News
Prof. Torres-Machi attends TRB Annual Meeting
January 2024
Prof. Torres-Machi attended the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington DC. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues, as well as make new connections! Cristina had the opportunity to present on our work on the use of satellite data to inform asset management decisions. More info here and here.
New publication with Eli Evers as first author!
December 2023
Pavement recycling methods, like full-depth reclamation, are showing promise as a sustainable alternative to typical roadway rehabilitation. In our publication,we compare machine learning algorithms to traditional modeling techniques to investigate the life-cycle costs of full-depth reclamation. The article is now available online in the Journal of Infrastructure Systems:
Satellite-Based Inspection Project for Transportation Management
November 2023
Prof. Torres-Machi and Istiakur Rahman travelled to Minnesota to kickoff a new project exploring the 'Value and Potential of Satellite-Based Inspections to Inform Transportation Asset Management Decisions'. This project, supported by Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), will explore the use of satellite technology in enhancing transportation asset management. It represents a significant step forward in applying advanced technologies in the field.
Cristina gives research seminars in Chile
November 2023
In November 2023, we got the opportunity to share our research internationally! Cristina was invited to visit Santa Maria University in Chile, where she delivered two research seminars on the use of advanced data analysis to inform decisions in transportation asset management. This trip was also a great opportunity to learn about the interesting research led by Prof. Aleli Osorio on the use of low cost cameras and machine learning to evaluate the condition of urban pavements in Chile. Cristina also got the opportunity to connect with collaborators from the Catholic University in Chile.
Jonathan presents at the CAGE University Night
September 2023
Jonathan was selected to present at the Colorado Association of Geotechnical Engineers (CAGE) University Night and received an award of $1,000. The CAGE scholarship program aims to promote new ideas which will advance the practice of geotechnical engineering in Colorado. Congrats Jonathan!
Istiakur joins the IRI team
September 2023
We are delighted to welcome Istiakur Rahman, a new PhD student who joined our research group this fall. He is from Chittagong, Bangladesh, and has completed his master’s degree at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and earned his bachelor's degree from Islamic University of Technology (IUT). Welcome Istiakur!
Melissa defends her PhD. Congratulations Dr. Frey!
July 2023
Melissa completed her Ph.D. with a hybrid defense in July 2023. Her committee members included Prof. Elham Fini (Arizona State University), Prof. Osama Abaza (University of Alaska Anchorage), Prof. Chris Senseney (Ƶ Boulder) and her co-advisors Prof. Wil Srubar and Prof. Torres-Machi. Melissa will continue working on research at Ƶ Boulder until mid-August and will then join Exponent as a Building and Structures Associate. We are grateful for the time Melissa has spent in the IRI team and we look forward to her contributions. Way to go Dr. Frey!!
Two IRI papers accepted for presentation at 2023 TRB Annual Meeting
September 2022
We are excited to announce that we have two papers from IRI accepted for presentation at the 2023 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. One of these papers derived from Bill’s research on evacuation modeling, whereas the other paper is co-authored by Bashar and Eli and proposes a machine learning model to predict the deterioration of Full-Depth Reclamation pavements. We are excited about attending the conference and presenting our findings with the transportation community next January in Washington DC.
Jonathan joins the IRI team
September 2022
Jonathan is a new PhD student who joined the research group in the fall. He is co-advised by Dr. Shideh Dashti through the GAANN program. Previously, Jonathan did his master's at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and worked at Yeh and Associates as a Staff Engineer in Ventura, CA. We are excited to have Jonathan join the IRI team. Welcome Jonathan!
Melissa returns from internship
September 2022
Melissa completed an internship in the Building Technology group at Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger (SGH) engineering in Oakland, California this summer. During her internship, Mel performed forensic evaluations like the one in the picture. She returned to Boulder this August to complete her PhD on agar-based alternative asphalt binders and is happy to be back!
Bashar joins WSP
September 2022
Bashar has started work at WSP as a Senior Consultant for the Asset Management and Business Advisory Services team in Denver. Bashar successfully defended his Ph.D. this May, and we wish him the best of luck in his professional career!
Torres-Machi becomes the new holder of the Ross B. Corotis Engineering Endowment fund
August 2022
Porf. Torres-Machi has been selected as the new holder of the Ross B. Corotis Engineering endowment fund. This fund was created in 2001 by Salvador J. “Arch” Archuleta, who graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in Architectural Engineering. Arch was the founder and principal of Johnson-Voiland-Archuleta, Inc., a structural engineering and design firm, and also a past VP of the Ƶ-Boulder Alumni Club. This fund is aimed at enhancing education and research activities in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Ƶ Boulder. Prof. Torres-Machi is humbled and honored to receive this endowment and looks forward to the contributions this fund will have on the next generation of civil engineers.
