Abstract
Construction aggregates deserve special attention not only as the most voluminous mineral raw material extracted and utilised by humans, but also as one of the essential materials supporting development and functioning of the basic infrastructure of our civilization. To extend our understanding of the role of constructional geomaterials (including aggregates) and on how geologists can contribute to their study, series of conferences focused on constructional geomaterials including aggregates since 2001.
Since the very beginning, organizers of these scientifc meetings tried to preserve several characteristic features: informal spirit balanced with high scientifc standard, open space to any nationality and level of scientifc carrier (students, early-carrier scientists have been welcome all the time), and trial to provide space for high-quality publications submitted to fair peer-review process in well-established scientifc journa or book series under the most important publishing houses. Besides this, all the work in the organization of meetings or conference sessions was (and is) kept strictly informal and volunteer, to promote its enthusiastic character.
During the past 20 years, these international scientifc gatherings allowed to exchange novel ideas between thousands of scientists worldwide. Along with these fruitful meetings, 6 journal special issues covering specifc topics of constructional geomaterials have been released (including the current one).
Besides these journal volumes, another 7 books under the editorial role of the author of this contribution were realised, and another book is under preparation. The current special issue of the Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment has a very special position and focus compared to the previous ones.
In reality, it is the first special issue of our informal initiative on Constructional GeoMaterials focusing only on aggregates in construction. This special issue contains 10 papers, most of which have been presented during the meetings since 2016.
All the papers address important topics related to the current study of aggregates in construction.