ICT Alumni Spotlight: Shih-Hsien Yang, PhD 2009
Shih-Hsien has two roles in the firm: general pavement-related consulting and transportation research. On the consulting end, he works with cities and counties to help them implement pavement management systems and pavement design. He sometimes conducts forensic engineering for premature road failures. This work allows him to travel throughout California.
As part of his role with the firm's transportation research, he is currently working on two research projects: one is SHRP2 R23, Using Existing Pavement in Place and Achieving Long Life. The other project is evaluating the effect of deicing chemicals on rubberized pavements.
Shih-Hsien is enjoying this combination of responsibilities. He says, "I am living the life of a real-world civil engineer but at the same time I still have a connection to research, and the research we do is implemented in industry very quickly." He finds his research experience at UI and ICT very helpful in his new position.
"The classes I had in school gave me a very broad view of a pavement engineer's consulting work. Now that I understand the whole picture, I learn things faster. During the research training I had with Professor Al-Qadi, he gave me freedom to explore the problems, find the possible solutions, and try them. That training process gave me a strong problem solving ability that I now use when I face a brand new research topic at work. I know where I should/ can go to find the potential solutions and then create a step-by-step approach to solve my problems."
While at ATREL/ ICT, Shih-Hsien helped develop the performance-based guidelines for hot-poured crack sealants, which is a pool fund study by the U.S. and Canada agencies. He also worked on the Determination of Usable Residual Asphalt Binder in Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) project (ICT-27-11). The last project he worked on before graduation was a NCHRP study on the development of Test Methods and Specification Criteria for Mineral Filler Used in HMA.
Shih-Hsien arrived at ATREL in 2004, and he has seen many changes there. He remembers it with no internet, not so clean, and with not many people working there. He says that this all changed for the better during the 5 years of his studies especially after the center was opened in 2005. He enjoyed working with staff and students at ATREL and enjoyed learning about different cultures from working with so many different people. He notes that good friendships are formed among those who spend so much time together at the lab.
About his new home, San Francisco, Shih-Hsien says,
"This place is great for living if you're not thinking of living cost. The weather is great. People tell me the temperature range in bay area is usually between lowest 40 to highest 85. Those days of 40 something and 80 something are maybe maximum of one to two a month. There are lots of good restaurants here. My apartment is very close to a big Chinese supermarket, so I can buy almost anything I need from there. Big plus."
Photos: Shih-Hsien by the San Francisco Bay and next to the Leggett, CA Redwoods.
