Association of Modified Asphalt Producers (AMAP)

Our 2025 AMAP Workshop is off to a great start here in Dallas! Welcome to all of our workshop attendees from across the country, and especially those with Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Asphalt Pavement Association within our host state. Pictured here is Pravat K. from TXDOT educating our attendees about Binder Certification and Test Methods. #AMAP2025 #modifiedasphalt

AMAP is excited to announce that Travis Patton, P.E. from the Texas Department of Transportation will be presenting at the upcoming AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! Travis will be speaking on the "Overview of the Texas Experience with Modified Binders." This presentation will provide a general overview of TxDOT’s modified binder usage. It will cover some historical issues and ways that polymer has been used in HMA pavements. While polymer modification has helped in many areas, there will also be discussion on current limitations and on future research and implementation that is being pursued by TxDOT. Come and see Travis' talk from 8:15-8:45 am on Wednesday, March 5! Travis Patton earned both his Bachelors and Masters in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University at College Station. Upon graduation, Travis started his full-time career with TxDOT in the Flexible Pavements Section in 2013. Since then, Travis has worked in, and managed the central bituminous lab, and is currently the Flexible Pavements Section Director within the Materials and Tests Division. https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025

AMAP is excited to announce that Robert Lee from CRH Americas Materials will be presenting at the upcoming AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! Robert will be presenting "HP in Texas: A Contractor's Perspective". His presentation discusses Texas Materials construction experience with HiMA binder used on three projects during the 2023 paving season. He will discuss CRH Americas' approach to materials, mix design and HMA plant production. Robert will also discuss the construction of the projects, the associated challenges and what we learned during the process. Come and see Robert's talk from 11:00-11:30 am on Wednesday, March 5! Robert currently serves as Innovation Advocacy Manager for CRH’s Americas Materials (AMAT) Innovation Center. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University in 1986. He earned his professional engineering license in Texas and has worked for TxDOT for over 25 years and private industry for almost 20 years, all which have involved asphalt paving materials, testing, design and construction. In his current role, he provides technical support and direction to the Innovation Center and CRH operational companies across AMAT.  He serves on ASTM E-17 committee (for Vehicle Pavement Systems), is a board member of the Southeast Asphalt User Producer Group and serves on various committees for TxAPA. https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #2025AMAP

AMAP is excited to announce that Jim Warren from the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association will be presenting at the AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! Jim will be presenting "Specification Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities". Understanding how to implement a specification is just as important as the reason why. Having a complete picture of the potential impact of a new spec provides the best way to determine when and how to implement. What may seem simple on paper or in the lab must scale up to real world construction to be effective. This session looks at the challenges and opportunities, and risks and rewards, when trying something new. Come and see Jim's talk from 10:00-10:30 am on Wednesday, March 5! Jim Warren has served as the Director of Engineering and Technology for the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association since 2019. His focus is to develop and deliver practical, tactical educational tools to better understand how to design, construct, and maintain asphalt pavements. He prior served as the Executive Director of the Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida, joining in1995, after working for the National Asphalt Pavement Association in Maryland, and McClelland Engineers in Houston. He has a BSCE from Purdue University and started construction in the late 70’s crack sealing and filling potholes in his hometown. Jim's passion is practical applications, continuous improvement, and lifelong learning. https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025

AMAP is excited to announce that Pravat Karki from the Texas Department of Transportation will be presenting at the upcoming 2025 AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! Pravat will be presenting "TXDOT Binder Certification and Test Methods". TxDOT specifications require its construction and maintenance projects to use only those asphalt binder products that have been manufactured by TxDOT-approved asphalt binder suppliers and pre-certified by the Asphalt Binder Section within its Materials and Tests Division. This presentation will provide a snapshot of how TxDOT uses it Asphalt Binder Quality Program to approve asphalt binder suppliers, pre-certify their products and monitors the quality of product being manufactured for and shipped to TxDOT projects. Come and see Pravat's talk from 8:45-9:15 am on Wednesday, March 5! Pravat Karki is the Asphalt Binder Section Director at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). He has a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas. In his current role, Dr. Karki is responsible for implementing TxDOT's Asphalt Binder Quality Program, developing and implementing asphalt binder related specifications and test methods, providing technical support to other divisions and districts, and managing asphalt binder laboratory operations –TxDOT’s one and only lab that tests project level samples of asphalt binders. Previously, Dr. Karki worked as a researcher at Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) from 2014 to 2020. In that role, he led/co-led research projects sponsored by TxDOT, Florida DOT and Ontario Road Builders' Association among many others. https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025

