities where science-based research survives and/or thrives. 3. Look into how cement and concrete research can learn from higher technology R&D in MRS to plan and manage coherent programs with long-term strategy and short-term off-springs. (Fly ash research is an outstanding example of how this is not done, despite great opportunities). 4. Encourage recruiting of young Americans to cement and concrete science-based research with roots in engineering demands. Please continue to arrange for scienceoriented symposia on cemen
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