We are saddened to announce the passing of David C. Stark, a leader and innovator in the early-day pursuit and continuing application of concrete petrography to our industry. Through his expertise and perseverance, great strides were made in bringing geology and petrography into the professional arena of engineering from which we all have benefited. Among his accomplishments is research on alkali-silica reactivity that resulted in a number of key publications that include:
"Alkali-Silica Reactivity: An Overview of Research" SHRP C-342, by Helmuth, Stark, Diamond and Moran-Regourd, 1993
"Eliminating or Minimizing Alkali-Silica Reactivity" SHRP-C-343, by Stark, Mor-gan and Okamoto, 1993.
He was co editor of “Petrography Applied to Concrete and Concrete Aggregate” a collection of articles edited by Erlin and Stark and published by ASTM in STP 1061, 1990.
He was especially proud to share credit for the first published account of thaumasite detected in concrete and its relation to ettringite and deterioration, "Identification and Occurrence of Thaumasite in Concrete" by Erlin and Stark, Symposium on Aggressive Fluids, Highway Research Board (now Transportation Research Board), 1965/1966. And somewhere along the way, at one time, in his Northbrook, Illinois home, he had one of the world’s largest collections of beer cans.
From the early 1960’s through opening years of the 2000’s, Dave was a constant contributor to our petrographic science by helping to provide insight into many things from D-cracking to chemical sulfate attack and to physical salt hydration distress. He leaves behind a wonderful heritage.
Nancy Whiting