The International Society for Concrete Pavements is saddened to announce the passing away of our Honorary Member and multi-term former member of the Board of Directors, Dr. Juan Pablo Covarrubias, Sr., at his home in Chile. Dr. Covarrubias was the inventor of Thin Concrete Pavement (TCP®), (world patent no. 44820), a revolutionary technology in rigid pavements that has been widely implemented in many countries in the world including initially in Central and South America. He was the Executive Director of TCPavements® since 2006, the company he founded to commercialize his product. He was an internationally recognized concrete and concrete pavement expert who has contributed significantly towards the development of concrete pavement technology in Latin America for more than 40 years.
In his long career spanning several decades, Dr. Covarrubias donned many hats that made him not just a leader in concrete pavements, but a champion of sharing knowledge and best practices across borders. He served as a Part-time Professor at the Universidad de los Andes—lecturing students in engineering materials. From 1972 to 2007, he was Associate Professor of Engineering at the Catholic University of Chile for 20 years, and then part time for another 15 years. He lectured in concrete, materials, and management. Since 1992, he was also the Executive Director, Litoral Ingenieria Ltda., as well as a private consultant. As a consultant, his goal was to increase productivity in concrete general construction, by optimizing construction procedures.
Dr. Covarrubias was an active collaborator in the founding of ISCP in the late 1990’s and served on ISCP’s Board of Directors with great commitment and distinction for several terms. He was instrumental in helping to gain international acceptance for ISCP as a truly international professional organization. From 1992 to 2007 (15 years), he was President and CEO of the Chilean Cement and Concrete Institute—A non-profit organization owned by the Chilean Cement Industry and the Contractor’s Chamber—working in concrete technology transfer to Chile. From 2002 to 2005, he was on the ACI Board of Directors. The pinnacle of his association with ISCP was when he was inducted as an ISCP Honorary Member in 2016.
Juan Pablo was struggling with his health for a few years but still wanted to make a strong impact on the world of concrete pavements. In 2021, ISCP organized a Special International Symposium on Concrete Pavements as a tribute to him. Most fittingly, the theme of the symposium was, “Challenging the Status Quo of Concrete Pavement Design,” which embodied the spirit of his contributions to the field. He addressed the symposium with opening remarks as well as a presentation on the experience with TCP over the years. Unfortunately, his health took a turn for the worst and on August 21, 2022, he left us. He is survived by family, including his son, Juan Pablo Covarrubias, Jr, who currently serves on the board of ISCP.
ISCP and the concrete pavement community is indebted to Dr. Covarrubias for his technical accomplishments, inspiring vision, and eternal friendship.
