RELEASE: IMMEDIATE CONTACT: Ann Overton, Public Affairs Manager                      Virginia Transportation Research Council                      (434) 293-1912                      Ann.Overton@VDOT.Virginia.gov

April 8, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Amy Hearon credits much of her success as a graduate student at the University of Virginia to the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), a partnership of the Virginia Department of Transportation and U.Va. Hearon will receive her master’s degree in May through the graduate pavements program in U.Va.’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

Amy Hearon

“The Research Council is what attracted me to U.Va.,” Hearon said. “VTRC has a national reputation for conducting quality materials research. My time here also provided me the opportunity to work closely with a state department of transportation and to learn how a DOT works.

” Her latest achievement is her recent appointment as a Young Member of the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Committee AFH60, Flexible Pavement Construction and Rehabilitation.

TRB is one of six divisions of the National Research Council, the principal operating agency of the National Academies. Membership on a TRB standing committee, which is limited to 25, is a high professional honor. Members are considered experts in their field so they can contribute a valuable perspective on current issues facing the transportation profession.

Hearon focused her studies on the emerging and environmentally friendly technology of warm-mix asphalt, or WMA. Introduced from Europe in 2002, WMA is still in the exploratory stage in the United States. Early tests in Virginia for VDOT and elsewhere have shown that warm mixes provide potential benefits from reduced greenhouse gases and lower fuel costs to better working conditions for field crews, more durable pavements and longer paving seasons.

Hearon’s thesis topic is “An Evaluation of Warm Mix Asphalt Using Sasobit,” a type of WMA.  She also made a well-received presentation on the “Installation and Evaluation of Warm-Mix Asphalt Projects in Virginia.” at a session on warm mixes at the TRB 2008 annual meeting in Washington in January.

Stacey Diefenderfer, Hearon’s adviser and a VTRC research scientist, calls Hearon “a great asset to the program,” adding that “the WMA project was greatly enhanced by her involvement.”

VDOT is investigating WMA as a clean and economical alternative to traditional hot-mix asphalt. The Research Council oversaw several WMA installations for a 2007 study, which included work by Hearon, and is conducting lab tests to determine its practicality for Virginia’s diverse regions.

Asphalt mixes normally are produced in the 280- to 325-degree Fahrenheit range, but various additives that improve their workability at lower temperatures can produce mixes about 50 to 75 degrees cooler at the plant. That results in lower energy consumption and plant emissions, saving producers money.

Hearon, of Albuquerque, NM, received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She became interested in materials after working as a technician at an engineering firm while an undergrad, noting “it’s a very hands-on and practical field."

She worked at AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, for 3-1/2 years, before coming to U.Va. While at the AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL) in Gaithersburg, MD, she became better acquainted with VTRC’s materials research and selected U.Va. for graduate school when she learned of the collaboration of the two entities. The Research Council’s asphalt labs are AMRL accredited.

She will join the Denver office of Kleinfelder, a national engineering firm, as a project engineer after graduation.