Andrew Braham Conducting Research On Runway Asphalt
A University of Illinois doctoral
student who is conducting important airport asphalt concrete
research is the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air
Transportation Centers of Excellence "Outstanding Student of the
Year."
Andrew F. Braham, a civil and environmental engineering doctoral
student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been
named a recipient of the prestigious award, given by the Department
of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology
Administration. The award was presented at a special ceremony
recently in Washington, DC.
Braham works with the FAA's Center of Excellence for Airport
Technology. He is researching the behavior of asphalt concrete for
use in airport pavement rehabilitation. He has advanced the
Center's project, "Development of New Methodologies for Mechanistic
Design of Asphalt Overlays," by identifying and summarizing the
most recent studies and technologies related to reflective cracking
mechanisms and mechanics-based modeling of pavement overlay
systems. He also is developing and conducting mixed-mold fracture
tests on asphalt concrete materials for his Ph.D. thesis
research.
"Andrew Braham is a standout scholar, engineer and
practitioner," said Patricia Watts, Ph.D., FAA Centers of
Excellence Program Director. "His leadership qualities,
professionalism and creative approach to asphalt concrete research
make him a strong asset to the FAA's Airport Technology and Centers
of Excellence programs."
Braham holds both masters and bachelors degrees in civil
engineering from the University of Wisconsin (2000 and 2002). His
thesis was, "The Use of Blended Recycled Foundry Sand in Hot Mix
Asphalt." He has been a research assistant and teaching assistant
at both the Universities of Illinois and Wisconsin. Braham has
authored or co-authored seven journal and conference articles about
asphalt concrete materials, and he has presented his research at
several national and international conferences.
Braham served as the assistant director of the 2007
Transportation and Highway Engineering Conference. He founded the
new Illinois Asphalt Paving Association (IAPA) hot-mix asphalt
student design competition, and is very active in the University of
Illinois Leadership Center. He has received many honors, including
the IAPA's 2006 and 2007 Ernest L. Docter Memorial Scholarships,
the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists' 2006 Walter K.
Parr National Scholarship and an engineering graduate fellowship
(University of Illinois, 2005).
Each year the DOT honors the most outstanding students from its
participating university transportation centers for their
achievement and promise for future contributions to the
transportation field. Students are selected for the honor based on
the technical merit of their research, academic performance,
professionalism and leadership.
The FAA's Centers of Excellence Program is based at the William
J. Hughes Technical Center, near Atlantic City, NJ.
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