50th Anniversary of JCI
50th Anniversary Executive Committee Chairman Kyuichi MARUYAMA
The Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment this year on July 12 (Sunday). To celebrate this milestone, the Executive Committee has planned a number of events, as follows.
(1) On July 12, an Anniversary Ceremony and a Celebratory Party will be held.
(2) Under JCI's new membership scheme, Fellow Members who have been members for 50 or more years and Fellow Members will be designated.
(3) Representatives of overseas organizations that have academic agreements with JCI have been invited to the Anniversary Ceremony and Celebratory Party to further promote exchanges.
(4) A 50th Anniversary event consisting of an international conference and three symposiums will be held. From June 1 to 3, the International Conference on the Regeneration and Conservation of Concrete Structures will be held in Nagasaki, and international symposiums on the three themes of "Systematization of Concrete Engineering and Science via Multi-Scale Model," "New Potential of Construction Materials Recommendations for the Effective Use of Unused Resources for Concrete", and "Seismic Strengthening and Resilience Enhancement of Concrete Structures" (Second ACI-JCI Joint Seminar) will be held at the Toshi Center Hotel in Tokyo on July 13.
(5) A newly produced DVD that introduces JCI, the basics of concrete technology, and new technologies, will be distributed.
(6) A 50th Commemorative Booklet will be published.
A "Merit Award" that honors members who have made outstanding contributions to the growth of JCI was created ten years ago on the occasion of JCI's 40th anniversary. This time, on the occasion of JCI's 50th anniversary, a new scheme is being launched under which members who have been contributing to JCI for 50 or more years (members who have been with us since JCI's establishment) are recognized as Lifetime Members, and members who have been contributing to JCI for 30 or more years are recognized as Lifetime Members.
International exchanges in academia are now being conducted on a global scale, and JCI is no exception?we have academic exchange agreements with the world's leading concrete-related organizations (ACI, RILEM, KCI, IBRACON, IMCYC). Representatives of these organizations, as well as representatives from various overseas organizations, including the ACF and fib, have been invited to the Anniversary Ceremony and Celebratory Party. They will give brief lectures as a way to deepen our international exchanges, and a 50th Anniversary event consisting of an international conference and three symposiums will also be held. From June 1 to 3, an International Conference on the Regeneration and Conservation of Concrete Structures, having as a motif Japan's oldest reinforced concrete structures, a housing complex dating back to 1916 on what is known as "Gunkanjima" (Battleship Island), will be held at Nagasaki Brick Hall. The international symposiums on July 13 will feature principally invited lectures by leading researchers and engineers from Japan and abroad, with three venues operating in parallel on three of the hottest themes today.
On the occasion of JCI's 40th anniversary, we published a commemorative publication entitled 100 Years of Concrete in Japan. This time, we decided to issue a DVD presenting an introduction of JCI, the basics of concrete technology, and the latest technologies. This DVD will include also the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Booklet. The Commemorative Booklet is comprised of the content compiled on JCI's 40th anniversary, with the addition of material covering the subsequent ten years.
A brief overview of the history of JCI is provided below.
As detailed in the "40-Year History of the Japan Concrete Institute" compiled on the occasion of JCI's 40th anniversary, the institute was established as the Japan chapter of the ACI in 1961, and thereafter, following repeated discussions among what was then the Ministry of Construction, the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, the Architectural Institute of Japan, and parties from prestressed concrete, cement, and iron and steel related organizations, the Japan National Council on Concrete was established as a voluntary organization on July 12, 1965. This was the starting point of our organization. Next, in 1967, we became an association, and in 1975, our name changed to the Japan Concrete Institute.
In terms of professional certification programs, we have the Authorized Concrete Engineer and Authorized Chief Concrete Engineer system established in 1971, and the Concrete Diagnosis & Maintenance Engineer system established in 2001. Under both these systems, training seminars and certification testing are conducted, and as of April 1, 2015, a total of 43,350 Authorized Concrete Engineers, 10,202 Authorized Chief Concrete Engineers, and 11,105 Concrete Diagnosis & Maintenance Engineers were certified. These certifications, which are a requirement for receiving public works orders, are broadly recognized in society, and greatly contribute to the raising the social status of concrete engineers.
When it was first established in 1965, our organization had a membership of 842, including group memberships. Ten years later, in 1975, we had 4,214 members. Over the ensuing years, our membership grew steadily, reaching 6,613 members in our 20th year, 7,720 members in our 30th year, and 8,101 members in our 40th year, but at present our membership is in a slight decline, with 7,294 members by the end of 2014.
Lastly, we present the list of the subcommittees that make up the Executive Committee and their respective chairmen.
| General Affairs Subcommittee. Chairman: | Junichiro NIWA, Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology |
| Lecture Subcommittee. Chairman: | Hiroshi MUTSUYOSHI, Professor, Saitama University |
| Special Events Subcommittee. Chairman: | Manabu YOSHIMURA, Professor, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
| DVD Subcommittee. Chairman: | Mitsutaka HAYAKAWA, Professor, Tokyo Polytechnic University |
| Publication Subcommittee. Chairman: | Takafumi NOGUCHI, Professor, The University of Tokyo |
