Researchers

Current Researchers

Jingtao Zhong

Postdoctoral Scholar

Research Interests:
Intelligent Transportation Systems, Infrastructure Performance Evaluation and Monitoring, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven Data Analysis.
Personal Interests: I enjoy hiking, working out, exploring new places, and trying out new technologies.
Research Summary: My research focuses on improving pavement performance and transportation safety through advanced surface characterization, data-driven analysis, and intelligent infrastructure management. My previous work investigated pavement skid resistance, surface texture, asphalt mixture performance, and low-cost sensing approaches, including photogrammetry and machine learning, to better understand and predict pavement functional performance. My current work focuses more on pavement management and highway safety. I am interested in how pavement conditions, traffic, and crash data can be used to support maintenance and design decisions. In the future, I plan to continue this work by combining sensing, AI, and transportation data to improve roadway performance and safety evaluation.

Pablo Vestena

PhD Student
Thesis: TBD
Research Interests: Asphalt mixture testing and modelling, Pavement performance, Mechanistic-empirical pavement design.
Personal Interests: My personal hobbies are cooking, jogging, and travelling. I also love watching movies and soccer games
Research Summary: My current project is identifying tests and procedures to implement in NCDOT’s Balanced Mix Design (BMD). The research will evaluate different NC asphalt mixtures using index-based tests, such as Ideal CT and APA, to define feasible threshold limits for mix design and quality assurance/control operations. Subsequently, a mix design procedure will be drafted in a way that existing volumetric and threshold limits can be balanced to ensure long-lasting materials. Along with that, performance-based tests, together with pavement predictions methodologies, will be applied to understand the current state of practice, to predict long-term performance, and to help validate the proposed limits. Finally, the project will sum up the economical impacts of redefining some mix designs, adding more testing effort, with the expected long-term performance benefits for applying a BMD approach.

Matheus Jesus Ribeiro Araujo

PhD Student
Dissertation: TBD
Research Interests: Pavement design and evaluation, soil characterization for pavement purposes, Modeling Techniques applied to Pavement materials.
Personal Interests: I like to enjoy listening to music, watching movies and TV shows, traveling, and spending time with my family and friends.
Research Summary: I am currently part of a project focused on identifying and prioritizing vulnerable road segments as part of a proactive resilience planning and risk response program. For this purpose, pavement damage sites observed after extreme events, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, are being investigated. As a result, we expect to identify a series of attributes that influence the vulnerability of these structures, optimizing future preventive measures and road construction.

Md Afif Rahmn Chowdhury

PhD Student
Dissertation: TBD
Research Interests: Pavement Management Systems – Pavement Friction Management Program, Highway Safety, and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deep Learning (DL), and Machine Learning (ML) in these fields.
Personal Interests: I enjoy playing and watching soccer and I am a huge Real Madrid fan. I also love traveling, cooking, and, most importantly, spending time with my daughters Elsa and Anna (These are their Disney names, not actual).
Research Summary: My current research project with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) aimed to improve pavement design guidelines by updating the friction and texture demand categories. This study focuses on validating skid resistance thresholds, categorizing friction demand, and establishing a framework to ensure that pavement surfaces comply with safety standards.The primary goals of this research project are to validate friction performance models, classify friction demand categories based on crash data and establish a quality assurance protocol to ensure sufficient skid resistance following construction. Additionally, the research aims to create an evaluation matrix and decision-making framework to inform material selection and pavement design. By incorporating these strategies, the project seeks to enhance roadway safety through improved friction management and informed design practices.

Zhihao “Mike” Feng

PhD Student | Co-Chaired with Dr. Cassie Castorena
Dissertation: TBD
Research Interests: Asphalt mixture testing and modelling, Sustainable pavement technologies, Recycled asphalt materials, Cold mix asphalt design, Thin-layer maintenance, Performance-based evaluation of pavement materials.
Personal Interests: Playing badminton, listening to music, traveling, and photography.
Research Summary: My current project focuses on evaluating and optimizing microsurfacing mix designs for NCDOT. The research will analyze North Carolina aggregate characteristics and performance through laboratory tests, including ISSA standard methods (e.g., wet track abrasion, sand adhesion) and accelerated loading simulations (MMLS3), to develop localized gradation specifications (e.g., NC-Type II/III variants). Additionally, the study will incorporate a viscoelastic continuum damage (VECD) model to predict long-term performance under traffic and environmental conditions. The outcomes will provide data-driven recommendations for mix design updates, surface finishing techniques, and implementation guidelines, ultimately enhancing pavement durability and skid resistance while aligning with NCDOT’s preservation goals.

