| |
“Research Infrastructures for road research” TRA2010, Brussels (Thursday, June 10, 2010, 09:00-10:15). Research Infrastructures for Road Research will consider the experiences, needs and opportunities for world-class road esearch facilities. Research infrastructures such as testing facilities and demonstrators play an increasingly important role in the advancement of knowledge and technology and they make it possible to bring together a wide diversity of stakeholders to look for solutions to societal issues and help to shape scientific communities. RIs in the road sector as more needed than ever. A number of research results are available and RIs should facilitate their transfer from laboratories to industry, SMEs and infrastructure owners and managers, contributing to the overall competitiveness of the European economy. This will allow roads and road transport to unleash their potential to answer a large number of the problems society is facing today , such as all-time availability of the network, low-cost and effective maintenance techniques, and how to use the infrastructure to advance society's goals as regards the environment and energy consumtption. What is more, RIs can be networked so as to offer research services to a variety of users from different countries, thereby testing road structures and equipements under diverse climate and traffic conditions across Europe and the world. The session will examine the political role of RIs, how RIs are managed and developed and the technical requirements for the RIs of the future in the fields related to road transport. The moderator was Patrick Malléjacq (CEDR TGR - technical group research). Speakers were Brigitte Weiss (DG Research), Egbert Beuving (European Asphalt Paving Association) and Steve Phillips (FEHRL). |
|
