Gregory S. Barger Presented Award of Merit Words: Catherine Adkinson/Public/News/20110604080000-1.jpg" width="600" height="338" border="0" alt="Gregory S. Barger has received the ASTM International Award of Merit." />Gregory S. Barger has received the ASTM International Award of Merit. Gregory S. Barger, technical center director at Ash Grove Cement Co., Overland Park, Kan., has received the ASTM International Award of Merit and its accompanying title of fellow. The Award of Merit is the highest society award granted to an individual ASTM member for distinguished service and outstanding participation in committee activities. Barger received the Award of Merit from ASTM International Committees C01 on Cement and C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates for his exceptional leadership and technical contributions related to standards on compositional analysis, use and testing of hydraulic cements and hydraulic cement concretes. A member of ASTM International since 1988, Barger was recognized as an ASTM Honorary Member of Committees C01 and C09 in 2009. He is currently a member at large on the C01 executive subcommittee and serves on the Joint C01/C09 Subcommittee on Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory and several other C01/C09 subcommittees. He has been a member of the Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory Executive Board since 2007. Barger also works on Committees C12 on Mortars and Grouts for Unit Masonry and C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units. He received a C01 Award of Appreciation in 2001 and a C09 Award of Appreciation in 2003. Barger joined Ash Grove Cement Co. in 1990 as a research laboratory manager and became technical center director in 1992. In addition to technical center management, his responsibilities include developing and overseeing the quality control and quality assurance programs for the company’s cement manufacturing plants and technical support for the concrete materials production facilities, as well as research and development of new products. Before joining Ash Grove, he was a principal materials researcher at Master Builders Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio, and a process and research chemist at Southwestern Portland Cement in Victorville, Calif. He holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Ohio State University. Outside ASTM International, Barger is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and a member of the American Ceramic Society-Cements Division (ACS-CD). He holds two U.S. patents related to hydraulic cements and their manufacture.