Today is the LAST DAY to register online for the 2025 AMAP March Educational Workshop! Join us in Dallas in less than two weeks! https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025

AMAP is excited to announce that Andre de Fortier Smit from the Texas Department of Transportation will be presenting at the upcoming AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! Andre will be presenting on "Pavement Preservation". The presentation will discuss pavement preservation strategies used by TxDOT for the selection of treatments to address pavement distress towards improvement of pavement condition. He will discuss the recent adoption of automated distress measures and the development of a new Pavement Management System (Pavement Analyst) that uses optimization analyses as well as future plans to include pavement structural evaluation at the network level using a traffic speed deflectometer and other innovations relating material and pavement performance. Come and see Andre's talk from 10:45 - 11:15 am on Thursday, March 6! Andre Smit has more than 25 years of experience in pavement and material engineering. He obtained a PhD in civil engineering from Stellenbosch University in South Africa in 2002. Before joining TxDOT in 2018 he worked as a research engineer at the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at the University of Texas at Austin and the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University in Alabama. While at TxDOT he has worked for both the MNT and MTD divisions. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas. He lives with he’s wife in Leander and has 3 kids and 3 grandchildren. He enjoys programming, gaming and music and hates haircuts. Register today! https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025

The 2025 AMAP March Educational Workshop kicks off in Dallas in less than two weeks! Learn from industry, agency, and academic speakers on modified binders, pavement preservation, binder rheology, asphalt binder chemistry, and asphalt emulsions, and connect with fellow modified asphalt colleagues. Sign up today! https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifedasphalt #AMAP2025

AMAP is excited to announce that Amit Bhasin from The University of Texas at Austin will be presenting at the upcoming AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! Amit will be sharing two presentations: "Update on Item 300" and "HP in Texas: Testing and Specifications". In "Update on Item 300", TxDOT Item 300 applies to asphalt binders, emulsions and cutbacks. Over the last few years CTR at UT Austin, TTI, TxDOT MTD, and numerous producers have participated in an collaborative effort to modernize the test methods and specifications incorporated in Item 300. This presentation will highlight some of the highlights from this project. In "HP in Texas: Testing and Specifications", polymers and other modifiers are typically used to enhance the performance of asphalt binders and by extension the serviceable life of asphalt pavements. Over the last few years, Texas has seen an interest in exploring the use of modified binder that have more than the typical amount of modifiers, referred to as High Performance Grade or HPG. This presentation summarizes a few results from field and laboratory studies on HPG binders. Come and see Amit's presentations from 9:15-9:45 am and 10:30-11:30 am on Wednesday, March 5! Dr. Amit Bhasin is a Professor in the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) since 2008 and Director for the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) since 2018. Register today! https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025

AMAP is excited to announce that Gina Paroline from Anton Paar will be presenting at the upcoming 2025 AMAP March Educational Workshop in Dallas from March 4-6, 2025! In the "Binder Rheology - What, Why, and How" presentation, Gina will demystify the "black box" of the DSR, explaining its vital role in binder characterization and how to avoid common pitfalls in rheological measurement. Come and see Gina's talk from 8:00-9:00 am on Thursday, March 6! A one-inch classified ad in the Houston Chronicle led Gina Paroline to the fascinating world of rheology back in 1991. "Help Wanted - must have good math, writing, and problem-solving skills"—little did she know, this small ad would launch a fulfilling career dedicated to teaching thousands of scientists, engineers, students, and colleagues the power of rheology. Register and check out the agenda: https://lnkd.in/dhBgRUvj #modifiedasphalt #AMAP2025