Source: China Building Materials Academy 9/01/2011 9:53:46

A few days ago, the international organization RILEM (the French abbreviation for the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures) held its annual meeting atHongKongUniversityofScienceandTechnology, and the new Technical Committee （TC-TDC Test methods to determine durability of concrete under combined environmental actions and mechanical load）applied by Yao Yan, Director of China Building Materials Academy, was approved at the meeting. So far, the Chinese become the president of RILEM Technical Committee for the first time, which opens a new chapter of China on the international arena of RILEM. Then Yao Yan hosted the first working conference of this committee. The RILEMP President Professor Peter Richner, Vice President Professor Mark Alexander, Secretary General Pascale Ducornet, and Minster of Development Department Professor G. De Schutter attended the meeting and expressed their congratulations.

RILEM was established in June of 1947, which is aimed at promoting the development of building materials and structural field, encouraging the dissemination and application of these knowledge throughout the world and jointly complete the work in conjunction with the outstanding experts in this field (including the scholars, researchers and the personnel in laboratory and related government agencies). Currently, there are more than 1,200 world-famous experts in the industry of cement concrete and 700 members participating in the RILEM work. There are five fields under the core Technical Activity Committee (TAC) of RILEM, and the Technical Committee applied by the Academy belongs to the field of “test method, characterization and process of materials”. Since the establishment of RILEM, all the presidents of each technical committee are held by researchers in Europe and the United States and the president unit has been monopolized by developed countries all the time. The successful approval for the founding of technical committee for durability test has rewritten this history.

In the future 4 years, Yao Yan will lead the experts in China, German, France, Spain, Japan,Netherlands, the United States, Canada, South Africa and other countries and regions to conduct the related research centering the durability of concrete under synergetic effect of multiple factors, and finally put forward RILEM International technical recommendations norms. It is believed that this plays a more positive role in extending international influence andrallyingpointand promoting the durability study and development in the industry of international concrete industry.