The CAN Center’s second meeting was held at the Hyatt Place Denver Airport on February 19–20, 2025, bringing together researchers and industry advisors for two days of project updates, strategic planning, and commercialization training.
Day 1: Following opening remarks and center updates from Center Director Dr. Konstantin Sobolev and Research Director Dr. Jason Weiss, investigators from Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee delivered four in-depth project presentations. Afternoon sessions focused on aligning the research roadmap with industry priorities, refining recruitment strategies, and gathering IAB feedback on operations, funding, the research idea platform, and timeline. The day concluded with a panel discussion on translating sustainable concrete research into practice and a review of action items for the September meeting.
Day 2: The program shifted to commercialization skills as Dr. Ilya Avdeev led an NSF I-Corps–style workshop on customer discovery, stakeholder mapping, and preparing competitive proposals. Participants practiced industry interview drills and learned how to convert market insights into stronger funding pitches. The meeting concluded with a clear action plan to embed these tools in upcoming proposals and strengthen collaboration with industry partners.