Record Crowd . . . Record NOVA Award Nominations!

Over six hundred-thirty construction leaders from across the country attended the 1997 Innovation Celebration to honor the four new winners of the prestigous NOVA Award on Thursday, March 13, 1997 at the Laurel Manor, Livonia, Michigan . . .

The "Call for Nominations" resulted in a record total of 43 nominations from nine different countries and twenty-four different states. Each nomination is thoroughly examined in a four-phase competitive process before being selected by a distinguished panel of nine judges.


The 1997 NOVA Award Winners

National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) - National all-inclusive craft training programs, NCCER of Gainesville, FL
Pipebursting - Trenchless replacement of fracturable pipe, developed by BG plc International Downstream - Houston, TX
FiRP® - Fiber Reinforced Plastic Glulam - Increases timber quality and economy - by Wood Science & Technology Institute - Corvallis, Oregon
Sika Rapid - 1 Hardening Accelerator
Concrete Admixture - High early strength concrete with normal set, developed by Sika Corporation of Lyndhurst, NJ

Finalists are selected and presented for scrutiny by a distinguished panel of nine judges representing all facets of the construction industry.


Keynote
J. Peter Ellefson's entrance to the podium was a demonstration of his keynote message. The Construction Manager of DuPont Construction stepped out of the DuPont #24 Winston Cup Series race car that had been hidden behind curtains at one end of the banquet hall. . . to the sound of a roaring engine and screeching tires, and said "innovation requires a willingness to open your mind and consider doing something differently than you have been doing for decades. . . whether it's NASCAR racing or construction, no single individual is able to do it all."

Special Awards

Two past CIF Board Members were recognized by the CIF Board of Directors with the designation of Board Member Emeritus in a special presentation at the Innovation Celebration Banquet. They are James Kostrava of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Midland, Michigan and Joe O'Neal, President of O'Neal Construction, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Two special awards went to Ameritech Corporation and John M. Williams, Creative Director of Peterson, Williams & Bizer, Inc. for their contributions to CIF since 1987.

CIF also recognized Adam Porter-Price from Canterbury, Connecticut. Adam is the National winner of the ÔBlock Kids' competition sponsored by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). Adam's winning project was a laser relay system to prevent airplane collisions using Global Positioning Satellites to link planes to air traffic controllers.


Presenting the 1997 NOVA Awards for construction innovation!

The Construction Innovation Forum® (CIF) presents the prestigious NOVA Award to innovations that improve the quality, efficiency or cost-effectiveness of construction.

Four construction innovations won the 1997 NOVA Award.

Here's how they earned it:


NCCER: Nationwide training program for construction trades
The National Center for Construction Education & Research won the NOVA Award for innovation in national worker training pro-grams. This nationwide initiative combines the best training elements from association partners and contractors into standardized curricula for construction trades. It delivers local training through certified training centers, high schools and vocational schools. The Center's national registry provides transcripts and wallet cards that certify craft competence for its students. For more information, contact NCCER at 352-334-0911.

Pipebursting: "No-dig" solution for replacing underground pipes
The Pipebursting method won the NOVA Award for innovation in trenchless replace- ment of old and undersized fracturable pipe. Pipebursting replaces concrete, clay or cast iron pipes with new plastic pipe without using boring or open-cut methods. Originally developed by BG plc in the
United Kingdom, Pipebursting involves pulling a machine through old pipe, break-ing it in pieces at the same time that new pipe is laid into place. For more information, contact Jim Hopwood at BG plc International Downstream, 713-849-6322.

FiRP® Glulam: Better timbers- with less wood
FiRP® Reinforced Glulam technology won the NOVA Award for innovation in the design, manufacture and use of glued, laminated tim- ber. The technology consists of high-strength plastic fiber reinforcing that increases the strength of a glulam beam, thereby reducing the required timber size. FiRP introduces compression-based design, similar to rein-forced concrete. FiRP increases the uniformity and quality of glulam timbers, and eliminates the need for high-grade wood.
For more information, contact Dan Tingley at the Wood Science & Technology Institute, 541-753-4548.

Sika Rapid-1: Concrete strong enough for traffic in six hours
Sika Rapid-1 Hardening Accelerator won the NOVA Award for innovation in early high-strength concrete with normal initial set. With the addition of Rapid-1, normal concrete mix ingredients develop basic strength in six hours. Rapid-1 maintains normal set times allowing easier concrete handling and place-ment. And it doesn't reduce final concrete strength or corrode reinforcing steel. Rapid-1 helps minimize public disruption, increase productivity and lower cost. For more information, contact Todd Spindler at Sika Corporation, 201-933-8800.


For more information on the Construction Innovation Forum and the NOVA Award, including this year's winners and previous winners, visit our Web site at www.cif.org.