TRP chair spotlight: Joseph Vespa

Joseph Vespa, Technical and Product Studies Engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation, is currently serving as the Technical Review Panel chair for two projects: 

• R27-54: Storm Water Pollution, Erosion & Sediment Control Products Demonstration & Training Center
• R27-102: Installation & Performance Testing of Ditch Checks & Inlet Protection Structures

Both of these products utilize the Erosion Control Research and Training Center, which Vespa has been instrumental in creating and supporting. He has also served as a TRP member on seven other ICT projects. Vespa began with IDOT as a summer employee while in college and joined their Bureau of Materials and Physical Research in 1990. He has held a variety of roles within the bureau.

Vespa says that he appreciates the relationship between ICT and IDOT because ICT provides expertise and facilities that can help IDOT solve a specific problem, improving IDOT specifications and procedures. He states, “For example, the Erosion Control Research and Training Center is a great partnership between IDOT and the University. IDOT staff can learn from capable instructors, and university researchers now have a center to continue their research on erosion, which ultimately will help IDOT implement best practices and specifications.”

Vespa holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on transportation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a registered professional engineer in Illinois.