Consultant Lawrence Roberts of Acton, Mass., has received the ASTM International Award of Merit. The Award of Merit and its accompanying title of fellow is the highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to ASTM standards activities.

Roberts was cited “for exceptional and dedicated service to ASTM International Committee C01 on Cement in applying research in cement and concrete standards development and technology.” He has been a member of ASTM International since 1982.

An honorary member of Committee C01 as well as Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates, Roberts also serves as a member at large on C01. He has chaired various C01 and C09 groups and currently leads Subcommittee C01.28 on Sulfate Content. He has been honored with past awards from both C01 and C09 for his work, including two Awards of Appreciation (1999 and 2004) and the C09 Katharine and Bryant Mather Member Contribution Award in 2008.

Roberts began his career at W.R. Grace and Co. in Cambridge, Mass., in 1968, as a research chemist. He went on to hold various technical managerial and director positions at W.R. Grace until 2006, when he accepted the position of principal scientist at CTLGroup in Skokie, Illinois. In 2009, Roberts left CTLGroup and began his work as a private consultant. He specializes in cement and concrete technology and chemical additive and admixture development.

Outside ASTM International, Roberts is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Concrete Institute and the International Cement Microscopy Association. He holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., and an M.S. in chemistry from Northeastern University, Boston, Mass.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin McElrone, Phone: 610-832-9602; emcelron@astm.org

Release #8429/Dec2009