Facilities and staff are available for processing, sample preparation, conditioning, and testing of highway construction materials to simulate a range of in-service conditions. The staff measure paving material properties and apply advanced analysis techniques to solve critical pavement performance problems. Field and laboratory testing of bridges and foundations has allowed the coordinated development of a versatile instrumentation and loading system. The hub is the structural research laboratory in which full-scale bridge and foundation components can be fabricated and loaded, in a variety of modes. Researchers measure the responses of full-scale bridge and foundation components to loads and use these measurements in conjunction with analytical procedures to solve critical bridge performance problems.
Students participate in research programs that are educationally and financially rewarding.