Eli participated in three-week workshop in South Korea on the use of AI in transportation
July 2022
This July, Eli spent three weeks in Daejeon at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology studying the use of artificial intelligence in smart transportation. The program was sponsored by the NSF as an International Research Experience for Students, and led by Professor KC Choi from Texas A&M University. Eli led a research team with three other undergraduate and graduate students from the United States and South Korea. Their final project was selected by the professors of the program as the winner, among the work of five other teams.
New paper on the use of satellite information to evaluate pavement condition
July 2022
develops an innovative framework that leverages deep learning and satellite data to estimate the condition of a road network located in any part of the world and without any direct cost to the user. The outcomes of this project will allow the transportation agencies worldwide, especially in countries where the concept of infrastructure asset management is still emerging, to better manage their roads while operating under budgetary limitations.
Bill defended PhD. Congratulations Dr. Seites-Rundlett!
June 2022
Bill successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in June. Bill’s research was focused on incorporating social influences and uncertainty into transportation decision making, with applications in evacuation modeling and pavement condition assessment. His PhD committee was comprised of Prof. Ross Corotis (co-advisor), Prof. Amy Javernick-Will, Prof. Mortezah Karimzadeh and Prof. Laura Montalban-Domingo. Congratulations Bill! We are excited about this important accomplishment and we wish you the best in your future endeavors. Way to go Bill!
Torres-Machi presented at the ICMPA, Chicago
June 2022
Prof. Torres-Machi attended the International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets in Chicago. This conference was hosted by the University of Iowa and was a great opportunity to see collaborators and friends in the pavement management field. Prof. Torres-Machi presented work developed as part of ’s dissertation on the use of satellite imagery in pavement condition assessment.
Torres-Machi presented at the International Symposium on Infrastructure Asset Management
June 2022
Prof. Torres-Machi was invited to present at the , hosted by the Northwestern University Transportation Center at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. This symposium was a great opportunity to discuss advances and challenges in the management of infrastructure assets with academics in the field.
IRI group celebrates the end of the 2021-2022 academic year
May 2022
To celebrate the end of the academic year, the IRI group gathered for a barbeque. This was a great opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the research group and share our plans for the summer.
New Paper Proposing a Protocol to Apply Evidence Theory in Civil Engineering
May 2022
The practice of civil engineering is characterized by imprecise, ambiguous, and unreliable data that has traditionally been analyzed with approaches based on probability theory. Data fraught with potential error and missing information, however, are not well suited for analysis using probability theory. Evidence theory offers an alternative method to address this need. Unfortunately, a unified approach to the application of evidence theory is lacking. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a protocol for engineering applications of evidence theory. This publication is part of Bill’s doctoral research. Interested in learning more? Check out the paper .
Melissa passed her comprehensive exam. Congratulations Melissa!
May 2022
Melissa passed her comprehensive exam becoming a Ph.D. candidate in the PhD program in Civil Systems. Melissa’s research explores the use of agar as a direct alternative (i.e., 100% replacement) for petroleum-based asphalt binders. Her work is co-advised by Prof. Torres-Machi and Prof. Wil Srubar. During her comprehensive exam, Melissa received really great feedback from her committee members (Prof. Senseney (Ƶ Boulder), Prof. Fini (Arizona State University), and Prof. Abaza (Univ. of Anchorage). Melissa will incorporate this feedback in her research work moving forward. Congratulations Melissa for this accomplishment!
Torres-Machi receives the CEAE Early Career Award
May 2022
During the commencement ceremony, Prof. Torres-Machi and Prof. Yida Zhang received the Early Career Award. This award recognizes excellent research accomplishments in the professional journey at the Deptartment of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering (CEAE). This is an exciting recognition of the work we develop at the IRI group!
Bashar successfully defended his Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. Bashar!
May 2022
Bashar successfully defended his Ph.D. final examination. His dissertation, entitled “Leveraging Satellite Data and Machine Learning to Enhance Pavement Condition Assessment”, explores the capabilities and opportunities of using remote sensing and machine learning in the evaluation of pavement condition. ’s committee comprised professors from Ƶ Boulder (Prof. Keith Molenaar and Prof. Balaji), Colorado State University (Prof. Paul Goodrum) and Georgia Tech (Prof. James Tsai).
We are very proud of this important accomplishment and we are excited about ’s next steps. He will continue working at the IRI group as a research associate and he is planning on joining a position in industry in the Fall. Congratulations Dr. Bashar!
Prof. Torres-Machi presents at the Data Science for Pavements Symposium
March 2022
Prof. Torres-Machi presented at the 1st Data Science for Pavements Symposium, organized at the Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in Washington DC. In this presentation, Prof. Torres-Machi presented results of an on-going research project that explores the use of machine learning and satellite images to estimate the condition of ancillary pavements. This project is funded by Minnesota DOT and you can find more information here.
This symposium was a great opportunity to learn about new initiatives related to the use of data science in the field of transportation and pavements.
