Caps off to you: Celebrating ICT graduates

As our University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduates move on to the next stages of their careers, we caught up with five Illinois Center for Transportation grad students about their future plans and cherished memories from their time at the university.

José Rivera-Perez, doctoral student

Rivera-Perez, passionate about highway construction and agency project management, now works as a civil engineer consultant at WSP in Chicago. Here, he plays a pivotal role in specifications development, safety initiatives and design-built procurement implementation.

Grateful for the practical knowledge gained from UIUC research projects, Rivera-Perez also values the networking opportunities at conferences like the Transportation and Highway Engineering Conference, the Illinois Bituminous Paving Conference, and the Illinois Transportation Engineering and Safety Conference. These events helped him connect with industry leaders and secure his current job.

His favorite memory includes the overwhelming support and donations from the university during Hurricane Maria’s aftermath in Puerto Rico in fall 2017.

“The university community’s generosity during such a difficult time will always hold a special place in my heart,” Rivera-Perez said, who was featured in the Graduate College’s One Story series.

Punit Singhvi, doctoral student

Singhvi, who studied asphalt materials for pavement construction, delved into asphalt modification for high-performance production.

Currently working as a research engineer for Crafco, Inc., Singhvi’s role focuses on advanced pavement engineering research, particularly the development of next-generation modified asphalt products for roofing and paving applications.

He enthusiastically recalls Engineering Open House, where Grainger engineers showcase their research to the community.

“EOH was such an incredible opportunity to share our work with the public, and it remains one of my fondest memories,” Singhvi said, who was part of ICT’s first-place EOH team in 2021.

Abhilash Vyas, master’s student

Vyas, who has an interest in pavement engineering, specializes in the fatigue and fracture behavior of asphalt materials, asphalt binder rheology and chemistry.

With plans to pursue a doctoral degree at UIUC starting in the summer, Vyas cherishes the supportive and collaborative environment at ICT, which feels “like a family.”

“The sense of camaraderie and support at ICT truly has made my time at UIUC unforgettable,” Vyas said.

Egemen Okte, doctoral student

Okte, now a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, focuses on pavement sustainability, autonomous vehicle-pavement interaction and machine learning for infrastructure performance prediction.

He fondly remembers the strong sense of community and mutual support at ICT, which was especially evident during his doctoral celebrations and as he prepared to move away.

“The ICT community stood by me during my PhD journey and my transition to a new chapter,” Okte said. “I'll always be grateful for the connections I made there.”

Zehui Zhu , doctoral student

Zhu, who now works in the oil and gas industry, focuses on the evaluation of asphalt mixtures’ aging characteristics and performance testing of pavement materials.

His favorite grad school memory?

“Building full-scale asphalt overlays with our amazing team!” Zhu said.

These exceptional grads are making significant contributions to transportation engineering, and their experiences at UIUC will undoubtedly shape their future careers.