Brian Hill Hits the Road as Recipient of C.C. Wiley Award

The C.C. Wiley Traveling Award is one of the most unique honors bestowed upon a UIUC graduating senior in the transportation engineering area. The honoree receives funding to hit the road for 2-3 weeks and see the nation's transportation and construction industries firsthand. Not only does the award allow the student to help design the itinerary to fit his or her own interests but it also provides an opportunity to make professional contacts and meet UIUC alumni across the country.

Brian Hill, this year's award winner, spent the first two weeks of August traveling an ambitious itinerary that included visits to a PennDOT concrete patching project, the Ohio Department of Transportation facilities and asphalt projects, PennState University and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, UCONN, Columbia University, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Oak Island Yard in Newark, the John S. Lane Company's aggregate quarry and asphalt plant (Westfield, MA), and the FHWA's New York office.

Not only educational, the trip allows for some downtime as well. Brian enjoyed touring various cities, visiting Central Park in NYC, taking in a Pirates-Diamondbacks game, and the famous corn beef sandwich at Slyman's restaurant in Cleveland.

With memories and experiences from the Wiley Traveling Award that will last a lifetime, Brian has now embarked on another adventure, earning his M.S. in Transportation Engineering, focusing on warm-mix asphalt for airport projects under the advisement of Professor Bill Buttlar.

Brian says about his experience, "The Wiley Trip was one of the best experiences I have had through the University of Illinois. I was able to visit amazing places and transportation professionals. This trip allowed me to learn a great deal about the transportation industry through meetings with members of railroads, aggregate production, road construction, airport design, government, and education. As a result of this trip, I gained a better grasp on the future that I look forward to within transportation. I would also like to thank all professors within the transportation group and the professionals that I met with during the trip who helped make this a productive journey."

The C.C. Wiley Traveling Award is named after the first professor of Transportation Engineering at UIUC and is made possible by a grant from the Paul F. Kent Memorial Fund. The Wiley award is also indebted to those members of industry and academia who volunteer their time to host and educate the award winners.

Photo above: Brian's view of downtown Pittsburg; below: Brian, pictured with Bill Buttlar, receives the Wiley Award.