Bashar and Prof. Torres-Machi attend the ASCE CRC conference
March 2022
Prof. Torres-Ma
chi and Mohammad Bashar attended the Construction Research Congress (CRC), organized in Arlington, VA in conjunction with the Construction Institute (ASCE). After a long time with limited traveling due to COVID-19 pandemic, this was a great opportunity to meet friends and colleagues working in the area of Construction Engineering and Management.
In this conference, Bashar made a presentation on the capabilities of satellite high-resolution optical images to derive information of pavement condition. This work is published in the conference proceedings, available .
During the CRC business meeting, Prof. Torres-Machi was selected to serve as the new CRC secretary. This was a productive and fun conference!
Bill and Bashar receive awards on TA excellence
February 2022
Bill Seites-Rundlett and Mohammad Bashar have received the David T. Spalding Graduate Teaching Fund Fellowship for excellence in teaching. This fellowship is awarded by the College of Engineering and Applied Science as a recognition of Bill’s and ’s work TAing courses in the department. This award recognizes them for going “above and beyond” in support of undergraduate education in respect to the trials and tribulations surrounding COVID. The past two plus years have been difficult for all and we are extremely proud of their contributions to the learning and well-being of our undergraduate students. Congrats Bill and Bashar!
The IRI team at TRB
January 2022
IRI Team members Mohammad Bashar, Francisco Contreras, Eli Evers, and Melissa Frey attended the 101st Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. Bashar presented his research on the use of satellite imagery to evaluate pavement condition in a poster session. Eli presented in a session on “Incorporating Social Equity and Environmental Sustainability Into Asset Management Programs.” Co-authored by Francisco, the presentation and associated abstract entitled “Asset Management as a Catalyst for Social Equity” was selected as the winner of the first ever Asset Management Competition hosted by AJE30. The purpose of the competition was to encourage students and young professionals to explore innovative approaches to current challenges in transportation asset management. Melissa presented her research on alternative asphalt binders in a poster session on “Recycling and Innovative Material Advances in Asphalt Binder Technology.” Everyone had a great time presenting and learning - Great job team!
New Paper on Predicting Pavement Condition Using Highly Uncertain Sensor Data
September 2021
This paper compares the prevailing methods of predicting pavement condition to alternative methods based on Evidence Theory. Prevailing methods are based on the Markov Deterioration Process (MDP) and the Bayesian approach proposed in Partially Observable Markov Deterioration Processes (POMDP), utilizing Probability Theory and Bayes’ Theorem. The alternative method based on Evidence Theory is not limited by constraints of probability theory and provides an opportunity to more explicitly account for the high uncertainty in remote sensing data. The results show that the proposed Evidence Theory approach produces errors that are 44% lower than any of the other methods. Check out the paper .
Welcome new IRI members!
August 2021
The IRI group welcomes two new members Eli Evers and Francisco Contreras joining the team in Fall 2021. Both Eli and Francisco are pursuing their PhD in the Construction Engineering Management program. Eli obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Colorado School of Mines. His research at IRI group will focus on the life cycle cost analysis of pavement rehabilitation alternatives in Colorado. Francisco completed his undergraduate from the Technical Federico Santa Maria University, Chile and he specializes in detecting pavement distresses using computer vision and deep learning techniques.
Maria Calahorra-Jimemez receives the Abertis Chile Award on Transportation Research
August 2021
Maria Calahorra-Jimenez, a graduate from the IRI group and now an , has received the Abertis Chile award for her doctoral research on “”. This is a great recognition for the excellent work Maria did during her Ph.D. studies. Congratulations Maria!
New paper provides guidance on the design of pavement rehabilitation solutions using cold-in place recycling
July 2021
This paper summarizes the main results of a two-years research project we developed with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the use of Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) as a sustainable alternative for pavement rehabilitation. Despite FDR has been found to be a sustainable and cost-effective technique for pavement rehabilitation, there is little information on the material properties of FDR mixtures and their characterization in mechanistic-empirical (M-E) pavement design. To address this gap, this paper analyzes the performance of 11 FDR sites constructed throughout Colorado, U.S., and compares their long-term performance with M-E predictions. From this comparative analysis, we recommend input values for the M-E design of FDR base materials. The proposed input parameters lead to a conservative design of FDR projects and result in improved IRI predictions compared with the ones derived from current. You can access the paper .
Melissa presented her research at the ASCE Pavements Conference
June 2021
This summer, Melissa attended the International Airfield and Highway pavements Conference 2021 and presented her research on “Biobased alternative asphalt binders from agar: baseline properties and future directions.”
New project Analyzing the Life-Cycle Costs of Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies
August 2021
The IRI team has started work on a project analyzing the Life-Cycle Costs of Full Depth Reclamation and other pavement rehabilitation techniques used by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). This project builds upon a project we ompleted in 2020 in which we calibrated design coefficients for Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR). In this new project, Eli Evers is working on this project as a doctoral research assistant. More details of this project are available here.
Bashar received the Outstanding Research Assistant Award (ORRA)
May 2021
Bashar was recognized by the Graduate and Professional Student Government at Ƶ Boulder for his excellence in research, mentorship, collaboration and research philosophy with the goal towards creating a healthy research environment. Congratulations to Bashar!
