Seventeen civil and industrial engineering graduate students presented research projects to transportation professionals at the Mack-Blackwell Annual Advisory Board Meeting on Oct. 23. The meeting has brought transportation professionals who serve as members of the professional advisory board to campus for a distinguished lecture and meeting for over 20 years. The Jack Buffington Outstanding Student Poster Session, held annually at the advisory board meeting, had its largest student participation this year.

Student participation in the meeting has always been essential, said center Director Heather Nachtmann, professor of industrial engineering and holder of the Earl J. and Lillian P. Dyess Endowed Chair in Engineering.

"Providing a venue for students to interact one-on-one with transportation experts about their research is rewarding for everyone. Technology transfer and engagement between our future workforce and the transportation industry is a key mission of the center," she said.

Board members evaluated the posters based on quality and originality of the research, significance of topic and the students' presentation skills and knowledge about their research.

Board member and evaluator Reese Brewer, director of the Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization in Fort Smith, said, "The poster session proved inspiring. To hear the stories of why the researchers chose their particular project, what it meant to them, and how they believed innovative work — from pavement testing to micromobility options — can offer new solutions for agencies and individuals, gave me confidence that together, we can develop effective engineering designs to benefit our communities, our regions and our nation."

This year's competition was tough, with the top three winners receiving scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. The top three student poster presenters were:

• First place: Mohammad Tahir Ansari, civil engineering, "Lab Calibration Study for Implementing Asphalt Balanced Mix Design for the State of Arkansas."
• Second place: Toluwanimi Ogundipe, civil engineering, "Assessing the Effect of Material Properties on Full Depth Reclamation Mixtures via Compressive Strength Characterization."
• Third place: Callie Clark, civil engineering, "Understanding Friction, Adhesion, and Bearing Load Transfer through Headed Shear Connectors in Composite Steel Bridges."

Ansari, the first-place winner and civil engineering graduate student, said, "I would like to express my gratitude to the Arkansas Department of Transportation for funding this project and allowing us to explore such an engaging topic. It was a fantastic experience to connect with so many bright individuals and to engage with questions about my work. Additionally, I enjoyed the exposure to other research projects happening at the university."

According to Ansari's faculty adviser, Andrew Braham, professor of civil engineering, "Tahir has done a phenomenal job on his research project. He has successfully worked not only with ARDOT but also with many contractors around the state, collecting and testing samples, analyzing the data and writing multiple peer-reviewed journal publications. I am fortunate to have him as a part of my research group. It is wonderful that the university provides opportunities like this for our students to present their research and interact with professionals!"

The namesake of the poster session, Jack Buffington, advisory board member and poster evaluator, summarized the poster session perfectly by saying, "The poster session was absolutely superb! They were all winners, the best I have ever seen."