April, 2025 Luncheon
Speaker: Shane Underwood Ph.D.
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025
Topic: Advancing Pavement Engineering: Durability, Safety, and Resilience through Multiscale Research
Presentation: N.A.
Summary: Understanding and predicting pavement performance requires more than empirical observation—it demands a fundamental grasp of the mechanisms driving behavior across scales. This talk will highlight research from the Asphalt Multiscale Mechanics and Characterization (AM2C) Lab at North Carolina State University, which seeks to connect material-level phenomena to network-level outcomes through mechanistic modeling and multiscale analysis. Broadly, the talk will cover research performed at the AM2C Lab across three interrelated areas: (1) durability and structural performance, where microstructural damage mechanisms to long-term cracking and rutting predictions are linked; (2) pavement safety, where texture and friction are characterized and modeled to forecast crash-related risks; and (3) resilience to extreme events, where researchers are quantifying how thermal, moisture, and loading extremes impact performance, and develop predictive tools to assess future vulnerability. A common thread across these efforts is the use of mechanistically-grounded models to support predictive assessments and decision tools—providing practitioners with the means to anticipate performance, optimize interventions, and design more robust infrastructure. Together, these efforts support more durable, safer, and climate-resilient transportation infrastructure.
Bio: Dr. Benjamin Shane Underwood is a Professor, University Faculty Scholar, and Associate Head for Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NC State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from NC State in 2011, following M.S. and B.S. degrees from the same institution. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, he served as an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. Dr. Underwood’s research focuses on the multiscale behavior of asphalt materials and pavement systems, emphasizing performance prediction, safety, and resilience. His work spans fundamental material characterization, fracture mechanics, and network-level pavement management. He has authored or co-authored over 160 peer-reviewed journal articles, led more than 45 funded research projects, and mentored over 15 doctoral students to completion. His predictive models and analytical tools have contributed to the development of performance-related specifications and climate-resilient infrastructure strategies. He is also recognized for his outstanding teaching, receiving multiple university- and college-level awards. Dr. Underwood actively contributes to national and international committees in pavement engineering and currently serves as a Senior Editor for the Journal of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists and as Associate Editor for the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering and Road Materials and Pavement Design.