Sean Coffey, a graduate research assistant in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rowan University was presented the 2013 UTC Student of the year award at the CUTC Banquet at 23rd Annual Outstanding Student of the Year Awards at TRB meeting, held on January 11, 2014 at Washington, DC. Sean was selected on the basis of his technical merit, research and academic performance. He graduated in May 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with honors and anticipates completing his master’s degree in civil engineering in December 2013. Sean started his graduate studies by being the first Rowan University student to receive the UTRC Advanced Institute for Transportation Education (AITE) Graduate Fellowship. Sean has worked on various projects for both the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). His initial project looked at reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) variability and its effect on pavement performance when used in higher percentages. NJDOT has been restricted to using less than 15 percent of RAP in surface layers of pavement due to variability. Sean’s work gave insight in how to control this variability issue.

The NJDOT project, he most recently work on, focuses on correlating multiple stress creep recovery results with polymer modification in binders. Sean’s main task was to create a Microsoft Access database that will store all of the data, making it searchable and completing basic calculations for the user. He has also been working on predictive pavement performance and preservation for RIDPT.

Based on his academic achievement and work in the area of asphalt pavement materials, the University Transportation Research Center is proud to select Sean Coffey as its 2013 Outstanding Student of the Year.