The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) New Jersey Chapter announced Dr. Hao Wang as 2019 Educator of the Year. He was selected for his research promoting sustainability in civil engineering, especially transportation infrastructure, and his dedication to engineering education. Wang is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rutgers School of Engineering and a CAIT-affiliated researcher.
Dr. Hao Wang was named 2018 Educator of the Year by the ASCE New Jersey Chapter.
Wang emphasizes the importance of considering sustainability in design and management of transportation infrastructure when he teaches a transportation engineering course for undergraduate students. He also has developed a new graduate course titled “Sustainability in Transportation Infrastructure,” which introduces sustainability concept, metrics and rating system, economic cost analysis, renewable energy, and environmental assessment techniques. One aspect he emphasizes is life-cycle assessment students conducted case studies as class projects building on the methods he teaches them.
Wang is an involved and active adviser for undergraduate and graduate students, guiding them in implementing sustainability in civil engineering design projects. One student team he advised submitted their project, “Development of Environment Assessment Tool for Airport Pavements,” to the 2016 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) University Design Competition and won the second place.
Broadly, Wang’s research in the field of sustainable and smart transportation infrastructure has been sponsored by a range of federal and state transportation agencies and industry. His most recent research focuses on:
- Development of sustainable, smart, and multifunctional infrastructure materials
- Long-lasting and safe pavement design in highway and airfield applications
- Life-cycle analysis and assessment for infrastructure management systems
Wang’s recent study confirming that keeping roads in good condition reduce greenhouses emissions was published in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation and was widely covered in the media and by publications such as Popular Science and Anthropocene.
Another of his notable environmentally focused projects developed an innovative system that would allow roadways to generate power by harnessing the kinetic energy of vehicles. This study was published in the high-profile journal, Applied Energy.
Wang has authored or coauthored more than 150 journal and conference publications on pavement engineering and sustainable infrastructure. He is the associate editor of the Journal of Transportation Engineering (Part B: Pavement) published by ASCE, an editorial board member of Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, published by Elsevier, and the Journal of Testing and Evaluation, published by ASTM. He is currently chairs the pavement mechanics committee at the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE and serves on a number of ASCE and TRB technical committees.
Wang received an Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship from FHWA and was the first-prize winner in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Operation and Maintenance Design Challenge. In 2014, he received the AASHTO High-Value Research Award a project that was sponsored by South Dakota DOT.
May 2019
