APSE convenes inaugural meeting

In 2012, a group of academics representing a wide spectrum of research-active and education-focused institutes came together to review, discuss, and further refine a vision for the development of a pavement science and engineering academic workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary to address the needs and the demands of the multi-trillion dollar infrastructure that underpins the world’s economies.

The founding members of the Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE) worked meticulously behind the scenes to define the group and draft its mission, vision, and roadmap as related to its three core activities: Education, Research, and Professional Development. APSE had formally opened registration and membership application and had since successfully grew from a baseline of 35 to 124 members, currently.

As a next step forward, the inaugural APSE meeting was hosted at the 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2018. The main objective of the meeting was to set the activities related to APSE’s three core areas—Education, Research, and Professional Development—into motion.

The executive officers opened the meeting by emphasizing the vision and mission of the Academy. Attendees then engaged in breakout sessions, led by Silvia Caro, University of Los Andes, Colombia and Kevin Hall, University of Arkansas for education; Elie Hajj, University of Nevada, Reno and John Harvey, University of California, Davis for research; and Kamil Kaloush, Arizona State University and Chuck Schwartz, University of Maryland for professional development.

A rich discussion of approximately 100 attendees initiated a multitude of task force efforts related to online consortia for graduate classes, existing body of knowledge and textbook content, outreach efforts, as well as the establishment of a white paper on the future of pavement innovation and the development of a case statement and demand surveys for service to the profession.

For more information about membership benefits and requirements and to learn more about APSE, please visit APSE’s homepage.