Bill’s Presents at the EMI-PMC Conference
May 2021
Bill presented on ‘Evidence Theory Extensions and Assumptions for Multiple Expert Opinion’ at the Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference and Probabilistic Mechanics and Reliability Conference. In a pre-recorded presentation, Bill discussed the benefits of Evidence Theory, the need for establishing Evidence Theory mathematics, and major theory considerations to address in establishing the mathematics, such as the nature of convergence of belief or the ability of evidence to ‘veto’ previously held beliefs.
IRI group gathering
May 2021
After several months working remotely, the nice weather and availability of vaccines gave us the chance to gather the IRI team in a social gathering. It feels great to resume in-person meetings!
Bashar successfully passed his Comprehensive Exam
April 2021
Bashar passed his comprehensive exam becoming a Ph.D. candidate in the PhD program in Construction Engineering and Management. ’s research is aimed at leveraging satellite data and machine learning to enhance pavement condition assessment. During his comprehensive exam, Bashar received really good feedback from his committee members (Prof. Balaji (Ƶ Boulder), Prof. Keith Molenaar (Ƶ Boulder), Prof. Goodrum (Colorado State University) and Prof. Tsai (Georgia Tech)) that he will incorporate in his research work moving forward. Congratulations Bashar!
Mark presented his research at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research
April 2021
Mark Shorey presented the work he has been doing as a DLA Student at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research in April. This virtual conference included a poster session that was attended by three other undergraduate students. In addition to presenting his work, he networked with two civil engineering students from Panama, and a chemistry student from Georgia. Mark is excited to keep working on his research project about automated detection and assessment of rutting with Dr. Cristina Torres-Machi and Mohammad Bashar for the remainder of the academic year.
New project on the use of bio binders
April 2021
Cristina Torres-Machi and Wil Srubar (PIs) received a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to study novel agar-based binder materials for flexible pavement applications. This two year grant will allow the research team to investigate agar-based binder mix designs and quantify the life cycle economic and environmental benefits of their implementation. Melissa Frey will work on this project as a graduate research assistant. You can find more information here.
New paper on the trade-off between cost and non-cost criteria in Design-Build Best Value procurement
April 2021
In contrast to low bid, best value procurement includes other criteria in addition to cost in the evaluation of proposals. Weights are often considered to account for the importance of these different criteria in the selection process. In this paper, we provide guidance on how weights and scores impact best value selection. Interested in knowing more? Check out with professors , Molenaar, and .
Welcome new IRI members!
March 2021
We are excited to see the IRI grow! During the Spring and Summer 2021, we have had Scott Jirous and David Valles joined our group. David Valles is a visiting student from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia working in the IRI group for the completion of his MS thesis on the performance of flooded pavements. Scott Jirous is an undergraduate student in Civil Engineering working on the intersection of data analysis and civil engineering education. As part of his research, Scott is exploring the use of smartphones to evaluate pavement condition.
But this is not all! We are expecting the IRI group to continue growing. In the Fall 2021, we will welcome two more members to the IRI team: Francisco Contreras and Eli Evers. Both Francisco and Eli will join the PhD program in Construction Engineering and Management. We will share more details about our new IRI members in August!
New collaborative paper with Prof. Amy Javernick-Will and Andrew Tracy
March 2021
At the IRI group, we firmly believe in the benefits of collaborative work, so we are excited to announce the publication of a new paper in which Prof. Torres-Machi has collaborated with Prof. Javernick-Will and Dr. Andrew Tracy from the Global Projects and Organizations (GPO) Research Group at Ƶ Boulder. In this paper, we analyze the factors influencing perceptions of actions taken in response to induced seismicity. You can check out the article .
Prof. Torres-Machi named Beavers Heavy Construction Engineering Endowed Faculty Fellow
January 2021
Professor Torres-Machi has been named a Beavers Heavy Construction Engineering Endowed Faculty Fellow! This position is supported by “”, a heavy engineering construction association whose purpose is to promote goodwill, friendliness and consideration within the heavy engineering construction industry; to give recognition to those men and women who have demonstrated particular skill, responsibility and integrity; and to encourage and support entry of promising young individuals into heavy engineering construction. Prof. Torres-Machi is grateful for this position and excited about contributing to the Beavers’ goals.
New paper sheds light on the potential of using machine learning techniques to predict pavement condition
January, 2021
’s recent work on the performance of machine learning algorithms in predicting pavement international roughness index has been accepted for publication at the Journal of Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. This study performed a meta-analysis to compare the performance of Artificial Neural Networks, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and traditional techniques as reported by different researchers. The results indicated that machine learning algorithms on average captured 15% more variability in data.
Read more about this research .
New Project with Minnesota DOT Awarded!
