Bridge Engineering Center

College of Engineering also recognized InTrans patent recipients and named faculty position

Institute for Transportation (InTrans) researchers are among the more than 40 Iowa State University College of Engineering (COE) faculty and staff who were recognized at a ceremony this fall for earning one of the college’s annual awards, named positions, and new patents.

Two InTrans staff received awards for their research achievements: Real-Time Analytics of Transportation Data Laboratory Co-Director Anuj Sharma and Construction Management and Technology Construction Engineer Roy Sturgill.

Sharma, who is also a Pitt-Des Moines, Inc. Professor in Civil Engineering, received the Mid-Career Achievement in Research Award. The award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in research and/or creative activity at the mid-career stage, with 9 to 16 years of professional experience and a minimum of 3 years at Iowa State.

The award citation at the ceremony noted that Sharma has led over 76 projects with $29 million in external support, often on teams that span disciplines and organizations. He has also launched two startups—in the Iowa State spirit of entrepreneurship.

It also noted that Sharma’s “research collaborators call his expertise and leadership ‘transformational’ to the field of transportation.”

Sturgill, who is also an assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, received the Early Achievement in Research Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in research and/or creative activity unusually early in their professional career, with less than nine years of professional experience and a minimum of two years at Iowa State.

The award citation at the ceremony noted that since 2019 Sturgill has published 24 papers and has been invited to give 34 seminars and presentations. He is also the chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Utilities, contributing to the recent rapid growth in his field of study.

It also noted that Sturgill “has quickly distinguished himself as a top authority in utility engineering.”

At the ceremony, InTrans Faculty Affiliate Jonathan Wood was also named a Building a World of Difference Faculty Fellow in Engineering.

Iowa State’s COE also recognized the following new patent recipients associated with InTrans:

• Program for Sustainable Pavement Engineering and Research Director Halil Ceylan and National Concrete Pavement Technology Center Director Peter Taylor: Electrically Conductive Concrete Composition and System Design for Resistive Heating of Pavements with Low Volume Fractions of Carbon Microfiber
• Asphalt Materials and Pavements Program Director Chris Williams with Eric Cochran and Nacu Hernandez, two researchers in Iowa State’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE): Ground Tire Rubber Density Using Elastomeric Polymers, Ground Tire Rubber Density Modification Using Elastomeric Polymers, and Rejuvenation of Vacuum Tower Bottoms through Bio-Derived Materials
• Williams, Cochran, and Hernandez, with CBE Department Research Scientist Michael Forrester: Biosolvents Useful for Improved Asphalt Products Utilizing Recycled Asphalt Pavement or Other Brittle Asphalt Binders such as Vacuum Tower Bottom
• Bridge Engineering Center Faculty Affiliate Sri Sritharan: Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Bond Anchor

To see the full list of Iowa State’s COE faculty recognized this fall, visit the college’s summary of the award winners.