Gordon Smith

Gordon Smith has dedicated over 50 years to the advancement of concrete pavements. Earning his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University in 1975, Smith hit the ground running after graduation as an engineer for an Iowa paving contractor.  After fourteen years working for one contractor, he accepted an opportunity to work for 30 contractors as construction engineer and executive director of the Iowa Concrete Paving Association and Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Finally, he served as an Associate Director of the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center at Iowa State, maintaining his involvement in professional organizations, mentoring colleagues and developing new standards in the concrete pavement industry.

Smith’s passion for advancing the industry was evident throughout his career. He founded two nationally recognized organizations in concrete technology and supported the transfer of his knowledge of concrete through membership and participation in 17 concrete, infrastructure and engineering boards, committees and chapters. In 2012, he was awarded the American Concrete Pavement Association’s (ACPA) Hartman-Hirshman-Egan Award for his service to the concrete paving industry, in Iowa and throughout the nation—ACPA’s highest recognition for unparalleled, long-term commitment in the concrete pavement community. His leadership has guided both local and national advancements in the areas of concrete overlays, early opening of concrete pavements to traffic, performance-engineered mixtures and concrete pavement preservation.

Smith was a founding member of the PCC Center at Iowa State University in 2000 and led the effort to advance its status and outreach as the current National Concrete Paving Technology Center at Iowa State. The national center is the only one of its kind in the United States, and regularly supports many Federal Highway Administration and Federal Aviation Administration research contracts worth millions of dollars, in turn, supporting current Iowa State students as they pursue degrees related to concrete.