January, 2021
Cristina Torres-Machi (PI) received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to study the use of satellite data in evaluating pavement condition in ancillary roads. With this one-year, $93,126 grant, the team will develop a predictive tool to assess the condition of ancillary roads from high-resolution aerial imagery. Mohammad Bashar will work this project as a doctoral research assistant.
For more information on the project click here.
Melissa Receives Scholarship from Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS)
December, 2020
Melissa was selected to receive the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Helene M. Overly Memorial Scholarship and an award of $5,000. This award qualifies her for consideration of the WTS International Scholarship. Great job, Mel!
Mark’s paper accepted for presentation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NƵR)
December, 2020
Mark was selected to present a poster at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in April 2021. This fully-virtual conference will give him an opportunity to present the research he has been working on to a broader audience. He's very excited to be getting his object-detection model for rutting in asphalt pavements ready to present, and looks forward to the learning opportunity of presenting a research poster for the first time.
New project exploring electric vehicle adoption and associated impacts on infrastructure and society
December, 2020
The Interdisciplinary Research Theme on Resilient Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RISE) at the College of Engineering and Applied Science at Ƶ Boulder has granted a seed grant to analyze how pursuing sustainability goals such as increased electric vehicle adoption can potentially introduce unforeseen societal consequences. Broadly speaking, this project will look at the interactions between electric vehicle adoption, social perception and social impact, and impact on transportation and power infrastructure. Torres-Machi, Javernick-Will and Crozier are the the co-Principal Investigators of this project, which is lead by Prof. Kiry Baker (Principal Investigator).
Melissa Successfully Passed her Preliminary Exam
December, 2020
Melissa passed her preliminary exam for her PhD in Civil Systems engineering. Congrats Melissa! Melissa’s research aims to create novel agar-based binder materials for use in flexible pavement applications. More information about Melissa’s research can be found in the “Projects” section.
IRI team goes hiking
November, 2020
The IRI Team hiked the trails of Kohler Mesa on a warm November day for some fresh air and socially distanced team bonding. The views were great and the walking pleasant as the team got together for their only in-person event during the Fall 2020 semester.
Bill successfully passed his comprehensive exam
November, 2020
Bill passed his comprehensive exam and became a Ph.D. candidate in civil engineering. Congratulations Bill! Bill’s research aims to improve evacuation modeling through the use of new data sources, such as cell phone data. His committee includes the expertise of Prof. Ross Corotis (co-chair), Prof. Torres-Machi (co-chair), Prof. Silverstein, Prof. Javernick-Will, and Prof. Karimzadeh. More information about Bill’s research can be found in the "Projects section".
New paper published at the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering
September 8, 2020
Maria’s research on alternative project delivery has resulted in a publication in the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering. In this paper, we conducted a content analysis of 540 evaluation criteria included in 98 requests for proposals (RFPs) from highway projects procured using design-building in 21 states across the United States. This study found that 43% of evaluation criteria were not specific, 53% used a generic scale, and only 4% assigned points based on a detailed scale. Building upon decision analysis theory principles, this research proposes a structured approach to support highway agencies in crafting evaluation criteria. More precise and specific evaluation criteria will enhance the proposals’ ability to offer the best-value, which, in turn, will enhance the best-value selection process as a whole. If you want to know more about this research, you can access the paper .
Prof. Torres-Machi appointed Vice-chair of the TRB Standing Committee on Transportation Asset Management
August 25, 2020
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Transportation Asset Management (AJE30) has appointed Cristina Torres-Machi as the Vice-Chair of the committee. Prof. Torres-Machi will work with the Chair, Timothy Henkel from Minnesota DOT and the committee members and friends to advance the state of the art and the practice in asset management. Asset management by its nature is a collaborative process, and the Asset Management Committee works with other TRB Committees across all modes, with the AASHTO Asset Management Subcommittee, and other partners. More information about the AJE30 committee can be found and .
Results from Maria’s research published at the Journal of Construction
August 27, 2020
As part of her PhD research, Maria Calahorra-Jimenez analyzed the reasons leading to cost overruns in road projects. In a paper recently published, she mapped these reasons into the project phases and she proposed four mitigation measures. This paper is now available to download at the Journal of Construction [].
Bill presented at the Natural Hazards Workshop
July 12-15, 2020
Bill attended the 45th Natural Hazards Workshop organized by the Natural Hazards Center at Ƶ. The workshop was held online this year and featured many motivational and inspirational discussions by disaster practitioners, community organizers, and disaster researchers. Bill presented in the group session titled “Hazards Research by New Professionals,” which featured presentations of novel disaster research by current graduate students. Bill presented on the potential to use evidence theory to create improved mathematical models of social behavior, such as evacuation behavior. The presentation complemented the following presentations which discussed uncertainty and evacuations in disaster situations. The outcome of attending the conference was an inspiration to contribute to the amazing work in disaster research by continuing to help improve models and predictions of disasters.
Maria successfully defended her Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. Calahorra!
