January 14, 2025
Researchers from the Missouri Center for Transportation Innovation (MCTI) accepted a High Value Research Award for their work in sustainable pavements.
Bill Buttlar, Glen Barton Chair in Flexible Pavement,聽and Punya Rath, an assistant research professor in civil and environmental engineering,聽received a High Value Research Award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials () for their demonstration of sustainable pavements at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., this month.聽
The research team was commended for their demonstration projects for the Missouri Department of Transportation, which center on the performance of sustainable pavements in use on , and Interstate 155 in the Missouri Bootheel.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking technical concepts related to recycled materials development and applying them to the transportation industry 鈥 which historically has required frequent maintenance and development 鈥 and then putting our work into action in the real-world, not just lab environments,鈥 Rath said. 鈥淥ur goal is to develop a sustainable solution to a recurring problem. And we鈥檙e seeing positive results with our tests so far.鈥
In addition to receiving this award, Rath moderated a workshop session on sustainability and presented a poster with graduate student Nandita Gettu. The poster focused on similar research into the design and evaluation of Missouri asphalt mixtures with ground tire rubber and waste plastics.
Buttlar and Rath鈥檚 research is supported by the Missouri Center for Transportation Innovation (), which hosted a reception during the conference.
Interested in contributing to the next generation of transportation research? Learn more about civil engineering at Mizzou.