Mohamed E. Salem

PhD Student | Co-Chaired with Dr. Cassie Castorena
Dissertation: TBD
Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence Applications in Pavement Engineering, Pavement Material Characterization and Modeling, Pavement Systems Design and Evaluation, Recycled Materials and By-Products for Pavement Applications, Short- and Long-Term Pavement Aging Performance, and Sustainable Transportation Systems.
Personal Interests: Traveling, jogging, playing chess, and watching soccer games.
Research Summary: My current research project focuses on improving the efficiency of asphalt mixture design and quality assurance procedures for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The project aims at identifying and evaluating more efficient, less resource-intensive testing methods to assess key pavement performance characteristics such as rutting and moisture damage. The research will systematically compare these alternative tests to existing NCDOT procedures, ensuring any changes maintain accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability. This work seeks to provide a practical pathway for the NCDOT to integrate more performance measures into their processes, ultimately leading to longer-lasting, more sustainable pavements and creating opportunities for cost and time savings.

Boji “Borgia” Chen

PhD Student | Co-Chaired with Dr. Cassie Castorena
Dissertation: TBD
Research Interests: Recycling of pavement materials, asphalt material characterization and modeling, and applications of artificial intelligence in pavement material design and characterization.
Personal Interests: Hiking, spending time with cats and dogs, watching movies and TV series, and playing computer games 🙂
Research Summary: My current research project is TBD. My previous research focused on the aging, rejuvenation, and durability evaluation of asphalt materials. I have worked on aging simulation, rheological and chemical characterization of asphalt binders, and the selection of performance indicators for evaluating rejuvenated asphalt. Building on this background, my PhD research interests focus on sustainable pavement materials, recycled asphalt materials characterization and modeling, and the application of artificial intelligence in pavement material design and performance evaluation.

Past Researchers

Post-Doctoral Scholars

Dr. Waleed Zeiada (2012 – 2014) – Cyclic Fatigue and Healing + Fiber Reinforced Asphalt Concrete Mixtures
Dr. Jeffrey Stempihar (2015 – 2017) – Fiber Reinforced Asphalt Concrete Mixtures
Dr. Padmini Gudipudi (2016 – 2017) – Climate Impacts to Pavements
Dr. Kangjin ‘Caleb’ Lee (2020-2021)-Cyclic Fatigue Damage: Effects of Temperature
Dr. Jing Ding (2022) – S-VECD Model Uncertainty
Dr. Zhe “Alan” Zeng (2023-2024) – Cracking and Damage Characteization
Dr. Deepika Karanam (2024) – Resilience and Climate Change
Dr. Boris Goenaga (2023-2025) – Pavement Friction/Texture and Safety Impacts

PhD Students

MS Students

Benson Munywoki (2024) – Development of a Virtual Mean Texture Depth Estimation Method for Asphalt Concrete Using 3D Surface Scans, North Carolina State University
Taslima Elma (2024) – Assessing Climate Change Impact on Asphalt Pavements in Arizona and Implications to Aging in the US, North Carolina State University
Nate Williams (2021) – Assessment of the Variation of Asphalt Mixture Properties from Mixtures of the Same Classification, North Carolina State University
Sathish Nagarajan (2015) – Impact of Forecasted Freight Trends on Highway Pavement Infrastructure, Arizona State University
Akshay Gundla (2014) – Use of Micro-Mechanical Models to Study the Mastic Level Strucutre of Asphalt Concretes Containing RAP, Arizona State University
Jose Medina (Co-Chair with Dr. Kamil Kaloush) (2014) – Properties of Activated Crumb Rubber Modified Binders, Arizona State University
Ryan Stevens (2014) – Development of Paint Stripe Testing Protocol, Arizona State University