July 10, 2020
Maria successfully defended her Ph.D. final examination with an oral remote presentation. Her dissertation, entitled “Advancing Knowledge of Design-Build and Best-Value in Highway Projects”, revisits current Design-Bid-Build low bid and Design-Build best-value practices and provides new knowledge to enhance their performance. Two of the research papers derived from her research have been accepted for publication, so stay tuned for future updates.
With this successful examination, Maria has received a dual Ph.D. degree from the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Colorado Boulder. At Ƶ Boulder, Maria was co-advised by Prof. Molenaar and Prof. Torres-Machi, while Prof. Alarcon and Prof. Chamorro were her advisors at the Catholic University of Chile.
We are very proud of this accomplishment and we will miss her in the group. Maria is joining the California State University at Fresno as a new Assistant Professor in Fall 2020. We are sure she will be a successful and impactful professor. Way to go Maria!
Prof. Torres-Machi appointed as a Young Resilience Fellow by the 4TU Center for Resilience Engineering
July 1, 2020
Dr. Torres-Machi has been appointed as a young resilience fellow by the 4TU Center for Resilience Engineering (4TU RE, ). The 4TU RE is a knowledge center in resilience Engineering of the four universities of technology in the Netherlands (Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Twente and Wageningen University and Research). This fellowship is created to support and foster collaboration between international scholars and 4TU RE researchers. As part of this fellowship, Dr. Torres-Machi will collaborate with Dr. Joao Santos, from Twente University on a research project aimed to enhance the resilience of road networks.
Maria earns a digital badge proving her communication skills
April 27, 2020
Maria has received one of the digital badges offered by the Graduate School at the University of Colorado Boulder to recognize her communication skills. The Communication badge is a micro-credential that lets students showcase the skills, competencies, or achievements they gained through learning experiences. To learn more about these badges, check out this article in Ƶ Boulder Today, which includes a highlight on Maria’s badge. Great work Maria!
Check out our new paper proposing a fuzzy logic expert system to enhance the design of optimal pavement rehabilitation strategies
April 21, 2020
Prof. Torres-Machi has worked with , and on the development of a new fuzzy logic expert system to facilitate the design of optimal pavement rehabilitation strategies when multiple objectives are considered. The proposed fuzzy logic system provides decision-makers with an easy and intuitive methodology for the selection of the most preferred solution from the Pareto set of optimal solutions according to sustainability criteria. This work is as open access at the International Journal of Pavement Engineering.
Melissa successfully defended her MS Report. Congrats Mel!
April 6, 2020
Melissa successfully defended her Masters Report entitled "Suitability of Agar as a Biobased Alternative to Petroleum-Based Asphalt Binders" over Zoom. She will be graduating with her MS this May! She received valuable feedback on her experimental results from her committee and is looking forward to continuing her experimental work and research in order to obtain her Ph.D.
The IRI group is working remotely!
April 2020
Because of the unprecedented situation we are living with the COVID-10 pandemic, the IRI group is working remotely. We continue to hold our individual and group meetings on Zoom and we are happy to share some of the practices we are finding useful to handle isolation and stress in these difficult times. Melissa, for example, is handling stay at home orders by staying active and spending time with her rescue cats and partner. Although her pets are enjoying the 1 on 1 time, she is looking forward to returning to campus and her yoga studio. Maria is practicing in the morning, keeping her research routine, walking with her husband around East Campus, and talking over Skype with family and friends. Prof. Torres-Machi has been lecturing her classes on-line and has been working from home while home-schooling her two kids. As part of the home-schooling experience, prof. Torres-Machi has discovered it is never too soon to start learning about the importance of road maintenance so her kids already attended an intro class on asset management. We are looking forward to working together soon and going back to the Engineering Center at Ƶ Boulder. In the meantime, we will stay safe and continue working remotely.
Prof. Torres-Machi attended the ASCE Construction Research Congress
March 8-10, 2020
Prof. Torres-Machi attended the ASCE Construction Research Congress (CRC) 2020 held at the Arizona State University. Prof. Torres-Machi was early involved in this conference, as she was serving in the technical committee and was one of the co-chairs in the Track in Project and Organizational Management and Planning. This conference was well attended by faculty members, students, and alumni from the Construction Engineering and Management program at Ƶ Boulder.
New paper on the Impact of Social Aspects in Evacuation Behavior has been accepted for publication
February 24, 2020
Bill, Prof. Torres-Machi, former IRI group members Alejandra Alvarez-Mingo and Elena Garcia-Bande, and fellow Ƶ Professor Ross Corotis had a paper titled ‘Social Indicators to Inform Community Evacuation Modeling and Planning’ accepted for publication in the ASCE Journal of Risk and Uncertainty: Part A Civil Engineering. You can access the paper .
