AIF Kirk Scholars announced for 2021

The Asphalt Institute Foundation (AIF) announced the newest recipients of the Bill and Shireen Kirk Scholarship Fund.

The scholarships are awarded annually to third- or fourth-year undergraduate, master’s or doctoral students studying business, chemistry, civil engineering, construction management, marketing or sales.

Scholarship funds totaling $25,500 were awarded to this group for the 2021-22 school year. Scholarship recipients will be referred to as “Kirk Scholars.”

This year’s Kirk Scholars are:

Madeline Blair, University of Maine
Rachel Cousins, Auburn University
Tanner Keen, Virginia Tech
Tyler Kleinsasser, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Richard Lee, University of Texas at Austin
Helmut Leodarta, University of Missouri-Columbia
Jessica Lewis, Mississippi State University
Ady Tibrewal, Drexel University

Blair studies civil and environmental engineering with a concentration in transportation engineering at the University of Maine. She is from Nazareth, Pennsylvania. She hopes to pursue a career in pavement research and management.

Cousins majors in civil engineering with a focus on pavement and materials at Auburn University. She is from Lexington, South Carolina. Her plans include earning a Ph.D.

Keen is a civil engineering major with a focus in construction engineering and management at Virginia Tech. He is from Riner, Virginia. He plans to earn his P.E. license and one day be a leader in road and bridge construction.

Kleinsasser studies civil engineering and engineering management at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He is from Huron, South Dakota. His goals include starting his own company and giving back to his local community.

Lee studies civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He is from Plano, Texas. His plans include a career in transportation engineering after earning a master’s degree.

Leodarta studies civil engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is from Jakarta, Indonesia. He wants to find, create and develop new asphalt modifiers.

Lewis is a civil engineering major at Mississippi State University. She is from New Orleans, Louisiana. She wants to inspire people from all backgrounds to pursue careers in infrastructure.

Tibrewal studies civil and architectural engineering at Drexel University. He is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He aspires to work as an engineering designer and assistant project manager.

“The AI Foundation is honored to be a part of Bill and Shireen Kirk’s commitment to enriching the lives of the next generation of industry professionals through this scholarship program,” said AIF Program and Development Manager Susan Tanner.

“For the second year, applications were received from talented individuals from across the United States. The foundation is pleased to be able to assist these eight students as they work to achieve their educational goals,” Tanner added.

Interested students can go to asphaltfoundation.org to learn more about the program. The 2022 application will be available later this fall.

O&G Hosts Students from Meriden Public Schools

O&G Industries recently hosted high school students from Meriden Public Schools at their Southbury Quarry. The onsite visit and tour, which included students from Maloney High School and Platt High School, is a part of the Meriden Public School’s career outreach program.

Check out the award-winning coverage of O&G Industries on our website

Fifty students visited the quarry over a two-day span to learn about careers in construction. Quarry Manager Tom Alexon Jr. led the tours which included opportunities to learn first-hand about careers as equipment operators, commercial drivers, heavy equipment mechanics and in quarry operations.

O&G Industries is a nearly 100-year-old construction firm that has consistently ranked among the Top 400 Construction Firms in the United States by Engineering News Record (ENR) magazine. O&G is widely known for their high-profile road and bridge construction projects; materials division that supplies asphalt, concrete and aggregates to projects throughout the region; building construction services for commercial projects throughout the Northeast; and masonry products line of business that operates eight retail locations in Connecticut.

The Weight of Water

For this issue of AsphaltPro, we’re focusing on the largest portion by weight of the asphalt mix: aggregates. You’ll see there’s the requisite mention of stockpiles in the training department. Let me expand on the stockpile discussion here by reminding readers of the importance of keeping the stockpile as dry as possible.

Anyone in the asphalt industry will tell you water is the enemy. As of press time, water is being considered one of the bad actors in the horror that took place in Miami June 24.

Rain, water for dust-control, water for aggregate washing, and even water added for mix design purposes adds to drying time while subtracting from burner efficiency. While you want to keep dust down with “engineered” water droplets entrapping dust particles, you also want to keep fuel costs down with efficient drying times, temperatures and methods.

It’s a balancing act for more than fuel cost purposes. When your moisture levels fluctuate during production, your mix controls try to compensate by altering your liquid binder content. Read one way to fight that mess with the “Blackstone Measures Moisture” article here.

All this leads to the notion of best stockpile management. You’ve heard some of this before, I’m sure. Pave under the stockpiles. Pave on a slope. Cover the stockpiles—when feasible—to protect them from the weather. Make sure loader operators consistently pull material from a few feet above the water line of the stockpile when feeding the plant. “Consistently” is the operative word there. Consistent moisture levels in the material hitting the drum will allow more consistent results from a consistent temperature, and so on.

Let’s take a closer look at the concept of paving the stockpile area on a slope.

