Eurobitume executives and members attend global strategic asphalt research symposium
Organised by the Asphalt Institute Foundation (AiF), the second STAR 100 symposium brought together a diverse group of individuals – including business managers; economists; members of academia; researchers; visionaries and experts in infrastructure, manufacturing, funding, asphalt products and asphalt application – to help shape the future of the asphalt industry by sharing their thinking about research, innovation and technologies.
On the opening day, keynote speaker Jeff DeGraff (known as the ‘Dean of Innovation’), set the scene for the event and helped everyone get into an innovative mind set ahead of the important discussions to follow.
The symposium included break-out discussions which addressed important topics affecting the long-term future of the industry:
- Performance and durability
- Environmental sustainability
- Infrastructure policy and funding
- Human needs and workforce development
Valuable output from the break-out sessions was captured using an online tool and will be shared with participants shortly after the symposium, so they can continue to add comments and reflections to help fine tune the overall output. This will all be evaluated by the AiF Research committee, which will then produce a report summarising the discussions, output and next steps.
“This was an excellent opportunity to focus our thinking on the key strategic issues which will affect the asphalt and bitumen industry moving forward. The output will help us create a positive image and environment for a sustained bitumen demand long in the future”, commented Eurobitume Director General Siobhan McKelvey.