H. Gene Hawkins Jr, Ph.D., P.E.

Hawkins, Gene

Associate Professor
Research Engineer

Signs and Markings Program - CE/TTI, Room 301C
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
The Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
ph. (979) 845-9294 Ext. 59294 · fax (979) 845-6481
ghawkins@civil.tamu.edu

Short Biography

Dr. H. Gene Hawkins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, where he also serves as Division Head of the Transportation and Materials Division. He joined the faculty at A&M in September 2004. Prior to that, he spent 18 years at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, where he supervised and conducted transportation engineering research. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University in May 1993. He also holds Master of Engineering and Bachelor of Science (Cum Laude) degrees in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. Dr. Hawkins is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas. Before joining A&M and TTI, Dr. Hawkins worked in the private sector for consulting firms in Bryan and Houston, providing services in the areas of general civil and transportation engineering.

Dr. Hawkins' primary fields of interest are transportation infrastructure, with a special emphasis on traffic control devices, retroreflectivity, and visibility. Dr. Hawkins has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator for numerous research studies, most evaluating signs, markings, and other traffic control devices. His research products include many project reports, manuals, published papers, and presentations on a variety of transportation engineering subjects. Dr. Hawkins has also developed an extensive personal library of traffic engineering publications, which include a large collection of MUTCDs from other states and countries.

Dr. Hawkins is a member of numerous professional and technical organizations. He is heavily involved in the efforts of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices which provides recommendations on changes to the MUTCD. He is a member of the full National Committee, chair of the Markings Technical Committee, and a member of the Research Committee. In addition to his NCUTCD activities, he is involved in the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), and American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA). Within TRB, he is the chair of Committee A3A02-Traffic Control Devices and a member of the Signing and Marking Materials Committee and the Tort Liability and Risk Management Committee. He has served on several industry panels associated with infrastructure and traffic control devices.

Dr. Hawkins, expertise in transportation engineering is indicated through several different recognitions. In December 1998, he received the TTI/Trinity Researcher Award. In May 1998, he was a member of a team of traffic engineers that traveled to Europe to assess innovative traffic control practices. In March 1997, he was one of four individuals invited to present background papers at a TRB specialty conference on human factors in transportation. In 1997 and 1996, he participated in the National Academy of Engineering's Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, which brings together approximately 100 of the outstanding young engineers in the United States. He also received the 1995 ITE Traffic Engineering Council Award for Best Paper Presented at the 1994 Annual Meeting.

Education

  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1993.
  • M.Eng., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1983.
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1981, Cum Laude.

Experience

  • Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, September 2004 - Present.
  • Research Engineer, Signs and Markings Program, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, September 2004 - Present.
  • Research Engineer, Operations and Design Division, Texas Transportation Institute, September 2001 - September 2004.
  • Division Head, TTI, Operations and Design Division, Texas Transportation Institute, September 1999 - September 2004.
  • Associate Research Engineer, Operations and Design Division, Texas Transportation Institute, May 1993 - August 2001.
  • Assistant Research Engineer, Texas Transportation Institute, September 1987 - April 1993.
  • Engineering Research Associate, Urban Mobility, Texas Transportation Institute, September 1986 - August 1987.
  • Associate, Walton & Associates/Consulting Engineers, Inc., 1983 - January 1986.
  • Engineer-in-Training, Walter P. Moore & Associates, June 1982 - August 1982.
  • Engineer-in-Training, Walter P. Moore & Associates, June 1981 - August 1982.

Consulting

  • Hawkins Engineering.

Professional Registration

Registered Professional Engineer in Texas, Registration No. 61509.

Affiliations

  • Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, ITE Delegation, 2002 - Present.
  • Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2002 - Present.
  • Committee Chair, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee A3A02, Traffic Control Devices, 2001 - Present.
  • Member, American Traffic Safety Services Association, Pavement Marking Committee, 2001 - Present.
  • Member, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 1999 - Present.
  • Public Official Member, American Traffic Safety Services Association, 1999 - Present.
  • Secretary, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Regulatory/Warning Signs Technical Committee, 1998 - Present.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Traffic Engineering Council, 1997 - Present.
  • Chair, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Committee on Historical Aspects of Transportation Engineering, 1996 - 1999.
  • Secretary, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee A3A02, Traffic Control Devices, 1995 - 2001.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Expert Witness Council, 1995 - Present.
  • Associate Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, ITE Delegation, 1995 - 2002.
  • Committee Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee A3C12, Signing and Marking Materials, 1994 - Present.
  • Public Official Member, American Traffic Safety Services Association, 1994 - 1998.
  • Committee Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee A3A02, Traffic Control Devices, 1994 - Present.
  • Secretary, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Edit Committee, 1994 - 1998.
  • Committee Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Committee A3B08, User Information Systems, 1993 - 1995.
  • Panel Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Transit Cooperative Research Program Panel A-9, Signs and Symbols in Transit Facilities, 1993 - 1995.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), 1993 - Present.
  • Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Regulatory/Warning Signs Technical Committee, 1993 - Present.
  • Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Research Committee, 1992 - Present.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Transportation Educators Council, 1992 - 1994.
  • Associate Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 1992 - Present.
  • Member, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Signals Technical Committee, 1992 - 1993.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Committee on Historical Aspects of Transportation Engineering, 1990 - 1999.
  • Individual Affiliate, Transportation Research Board (TRB), 1989 - Present.
  • Associate Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), 1987 - 1993.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Texas Section (TexITE), 1987 - Present.

Honors & Awards

Traffic Engineering Council Award for Best Paper Presented at the 1994 Annual Meeting, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), 1995, for the paper, Guidelines for the Use of Flashing Operation at Signalized Intersections.

TTI/Trinity Researcher Award, Texas Transportation Institute, 1998.

Selected Publications

H.G. Hawkins, Jr., H. Zhou, J.D. Miles. Guidelines for Continuous and Safety Roadway Lighting. 0-6645-S. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2012.

H.G. Hawkins, Jr., A. Lodgher, J. Perkins, Y. Yang, E. Jones, C.A. Quiroga. Feasibility and Applications of RFID Technologies to Support Right-of-Way Functions. 0-6142-S. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2010.

A. Lodgher, J. Perkins, Y. Yang, E. Jones, H.G. Hawkins, Jr.. Feasibility and Applications of RFID Technologies to Support Right-of-Way Functions: Technical Report. 0-6142-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. August 2010.

M.A. Brewer, H.G. Hawkins, Jr.. Pedestrian Accessibility at Signalized Intersections. 0-4701-P4. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. 2009.

H.G. Hawkins, Jr.. Traffic Control Device Research Program Summary. Research Report. 0-4701-P1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. July 2009.

H.G. Hawkins, Jr.. Sign Crew Field Book. 0-4701-P5. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. June 2009.

H.G. Hawkins, Jr., A.M. Pike, M. Azimi. Evaluation of Traffic Control Devices: Fifth-Year Activities. Research Report. 0-4701-5. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. February 2009.

Y. Zhang, J. Tong, P.J. Carlson, H.G. Hawkins, Jr., P.B. Keating. Development of Measures to Improve Field Performance of Retroreflective Raised Pavement Markers. Research Report. 0-5089-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. February 2009.