The paper analyzes composite indices measuring social vulnerability, resilience, and social capital to identify links between the social indicators used to construct these composite indices and social indicators used to anticipate evacuation behavior. The analysis revealed that no single index provided a comprehensive match for the factors relevant to evacuation behavior, although the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) was found to provide the most overlap. This review has identified the potential to incorporate more social, behavioral, and human-centric indicators into evacuation modeling in order to improve the prediction of trip generation, trip distribution, and trip assignment. This analysis highlighted several areas of research that will guide Bill’s research agenda. Current research topics include both the replacement or combination of behavioral surveys with social indicators and the application of these indicators to improve agent-based modeling during hurricane evacuations. The ultimate goal of this research is to establish a clear relationship between indices and actual evacuation behavior. Future research can achieve this goal through the quantitative validation of indices with actual evacuation behavior. We are excited for having this paper published and for the new research ideas that have been raised. Stay tuned for more updates!
The research group has a new name and logo!
February 2020
After several brainstorming sessions, we are proud to share with you our new research group name and logo! The new group’s name is “IRI - Innovation for Resilient Infrastructure”. Both the logo and the IRI acronym highlights the relevance of highway infrastructure in our research (i.e., IRI is also used to refer to the International Roughness Index, one of the metrics most commonly used to assess pavement condition and our new logo). We are excited to share with you our new logo and name!
Maria presented her research at the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition final at Ƶ Boulder
January 31, 2020
The is an academic competition founded by the University of Queensland in 2008 in which competitors describe their research to a general audience. Some of the challenges of this competition is that students only have three minutes to describe their research and they are allowed to use only one static slide, in front of a panel of judges and a live audience. Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 600 universities and institutions across 59 countries worldwide.
The University of Colorado Boulder holds an annual competition open to all doctoral candidates during the Spring semester. Maria was selected among other students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science to participate in the final campus-wide competition. She did a great job summarizing her work in the last three years in three minutes! Congratulations Maria!
Great group representation at the 99th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting!
January 12-16, 2020
Maria Calahorra, Mohammad Bashar and prof. Torres-Machi attended the 99th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. We had a great group representation and a busy time at TRB. On Sunday, prof. Torres-Machi presented in the workshop on “Developing Performance Prediction Models” organized by AFD10 Pavement Management Systems and ABC40 Transportation Asset Management. After this session, Bashar and prof. Torres-Machi attended the ASCE committee meeting on Infrastructure Systems, where Torres-Machi is serving as a co-chair. On Monday, Maria presented her research work with two posters in a session on “Advancements in Alternative Project Delivery”, while prof. Torres-Machi presided a session on “Pavement Management Optimization and Cost Assessment”. On Tuesday, Bashar presented his research in a poster session on “Transportation Asset Management in Action.” This was a busy, productive, and fun way to start 2020. Way to go!
Bashar and Bill successfully passed their preliminary exam
December 29, 2019
Bashar and Bill successfully pass their preliminary exam. The preliminary exam is usually taken once PhD students have completed most of their coursework. This exam is designed to determine the candidate’s background knowledge in Civil Engineering and the specific PhD program (Construction Engineering and Management for Bashar and Civil Systems for Bill). Well done!
Bill presented his research at the 11th International Forum on Engineering Decision Making (IFED) in Manly, Australia
December 11-14, 2019
Bill presented his research on uncertainty analysis for decision-making with respect to natural hazards at the 11th International Forum on Engineering Decision Making (IFED) in Manly, Australia. Bill attended the conference with Prof. Ross Corotis, who is co-advising his research. Bill’s presentation focused on the use of evidence theory as an alternative to classical and Bayesian statistical inference in cases of significant epistemic uncertainty. An interactive game was played with the audience during the presentation, which showed that the second axiom of probability is frequently violated in the case of expert opinions. This means that the assessed probability for an event and its complement does not always sum to 1, providing a theoretical basis for the application of evidence theory which is not restricted by the second axiom of probability. In the pictures we can see Bill and Prof. Corotis enjoying the conference. In addition to the conference networking opportunities, Bill had time to make Australian friends at the beach playing frisbee.
Vignan successfully defended his MS thesis on the recommendation of design parameters of full-depth reclamation projects in Colorado
December 13, 2019
Vignan successfully graduated from the Master of Science program in Construction Engineering and Management. As part of his research, Vignan has recommended parameters for mechanistic-empirical design of full-depth reclamation projects in Colorado. Prof. Molenaar and Goordum were part of his dissertation committee. Congratulations Vignan! We are proud of Vignan’s accomplishment and we will miss him in the group! Here are some pictures of Vignan’s graduation and the group celebration.
Prof. Torres-Machi participated in the Strategic Action Planning Workshop for the new AASHTO Transportation Asset Management Guide
October 17-18, 2019
Prof. Torres-Machi was invited to participate in the Strategic Action Planning Workshop organized by the research team of the NCHRP project 20-123(01), who is working on the new AASHTO Transportation Asset Management Guide. The workshop was held in the Beckman Center of the National Academies in Irvine, CA. As part of the workshop we had great discussions on the future of Transportation Asset Management with consultants, transportation and transit agencies. We are very much looking forward to the publication of the new AASHTO Transportation Asset Management Guide!
