Materials & Pavements Division Strategic Plan

Introduction

Materials engineering involves optimization of quality and quantity of materials used in engineered structures to, first of all, ensure safety while providing the desired service life and minimizing life-cycle cost. Pavements include public and private roads, airports, water ports and parking facilities. Pavement materials may include soils, aggregates, asphalt, portland cement, lime, and other construction materials along with a host of other stabilizers, additives, admixtures, and specialty products to enhance performance.

Vision

The vision of the Materials & Pavements (M&P) Division is be internationally recognized as the premier agency leading the industry in advancing the fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical nature of paving materials and pavement technology.

Mission

The mission of the M&P Division is to prepare high quality, competitive research proposals in the area of highway pavements and materials engineering and conduct research in this area for state and federal governments and private industry. The ultimate goal is to furnish implementable research products, develop technology transfer information, and provide meaningful instructional information related to pavement materials and pavement structures.

To advance the state of the art, the M&P Division will cultivate the fundamental understanding of the nature of pavement materials. Specific missions are to design, develop, and evaluate improved pavement materials, construction techniques, test protocols, test equipment, and computer software and, further, to develop infrastructure engineering management of public and private works.

As a part of a university-based research institute, our goal is rapid technology transfer, which involves publication and presentation of research papers and assisting the research sponsors in implementing pertinent research findings.

General Objectives

The general objectives of the M&P Division are to lead the industry in:

• Advancing the fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical natures of pavement materials;
• Developing pavement and pavement management technology;
• Improving nondestructive pavement testing techniques;
• Cultivating the use of recycled materials in pavements;
• Minimizing the impact of pavement construction on the environment;
• Maximizing the cost effectiveness of pavement design, construction, management, maintenance, and service life; and
• Transferring of implementable technology to the pavements industry.

Action Plan Summary