Role of Multi-disciplinary Research
	Name: Role of Multi-disciplinary Research File: Henry Presentation Final 5-8-12.pdf Size(MB): 0.78MB Extension: PDF Event: 2012 ICSC - SEATTLE Speaker Name: Henry, M. Managed by: sdickens Date Uploaded: June 5, 2012; 11:35 am Download Count: 144 Downloads This Month: 144 Your Geographic Information: Country: State/Region: City: Zip Code: Area Code: Your IP: 107.22.25.119 Description: Many of the difficulties in moving towards sustainable concrete are not related to “hard” technological issues, but rather a lack of consideration of non-technological or “soft” issues. It is necessary to understand the “soft” social, economic, and institutional problems underlying the difficulties in moving towards sustainability, and to utilize a better understanding of these problems as a basis for the development of new technologies and utilization of existing technologies. An understanding of these problems cannot be achieved with concrete engineering knowledge alone; it is necessary to integrate knowledge from other fields such as the social or management sciences with knowledge in the concrete field. Such a multi-disciplinary approach can serve as a bridge between the “soft” and “hard” problems facing sustainable concrete and provide new perspectives for innovative solutions. This paper gives three examples of how multi-disciplinary research has been applied towards solving concrete sustainability problems. The first example introduces an assessment framework for sustainable concrete which addresses the question of how to define sustainability for the concrete industry. The second example utilizes the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a decision-making tool, as a means to balance different concrete performances, such as durability and environmental impact. The third example proposes that a global strategy for sustainable concrete should consider regional context, as many factors related to concrete sustainability vary widely around the world.