On September 19, 2026, the 8th Concrete Lecture Series, co-hosted by the China Concrete & Cement-based Products Association (CCPA) and the Chinese Ceramic Society (CCS), was held at the Canton Fair Hall in Guangzhou, concurrently with the 2026 Concrete & Cement-based Products Industry Convention and the 2026 China International Concrete Expo. Continuing the Series’ international, and high level, four leading Chinese and international scholars delivered keynote presentations on four frontier topics: intelligent concrete, ultra-high performance concrete, ultra-high toughness concrete, and seawater concrete.

The Lecture Series was moderated by Dr. Chen Yu, Deputy Secretary-General of CCPA. Cui Qi, CCPA Chief Supervisor and Chair of the Building Materials Branch of the Chinese Ceramic Society, delivered the opening remarks and warmly welcomed the guests and delegates. He noted that, since its launch in 2019, the Lecture Series has stayed closely aligned with major needs in China’s concrete materials and engineering fields, focusing on frontiers and practice, and has built a high-level platform that promotes technological innovation and international technical exchange. With infrastructure evolving rapidly toward intelligence, high performance, and green development, the industry urgently needs guidance from frontier theory and empowerment from advanced technology.

Cui Qi delivering remarks on behalf of the hosts

The first keynote speaker was Academician Jiang Desheng of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. His presentation was titled “Research and Application of Key Technologies for Preparing Full-Domain Intelligent Concrete.” A leading authority in fiber optic sensing in China, Academician Jiang led the establishment of the Center and has long worked on fiber optic sensing materials, devices, and monitoring technologies. He has directed multiple national key research projects, received numerous national science and technology awards, contributed to industry standards for engineering inspection.

Academician Jiang Desheng presenting

Academician Jiang noted that conventional monitoring relies on point sensors, which are difficult to install and have low survival rates, and cannot provide full-domain structural awareness — a major bottleneck for intelligent concrete. He introduced a new gridded, full-domain sensing model: concrete structures such as roads are divided into coded sensing units, and grating-array sensing networks are embedded as “neurons,” giving the concrete itself multi-parameter sensing capability.

The second keynote speaker was Professor Eugen Brühwiler, Emeritus Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, who presented “Beyond Concrete: How UHPC Is Transforming Construction.” Professor Brühwiler has worked for decades in bridge assessment and structural rehabilitation and is a leading international proponent of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). Zhao Jun, Vice Chair of the Ultra-High Performance Cement-based Materials and Engineering Technology Branch of CCPA, served as interpreter.

Professor Eugen Brühwiler presenting

Professor Brühwiler traced the origins and development of UHPC and analyzed the durability problems and high maintenance costs common to conventional reinforced concrete bridges. Since the 1990s, Switzerland has systematically researched and applied UHPFRC (ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites) and, after two decades of practice, has established a complete system of standards for materials, design, and construction. He noted that China has achieved great success in applying UHPC in bridges, wind-turbine hybrid towers, energy and water projects, and buildings, and has become a global leader in UHPC application.

The third keynote speaker was Academician Xu Shilang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor at Zhejiang University, who presented “Ultra High Toughness Cementitious Composites.” He founded the internationally recognized double-K fracture theory for concrete, led the formulation of an international standard for concrete crack detection, established a complete crack safety analysis and testing system, and developed complete key technologies for high-toughness fiber-reinforced concrete. His research has been applied in national major water projects and he has received the Second Prize of the State Natural Science Award and the Second Prize of the State Technological Invention Award.

Academician Xu Shilang presenting

Academician Xu explained that ordinary concrete is brittle and cracks readily in tension; cracks in turn induce reinforcement corrosion, leakage, and freeze–thaw damage, shortening service life, and crack control is decisive to success in hydraulic, tunnel, and underground engineering. He systematically explained the double-K fracture theory, which clarifies the three stages of crack evolution — initiation, stable propagation, and unstable propagation.

The fourth keynote speaker was Professor Antonio Nanni of the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Miami and Past President of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), who presented “Seawater Concrete: Old Technology and New Opportunities.” Professor Tan Ting of Sun Yat-sen University served as interpreter.

Professor Antonio Nanni presenting

Delegates attending the presentations

Over the half-day event, four Chinese and international experts presented academic reports of both theoretical depth and engineering value from four perspectives: intelligent sensing, ultra-high performance materials, high-toughness crack resistance, and marine-environment materials. Delegates listened attentively, and after the presentations many engineers and students engaged the experts in discussion. The Lecture Series offered practitioners in China’s concrete industry a high-level international academic exchange platform, encouraged the mutual exchange of advanced technical ideas, stimulated innovation across industry, academia, and research, and supports the steady advance of China’s concrete and cement-based products industry toward intelligence, high performance, and green durability.