Chairholders
Profile
Douglas Hooton
Department Of Civil Engineering
University of Toronto
Chair title
NSERC/Cement Association of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Concrete Durability and Sustainability
Chair program
Industrial Research Chairs program
Role
Senior Chairholder since 2009
Summary
The cement, concrete and related construction industry in Canada has an enormous impact on the Canadian economy, but the cement industry faces new challenges to reduce point source green house gas emissions. Also, the cost of repairing prematurely deteriorated concrete bridges and other concrete infrastructure has been estimated to be $74 billion in Canada alone (without including the inconvenience and lost time costs to users).
To address these industry challenges, the purpose of the Chair is to provide innovative and effective approaches to improve both the environmental sustainability and durability of concrete, as well as to provide leadership in development of required standards and specifications that will allow implementation of these concretes.
The Chair research focuses on:
- improved durability and service-life of concrete structures by providing better fundamental understanding of deterioration mechanisms and development of innovative new methods for assessing durability in severe environments,
- improved sustainability of the cement and concrete industries by reducing energy use, Green House Gas emissions and overall carbon footprint associated with producing concrete without compromising engineering properties, constructability and durability,
- provide leadership in accelerating development and adoption of performance specifications and related materials, and durability test methods, to enable the use of sustainable innovations in concrete construction.
Dr. Hooton is known internationally for his work on cementitious materials, concrete durability and on standards. He has received the Award of Merit from both CSA and ASTM for his work on standards and is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, ASTM and the American Ceramic Society.
Partners
- Cement Association of Canada/Association canadienne du ciment
- Holcim (St. Lawrence Cement)/Holcim (anciennement Ciment St-Laurent)
- Whitemud Resources Inc.
Contact information
Department Of Civil Engineering
University of Toronto
Galbraith Bldg.
35 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1A4
Tel.: 416-978-5912
Fax: 416-978-7046
Email: d.hooton@utoronto.ca