The point is to direct stormwater runoff away from the base of the stockpiles. Make sure you plan this out to direct water where you want it to go. Personally, having a moat filled with piranha circling the perimeter sounds like a fabulous idea for preventing random visitors. But not everyone has the same violent streak I have. You may want to direct stormwater runoff to a man-made pond for migrating waterfowl, which is a better look for climate stewardship overall.

Luckily, we’re in the asphalt paving industry where designing a sloped pavement to direct stormwater runoff is second nature to our project engineers. We know how to do this for best, optimum, safest effect.

Combining your best stockpile management techniques will result in optimum clean air efficiencies and most reasonable costs. It’s the smart way to manage the weight of water.

Stay Safe,

Sandy Lender

U.S. Rep. Hern Visits Tulsa Equipment Manufacturers Tulsa Rig Iron and Vacuworx

Photos courtesy of Association of Equipment Manufacturers

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Tulsa Rig Iron, and Vacuworx hosted United States Congressman Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) for two special I Make America events in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The events highlighted the importance of American equipment manufacturing and celebrated the men and women who work hard every day to build a better and brighter future for themselves and their communities.

“Equipment manufacturing supports 77,200 jobs for Oklahomans and contributes $6.9 billion to our state’s economy each year,” said Rep. Hern. “I want to see our critical goods made right here in Oklahoma and across the U.S., revitalizing the U.S. manufacturing sector. I appreciated the opportunity to visit with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and hardworking Tulsans at both the Tulsa Rig Iron and Vacuworx facilities to see American equipment manufacturing at its finest.”

Photos courtesy of Association of Equipment Manufacturers

I Make America, AEM’s national grassroots campaign, advocates for the policies that are critical to the industry’s long-term growth and prosperity. Earlier this year, AEM launched Year of Action, a groundbreaking initiative designed to educate and mobilize the 2.8 million men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry in support of its top policy priorities.

“Tulsa Rig Iron was honored to host Congressman Hern at our Kiefer facility,” said Terry Flynn, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Tulsa Rig Iron. “Thanks to the support of leaders like Rep. Hern, we can continue to manufacture critical components for the equipment that builds and powers America. We are encouraged to hear about his efforts on Capitol Hill that will allow our company and our industry to thrive in Oklahoma.”

“The challenge lies in recognizing that having choices carries the responsibility to make them wisely,” said Bill Solomon, President of Vacuworx. “Our guiding principles are we care about people, we are relentless on our focus on value for our customers and employees, and we are committed to safety. We appreciate having the opportunity to share our thoughts with Representative Hern, as well as his longstanding support of small businesses.”

Photos courtesy of Association of Equipment Manufacturers

“Manufacturing is the backbone of the American economy, and equipment manufacturers such as Tulsa Rig Iron and Vacuwork are the beating heart of communities across the great state of Oklahoma,” said Kip Eideberg, AEM’s senior vice president of government and industry relations. “The 77,000 men and women who build world class equipment in Oklahoma are not afraid of rolling up their sleeves and working hard. But they do need our elected leaders to make a bipartisan commitment to pro-growth policies that will make our nation a more competitive place to do business. We greatly appreciate Congressman Hern’s leadership on behalf of our industry’s top policy priorities, including infrastructure investment and free and fair trade, and his steadfast support for the equipment manufacturing industry in Oklahoma.”

If you would like to get involved with the I Make America campaign and help AEM advocate for the policies that are critical to the equipment manufacturing industry’s long-term growth and prosperity, please contact Wade Balkonis (wbalkonis@aem.org). Visit hub.imakeamerica.org to learn more.

Gov. Parson Signs Bill to Repair and Modernize Missouri’s Transportation Infrastructure

With Gov. Mike Parson’s signature today, Missouri is primed to invest and modernize the state’s transportation infrastructure — supporting our economy of the future.

The legislation signed by Gov. Parson will invest a much-needed $500 million per year in transportation funding for state, county and city projects. The bill would phase in an increase in the gas tax by 2.5 cents each year over five years. It includes a rebate mechanism so that drivers who do not wish to pay the increase can get their money back. The legislation also phases in increased fees on electric vehicles.

The Missouri Chamber led a broad coalition of stakeholders who rallied this session in support of transportation funding. The Missouri Can’t Wait campaign united business and labor, rural and urban interests, Republicans and Democrats behind the need to repair the state’s roads and bridges.

A study released by the Missouri Can’t Wait campaign showed that the legislation will create a $1.8 billion positive impact on Missouri’s economy. This will also create an overall increase of $722 million in earnings across the state and more than 17,000 jobs.

“The investments in this law represent a huge step toward helping our state make the most of our location and truly become a logistics hub for the Midwest and North America. The infusion of funding into our transportation system will create an immediate economic boost. But the long-term effects of this investment will be even more profound as our state modernizes our transportation system to support our future economy,” said Mehan. “We thank Gov. Mike Parson for being a steadfast champion for transportation funding. We also thank Sen. Dave Schatz for his leadership on this issue in the Senate and Rep. Becky Ruth for carrying the legislation in the House.”