Civil Engineering Students, Faculty Present Research at Transportation Research Conference

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From left, top row: Sarah Hernandez, Sanjeev Bhurtyal, Adedolapo Ogungbire, Emirra Harris, Kwadwo Amankwah-Nkyi, Michelle Barry, Cameron Murray and Andrew Braham. Bottom row: Maria Falquez, Farzana Mehzabin Tuli, Lizbeth Juarez-Bartolo, Magdalena Asborno and Ernie Heymsfield.

The 102nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board took place in early January 2023 at Washington, D.C., with a cohort of 14 students and faculty representing the U of A. Students Sanjeev Bhurtyal, Adedolapo Ogungbire, Emirra Harris, Kwadwo Amankwah-Nkyi, Maria Falquez, Farzana Mehzabin Tuli, Lizbeth Juarez-Bartolo, Vuban Chowdhury and Mubarak Thanni were accompanied by faculty members Sarah Hernandez, Michelle Barry, Andrew Braham, Ernie Heymsfield and Cameron Murray.

The Transportation Research Board was founded in 1920 as the National Advisory Board on Highway Research and has evolved into their current incarnation. The board serves as an independent adviser to the president, Congress and other federal agencies on issues of national importance concerning our transportation infrastructure.

At this year’s conference, Arkansas students and faculty made presentations on a variety of topics. Chowdhury was the author and presenter for “Transportation Challenges in Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities.” He also presented “How Does Daily Exposure to Transportation Challenges Affect Mode Choice in a Small City Transit Desert? A Case Study of Fort Smith, Arkansas.”

During the poster presentation session, Mehzabin Tuli presented a poster titled “Dissecting Shared E-Scooters Usage: A Cluster Based Analysis of E-Scooters Users in Portland.” Braham was a co-author on a poster presentation titled “Relative Compatibility Analysis of Aggregate-Binder Systems in Arkansas Against Stripping,” collaborating with Mohammad Oyan of Arkansas State University on this presentation.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, left, and associate professor Ernie Heymsfield.

From left, assistant professor Cameron Murray, US Representative Steve Womack and associate professor Michelle Barry.

Our civil engineering faculty are active members of the Transportation Research Board. Braham is the chair of the new subcommittee “Integrating the Pavement Life Cycle,” which is under the Pavement Preservation Committee and had its inaugural meeting at this year’s conference.

Hernandez is a member of the Freight Data Committee and the Trucking Industry Research Committee. She led and co-led two presentations during the Trucking Industry Research Committee meeting. They were titled “The Degree To Which Trucking Parking Facilities Serve Drivers: A New Performance Measure for Transportation Agencies” and “COVID-19 and the Impacts on Trucking Operations and HOS for Truck Drivers.”

Heymsfield is the chair of and led the Aircraft/Airport Compatibility Committee meeting. Along with attending meetings and breakout sessions related to airport pavements and airside aircraft movements, Heymsfield also had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas at his Capitol Hill office, where they discussed mass timber testing at the U of A’s Grady E. Harvell Civil Engineering Research and Education Center.

Murray and Barry also took the opportunity to meet with U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas in his Washington, D.C., office. They discussed the ongoing research being done at the U of A thanks to funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the benefits graduate school and graduate research brings to the state of Arkansas.

Juarez-Bartolo was honored at the Council of University Transportation Centers Winter Meeting and Awards Banquet during the conference. She was recognized as Outstanding Student of the Year representing the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center at the U of A. 

You can learn more about the Transportation Research Board. More information on Juarez-Bartolo and her award can be found in her Arkansas News article.

About the Department of Civil Engineering: The Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Arkansas was established in 1897 when the College of Engineering made clear the separation of civil and mechanical engineering degrees. The department maintains an accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and ranks in the top 10 percent of civil engineering schools nationwide according to Best Engineering News. The department earned more than $7 million in research awards for fiscal year 2022, while our graduates earn a starting salary averaging $68,000. To learn more about the Department of Civil Engineering, please visit our website.