Al-Qadi receives TRB's Roy W. Crum Distinguished Service Award

Imad Al-Qadi, Illinois Center for Transportation director and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, received Transportation Research Board’s 2023 Roy W. Crum Distinguished Service Award.

TRB gives this lifetime achievement award, named after TRB’s former director, to an individual who has made outstanding achievements in the field of transportation research.

Al-Qadi’s research focuses on transportation, sustainability, airfield and highway pavement mechanics, electrified freight and platoons, and ground-penetrating radar.

His work has contributed to the growth of the transportation industry by developing standards, analytics and technologies that continue to shape the evolution and advancement of safe, resilient and sustainable transportation systems.

Al-Qadi has revolutionized approaches to pavement sensing, testing and modeling through his work on ground-penetrating radar, truck platoons, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost analysis, pavement sustainability and resiliency, instrumentation, geosynthetics, modeling, and recycled asphalt materials.

He has led the development of many specifications and protocols for pavements. Key is his development of the Illinois Flexibility Index Test, which predicts potential cracking in pavement. I-FIT is currently in place as one of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official’s standards.

Al-Qadi’s involvement with TRB began as a student in 1986. He has served as a member in various capacities since 1993, including as a chair, co-chair or member of 11 Technical Activities Division committees, subcommittees and taskforces.

In 2020, TRB listed Al-Qadi among Transportation Research Record’s most prolific authors. He was listed as one of the most published authors in his field and had the highest number of coauthor collaborations.

“This selection was surprising and humbling news,” Al-Qadi said. “It is a direct result of the hard work of my students, collaboration with my colleagues, commitment of ICT’s staff, and partnerships with various sponsors, especially Illinois Department of Transportation and its leadership.”

TRB will present the award on Wednesday, January 10, during the Chair’s Plenary Session at the 2024 TRB Annual Meeting.