Transportation Research Center - People

Co-Directors:

Dr. Jaime Hernandez

  • Research interests:
    • Pavement mechanics
    • Modeling of flexible and rigid pavements
    • Tire-pavement interaction
    • Micromechanical modeling of asphalt concrete
    • Pavement damage
    • Pavement evaluation

Dr. Margaret McNamara

  • Research interests:
    • Transportation Systems
    • Traffic monitoring and performance measurement
    • Data analysis and visualization
    • Transportation and health

Affiliated Faculty

Traffic Safety

  • Impact biomechanics, including experimental and analytical analyses of the impact responses, injury tolerances and injury mechanisms of the human body
  • Human and anthropometric test device modeling, occupant protection in light passenger vehicles, and research on vulnerable traffic-way users

Electronics and Sensors

Dr. Ronald Coutu

  • Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), advanced microsystems, sensors and actuators, biosensors, device fabrication, micro-electrical contacts, and phase-change materials
  • Website:

Dr. Cris Ababei

  • Embedded systems hardware design (microcontrollers and FPGAs) and software development

Sustainability and Environmental Impact

Dr. Walter McDonald

  • Methods to monitor, model, and manage stormwater under changing land use and climate variability.
  • Emerging technologies to develop a greater understanding of stormwater systems and improve management efforts

Dr. Anthony Parolari

  • Engineering hydrology and ecohydrology, with a focus on measurement, modeling, and control of hydrology and ecosystem processes

Construction and Materials

Dr. Yong Bai

  • Construction operations, including robotic bridge painting, rapid bridge repair and replacement, on-site construction productivity improvement, highway work zone safety enhancement
  • Pre-fabrication and drone technologies in construction
  • Website:

Dr. Baolin Wan

  • Numerical and experimental modeling of repaired and retrofitted structures
  • Use of GRIT as road repair material
  • Use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite materials, natural fibers and nanomaterials in structural members, ice for construction, field testing and nondestructive evaluation of bridges, behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete structural elements, and finite element analysis