Members of the research group authored two of the top downloaded articles published by ASCE on Transportation Engineering
October 1, 2019
ASCE publish a monthly newsletter including the top downloaded articles published in ASCE transportation engineering journals. In October, two of the top downloaded articles have been authored by members of the IRI research team! You can check both publications using the links below:
- Mousa, M., Elseifi, M. A., Bashar, M. Z., Zhang, Z., Gaspard, K. (2019). Cost Effectiveness and Optimal Timing of Crack Sealing in Asphalt Overlays. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 145(3), 04019029.
- Torres-Machi, C.; Nasir, F.; Achebe, J.; Saari, R.; Tighe, S. (2019) Sustainability Evaluation of Pavement Technologies through Multicriteria Decision Techniques. Journal of Infrastructure Systems (ASCE), 25(3), 04019023.
Transportation Week at the Inter-American Development Bank
September 24-25, 2019
Professor Torres-Machi was invited to present at the 2019 Transportation Week organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington, DC. Prof. Torres-Machi shared results from previous projects related to the sustainable evaluation of maintenance alternatives and their application to low-volume roads. Other speakers invited to this event included Prof. Aleli Osorio (University Federico Santa Maria), Prof. Susan Tighe (University of Waterloo), Alex Campbell (AEC Transportation Consulting), Dr. David Jones (UC Berkley), and Dr. Felipe Halles (Altavia). The workshop provided interesting insights on the use of new-technologies in low-volume roads and successful project implementation in IDB projects.
Mohammad ’s research got featured as Editor’s Choice in ASCE Library!
September 4, 2019
Mohammad ’s study on performance assessment of asphalt concrete overlays conducted during his MS program at the Louisiana State University (LSU) has been selected to be featured in the Editor’s Choice section of the Journal of Transportation Engineering Part B: Pavements page in the ASCE Library. Learn more about this work at
Semester kick-off BBQ
September 7, 2019
Professor Torres-Machi hosted the research team at her home with a semester kick-off BBQ. Great food and times were shared. The semester is now off to a good start!!
Prof. Torres-Machi appointed Vice-chair of the ASCE Infrastructure Systems Committee
August 2, 2019
The ASCE Transportation & Development (T&DI) Board of Governors has appointed Cristina Torres-Machi to serve as the Vice-Chair of the Infrastructure Systems Committee (ISC). Professor Carlos Chang, from the University of El Paso Texas has been appointed as the new Chair of the ISC Committee. The purpose of the ISC committee is to study, evaluate and report on current practices and promote new developments in the science of infrastructure management. More info on the committee can be found here. If interested in becoming a member or friend of the ISC committee, don’t hesitate to contact Prof. Torres-Machi.
ASCE Pavements Conference
July 21-24, 2019
Professor Torres-Machi presented a poster at the ASCE conference on Airfield and Highway Pavements on the local calibration of stiffness modulus for full-depth reclamation. Victor Galotti, a former student in the group, was the main author of this publication. Check out the full paper !
ASCE Conference on Transportation & Development
June 9-12, 2019
Professor Torres-Machi attended the 2019 ASCE Conference on Transportation & Development, Alexandria, VA. Prof. Torres-Machi moderated two sessions: “Infrastructure Systems Resiliency and Interdependencies” and “Asset Management in the Era of Smart Cities.” She also attended the annual meeting of the ASCE Infrastructure Systems Committee, where Dr. Torres-Machi serves as a member and chair of the International Activities subcommittee.
ExCEEd Teaching Workshop
June 2-7, 2019
Professor Torres-Machi attended the ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) teaching workshop organized by ASCE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The ExCEEd is a six-day practicum that provides engineering educators with an opportunity to improve their teaching abilities. An inspiring and intense week working to improve the learning experience in civil engineering!
Bill Seites-Rundlett starts a summer internship in the Philippines
June 2-7, 2019
Bill Seites-Rundlett spent the summer as an intern with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), supporting the Philippine Red Cross at their national headquarters in Metro Manila. Bill’s work focused on information management and capacity development in the context of disaster management.
Maria Calahorra passed her comprehensive exam. Congrats Maria!
May 28, 2019
Maria Calahorra passed her comprehensive exam and became a Ph.D. candidate in construction engineering and management. Maria’s research analyzes the procurement process of transportation infrastructure. More information about Maria’s research can be found in the "Projects section".
Ex-aequo first prize on the analysis of traffic jams in Houston: Congratulations Rebecca and Haoran!
May 27, 2019
Rebecca Kerrisk and Haoran Zhou, two undergraduate students working under Prof. Torres-Machi supervision, won the ex-aequo first prize in the mathematical challenge analyzing the traffic jams in Houston. This competition was organized by the French Federation for Mathematical Games and Societe de Calcul Mathematique (SCM). Congratulations Rebecca and Haoran! As an example of the simulations developed by Rebecca and Haoran in this study, the image below shows the level of service in east-north direction highways in the Houston area.
