ASCE has honored Kelvin C.P. Wang, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, with the 2024 James Laurie Prize for outstanding contributions to the advancement of transportation and civil engineering through teaching, research, and professional service.
Since the early 1990s, Wang has been a pioneer in the development of instrumented vehicles for pavement distress. He is known for the adaptation of laser-based pavement roughness sensing and has provided numerous professional papers documenting his contributions to this important transportation management problem.
While assistant professor at the University of Arkansas in 1993, Wang developed advanced information systems for highway asset management, and his work for the Arkansas Highway Department resulted in the Multimedia Highway Information System, which they have used since. Wang participated in the development of a US DOT Tier I University Transportation Center proposal to substantially increase the University's transportation research portfolio and received over $3 million in research funding in his first couple of years at OSU.
His work on pavement 3D sensors, AI solutions, and automated technologies changed the landscape of pavement survey and is followed by industry and researchers. Products based on his technology are used in several countries. Wang was also a leader in standards development for pavement distress assessment, which standards have led to consistent widespread measurement and identification practices. More recently, he has contributed AI approaches to pavement distress analysis and techniques for detailed 3D representation of pavement surfaces.
Wang has been a prominent leader in T&DI, serving as T&DI President (FY20l7) and organizing a dozen international conferences; he is also the former chair of the Emerging Technologies Council. He has served on editorial boards and is a co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal on Rail Transportation.
The James Laurie Prize recognizes contributions to the advancement of transportation engineering in research, planning, design, or construction.
