Roll of Honor - John J. Forrer

John J. Forrer


John J. Forrer was the first Maintenance Engineer for the Virginia Department of Highways. Joining the highway fraternity in 1917, Mr. Forrer advanced through the engineering ranks to become Maintenance Engineer in 1923. He remained in this position until promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer in 1951, a position he held until his retirement from the … Continue reading John J. Forrer

Roll of Honor - Carl A. Carpenter

Carl A. Carpenter


Thirty-five of Carl A. Carpenter’s forty years in highway construction materials research were spent with the United States Bureau of Public Roads. Mr. Carpenter joined the Bureau in 1931 after five years of laboratory experience with Union Oil Company of California and the Colorado State Highway Department. His accomplishments as project leader on specific research … Continue reading Carl A. Carpenter

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Lawrence R. Kleinschmidt


During his thirty eight years of dedicated services to asphalt technology, Lawrence R. Kleinschmidt’s greatest contributions were made in the field of asphalt roofing. After spending his early career in the Chemistry Division of the United States National Bureau of Standards, Mr. Kleinschmidt turned to research with bituminous materials for roofing. In that time, the … Continue reading Lawrence R. Kleinschmidt

Roll of Honor - James F. Gallagher, Sr.

James F. Gallagher, Sr.


Having been associated with the asphalt industry for more than 50 years, James F. Gallagher deserved the title of “Mr. Asphalt” given to him by many of his contracting and engineering peers. He started his work with asphalt in 1912 and owned and operated his own contracting company from 1930 until his retirement in the … Continue reading James F. Gallagher, Sr.

Roll of Honor - Dr. Walter Becker

Dr. Walter Becker


Considered one of the most prominent experts in asphalt technology and construction in Germany, Dr. Walter Becker has a record of almost 40 years of uninterrupted service in this field, much of it with Esso, A. G., Hamburg. He has compiled more than a hundred scientific and technical articles relating to both asphalt and road … Continue reading Dr. Walter Becker

Roll of Honor - Frederick J. Warren

Frederick J. Warren


Prior to the formation of the Warren Brothers Company in 1900, Frederick J. Warren had been engaged in the laying of asphalt pavements with the Barber Asphalt Paving Company, of Denver, Colorado. In the early 1890’s he pioneered in the development and placement of sheet asphalt, a three-inch hot mix two- course pavement, the top … Continue reading Frederick J. Warren

Roll of Honor - Harry H. Barber

Harry H. Barber


One of the co-founders of the Barber-Greene Company, Mr. Barber was instrumental in the development of machines to mix and lay down asphalt paving mixtures, lifting the procedures from an inconsistent art to a repeatable science, thus raising the quality and reducing the costs of asphalt pavements. Mr. Barber’s company is now one of the … Continue reading Harry H. Barber

Roll of Honor - Dr. L. W. Nijboer

Dr. L. W. Nijboer


Dr. L. W. Nijboer was born July 27, 1901 in Edam, Holland. He has made major contributions to asphalt technology through his work at the Royal Dutch/Shell-Laboratory, Amsterdam, Holland. He has been particularly concerned with the mechanical properties and the design of both road mixes and flexible road structures. In the former field his work … Continue reading Dr. L. W. Nijboer

Roll of Honor - William B. Greene

William B. Greene


William B. Greene was co-founder, with H.  H. Barber, of the Barber-Greene Company in 1916. His company in later years developed asphalt plants and paving machines that revolutionized the asphalt paving industry. These machines raised the quality and reduced the cost of asphalt paving for highways and airports. Barber-Greene first publicly displayed an experimental asphalt … Continue reading William B. Greene

Roll of Honor - Herbert Abraham

Herbert Abraham


Herbert Abraham can probably be called the father of the asphalt roofing industry. Upon graduating from Columbia University in 1903 he joined the Standard Paint Company, later the Ruberoid Company, because it was small and because his organic chemistry background fitted him for the field of asphalt technology and application. He developed various improvements in … Continue reading Herbert Abraham