SU part of $2.1 million transportation improvement grant group
Southern University is part of a five-university consortium sharing in a $2.1 million 2013 University Transportation Centers grant to improve sustainability in the nation's transportation infrastructure.
Dr. Alex Hak-Chui Shin, in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, will be representing Southern as a participant in research to develop sustainable and longer lasting concrete for roads, pavement and bridges.
"We will be determining how to include more recyclable materials to be used in the development of concrete," said Shin who teaches transportation engineering and structural engineering on the Baton Rouge campus.
The consortium will be lead by Missouri University of Science and Technology. The other schools, including Southern, are Rutgers University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Miami.
Shin has a Ph.D in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Shin has an expertise in concrete materials and pavements, and will contribute on the experimental and numerical study of the project. He will contribute on the rapid pavement construction and recycled materials
The University Transportation Center project, named Research on Concrete Applications for Sustainable Transportation (RE-CAST), will carry out multi-scale and multi-disciplinary students to investigate the use of innovative materials and structural systems for enhance the durability and sustainability of the transportation infrastructure.
"The ultimate goal of the proposed research program is to fast-track the acceptance of these technologies and develop national standards and guidelines for their use for the reconstruction of the nation's infrastructure for the 21st Century," said Khayat, the RE-CAST director.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, in a press release, "The participating universities are a critical part of our national transportation strategy and to developing a professional workforce with the expertise and knowledge to tackle the challenges of the future."