The paper describes a synthesis of works conducted by the author in the field of high performance concretes and road skid resistance. Conducted as part of a PhD thesis at the University of Sherbrooke (Canada), the research on the fatigue behavior can characterize high performance concretes - both in terms of materials and structural elements - and compared with normal concrete. The analysis of fatigue life using concepts in reliability can calculate failure probability, indicator more relevant than the average fatigue life. Road skid resistance is ¾ of the research of the author, as a researcher and then team leader and project . The areas covered range of influential factors of skid resistance, including the road surface microtexture, to use the knowledge of available skid resistance - especially when it is degraded - to warn the driver, including also important aspects like the skid resistance evolution with the traffic and the European harmonization of measurement methods. This gradual progression help to deal with skid resistance from its cognitive (understanding, modeling) to applications, and to tackle with the laboratory-to-road transition and the scale change issues. This career of 20 years allowed the author to capture different aspects of research coordination such as project proposals, the development of partnerships - with a strong emphasis on international collaborations, supervision of researchers or management of a laboratory. Independent at first, these bricks were then structured to build a methodology of research coordination. Research perspectives for the future (4-5 years) are also identified to fill perceived gaps in this synthesis.
