The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) is committed to providing in-depth and comprehensive education to identify and address important technical issues related to the cause of wind and weather damage to roofing systems.

The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) is committed to providing in-depth and comprehensive education to identify and address important technical issues related to the cause of wind and weather damage to roofing systems. RICOWI’s research and education initiatives focus on providing a broad knowledge base regarding wind, hail, energy efficiency and durability effects; the establishment of new/improved consensus standard practices for weather design and testing; and providing an educational platform of roof design and weather concepts within the building community.

RICOWI is currently seeking speakers for its 2011 Fall Educational Seminar. A Call for Presentations has been released to professionals in the roofing industry including previous speakers, the Roof Consultants Institute, Design Community, Code Bodies and other affiliated roofing associations.

This is your opportunity to showcase your research; lessons learned in the field; and educate others about the affects of weather on roofing systems. Here are some facts:

• The seminar will be held Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, in Gainesville, Fla.

• The audience will be Architect/Engineers, Consultants, Building Owners/Facility Managers, Manufacturers, Distributors, Foremen, Superintendents, Project Managers, Roofing Contractors, Code Bodies and the Insurance Industry.

• The courses include eight 45 minutes education sessions that will be chosen

• Potential Presentation Topics include: Weather Damage Case Studies; Lessons Learned in the Field after weather events; Innovative Roofing Solutions to Wind and Hail Issues; Sustainable Roofing; Green Building Codes for Roofing; Design Details; Mitigation and Loss Prevention; Edgemetal; Maintenance and Repair Solutions; Green Detail; Secondary Details; Weather Modeling and Predictability; Fasteners and Fastening Systems; Above Sheeting Ventilation; Light Weight Concrete; and Research and Development.

• RICOWI’s Audience Prefers the following: Timely and will have an impact on the industry; Provide innovated solutions to problems; Forward looking to potential industry issues and threats; How-to classes that stimulate and provide attendees with a new skill, technology or process; Topics that are innovative, stimulating and cutting-edge for the construction and roofing industry; Strong proposals that provide a better understanding of processes and techniques; With strong speaking experience and in-depth knowledge of subject matter presented; Topics related to audience and not generic in nature, which are not product pitches; Solid research and data from case studies; and upcoming research

• Deadlines and Review Process: Submission forms with abstracts should be submitted no later than May 15, 2011 to the RICOWI Offices.

The RICOWI Meetings and Education Committee will review and authors will be notified regarding the selection of an abstract by June 1, 2011. Once accepted authors will be required to have bio’s and finalized abstracts in by June 30, 2011 for the preliminary agenda publication on the RICOWI website and for distribution.

All presentations and hand-outs will be due from presenters no later than August 15, 2011. If you have questions regarding RICOWI’s Call for Abstracts please contact Joan Cook, RICOWI’s Executive Director, at 330-671-4569 or jcook@ricowi.com.