Dr. Ceylan is a Pitt-Des Moines, Inc. Endowed Professor of Civil Engineering and the founding Director of the Program for Sustainable Pavement Engineering and Research (PROSPER), the Institute for Transportation (InTrans) at Iowa State University (ISU), where he has been teaching and conducting research as a faculty member for more than 20 years since receiving his Ph.D. in Civil (Transportation Facilities) Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002. He is also serving as the ISU Site Director of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS) Center of Excellence (COE) for General Aviation. He has been elected to the 2022 Class of Distinguished Members of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for his pioneering innovations and servant leadership role in transportation/geo-infrastructure engineering through significant advancements in infrastructure system design and construction for smart, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure systems, and for generously sharing his knowledge through education, service, and mentoring.
Dr. Ceylan has extensive experience in transportation infrastructure systems, civil engineering materials, intelligent infrastructure engineering, and geotechnical engineering. His research focuses on smart, sustainable, durable, and resilient geo- and transportation infrastructure systems. His research group has filed two US patent applications (published and pending) and participated in the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) and National I-Corps Training Program. Dr. Ceylan’s innovative research work has been recognized as the 2024 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Roy W. Crum Award, the 2022 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Innovation Initiative Focus Technology and High-Value Research. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2023 ASCE Robert Horonjeff Award, the 2022 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award, the 2021 ASCE James Laurie Prize, and the 2019 FAA PEGASAS Jimenez Faculty-Researcher Award, among many others.
Additionally, he is a Chi Epsilon Chapter Honor Member at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, recognizing his significant contributions to the field of civil engineering and his impact on students’ lives. Dr. Ceylan has actively taken leadership roles in several national/international level professional organizations and societies, including the ASCE Geo-Institute Pavements Committee (Chair), the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI) Uncrewed Aerial Systems Committee (UAS) Chair. He has also served as a member of over 30 national and international committees and subcommittees of professional organizations, including ASCE, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Research Council, the American Concrete Institute (ACI), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Ceylan has authored/co-authored 450 peer-reviewed publications, garnering three best-paper awards. He has delivered over 480 presentations with 170+ invited talks, including several keynote lectures. He has mentored and supervised over 90 graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, and research staff. Many of his students have leading positions in the profession and are faculty members in academic institutions. He has generated over $27.2 million in project funds from over 145 research studies since 2002, these being related to geo and transportation infrastructure systems, pavement/geotechnical/civil engineering materials, sustainability, resiliency, safety, pavement preservation, cementitious materials, and so on. Research sponsors include the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Defense (DOD)-U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) - Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), National Science Foundation, Portland Cement Association, Strategic Highway Program, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and many others.