CCG Blog listing page

Nov 30, 2016

Photo credit: Chicago Park District

Last week, I was fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving in Chicago with family and friends. Luckily, one of our many trips to Maggie Daley Park coincided with the skating ribbon's opening day....

Nov 21, 2016

In the world of sports, some experts consider boxing to be the most physically demanding. And a lot of attention has been devoted to discussing the most effective training methods. Some still lean toward methodology that many...

Sep 18, 2016

As a lightweight contender, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites continue to put conventional materials on the ropes when it comes to strength and durability. Yet, this advanced material sometimes gets a bad rap when it...

Sep 8, 2016

In the arena of bridge decks, concrete has reigned as the heavyweight favorite - and I do mean heavyweight. But the need for accelerated construction and zero maintenance, coupled with rising transportation costs, has put...

Aug 31, 2016

The National Park Service has a big “to do” list when it comes to maintaining the 84 million acres that comprise America’s parks, reserves and historical sites. This year the administration is requesting $860 million to repair...

Aug 3, 2016

When fiber-reinforced polymer composites hit the scene more than two decades ago, it was a little bit like Superman’s first appearance in Metropolis. Despite FRP’s “super powers” and the advantages that came with them, the...

Jun 24, 2016

Unless you're a barge operator navigating the nation’s waterways or a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) tasked to maintain these routes, you probably don’t know what a wicket is. My first thoughts were one of my...

Jun 10, 2016

The International Bridge Conference concludes today with positive reviews. At the top of my list is the new location - Washington DC's National Harbor - which brought in lots of new faces from the East Coast. Travel budget...

May 25, 2016

We’ve all heard the phrase "less is more." Robert Browning used it first in an 1855 poem, but it was architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe who made it famous. Mies, a founder of the modern architecture movement, believed “simplicity...

May 11, 2016

Since the first fiberglass boat was launched in 1954, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have proven ideal for marine infrastructure applications. Corrosion resistance to both sea water and chemicals has made FRP extremely...