Angeli Jayme, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign postdoctoral research associate, is invited to join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Rising Stars Workshop on Oct. 28-29.
The two-day workshop will bring together early career researchers who identify or are coded as women and will feature research discussions, faculty talks, panels on current issues and more.
Jayme will present “Adaptable Numerical Modeling for Next-Generation Pavements” and share her vision for preparing the way for connected and autonomous vehicles.
Key to her vision?
Designing our pavements to withstand future smart technologies such as self-driving, heavy-duty trucks, which may travel in a convoy or communicate with each other.
Jayme’s goal to adapt pavements for smart mobility’s technology demand includes wireless, self-powering sensors, sustainable and self-healing materials, and energy-harvesting modules — all of which also aim to combat climate change.
“Our conventional pavement design and analysis knowledge provides an incredible baseline,” Jayme said.
But the twist of adapting our pavement to handle newer technologies, such as autonomous and connected vehicles, must be properly addressed so that transportation agencies can maximize their funding to building safe, resilient and adaptable pavements,” she added.
Jayme, a key member of the Smart Transportation Infrastructure Initiative, aims to address near-future needs as well as unexplored ideas that will impact our transportation system.
“This is part of the exciting vision we have for STII’s Illinois Autonomous and Connected Track, currently undergoing conceptualization and planning under the leadership of Professor Imad Al-Qadi,” Jayme said.
Imad Al-Qadi, UIUC Bliss Professor of Engineering and Illinois Center for Transportation director, couldn’t be more proud of his former doctoral student.
“At the professional level, Angeli has grown tremendously over the years at UIUC and reserved a seat as one of the most promising rising stars and leaders in her interdisciplinary field,” Al-Qadi said.
“I am delighted and not surprised at her selection to this honor,” he added. “She is a wonderful person to work with.”
For Jayme, a former member of UIUC’s Graduate Society of Women Engineers, the opportunity is one she couldn’t pass up.
“I enjoy and have always thrived in being part of communities, especially ones that align with ones I advocate for,” Jayme said.
So, I’m looking forward to creating a new community with amazing womxn engineers and scientists at the MIT CEE Rising Stars program, along with interacting with renowned faculty and students at the MIT CEE department,” she added.
Her advice for others following in her path?
“Pursue and follow your curiosity as well as exhaust the opportunities to work with your friends or colleagues or join communities, because engineering requires many different minds and capabilities to make something incredible!” Jayme said.