] Haifang Wen, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, an associate professor and director of Washington Center for Asphalt Technology (WCAT), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Wen teaches and researches on infrastructure materials and design. He has made significant contributions to the utilization of sustainable infrastructure materials for construction, including waste cooking oil–based bioasphalt, high-recycled asphalt pavement, recycled asphalt shingle, recycled concrete, steel slag, fly ash, scrap carbon-fiber composite, etc. He pioneered the development of bioasphalt using waste cooking oil. His NCHRP research work resolved the concerns on long-term field performance of warm-mix asphalt.
He also successfully applied the use, for Boeing, of scrap carbon-fiber composite from airplane production to permeable asphalt pavement. He pioneered the application of coupling of computational fluid mechanics and discrete element method to characterize the interaction between recycled asphalt and virgin asphalt. He first used viscoelastic continuum damage mechanics to characterize the fatigue behavior of asphalt binder.
Wen’s recent research work for Illinois Tollway led to a change of the Tollway's construction specification on the use of recycled asphalt pavement in highway embankment. His research on the recycled concrete was recognized as one of AASHTO’s High Value Research Projects.
He has published 70 journal papers and numerous conference papers. A few of his papers were selected as practice-ready papers “which made a contribution to current or future problems or issues for practitioners.”
Wen is an editorial board member for International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering and Geological Engineering. He also currently serves as a member of several ASCE committees: EMI's Mechanics of Pavement Committee, CI's Bituminous Materials Committee, and GI's Pavement Committee. He has served on numerous other committees and panels as well.
Wen received Outstanding Faculty Researcher Award from the College of Engineering and Architecture of Washington State University, and the Outstanding Mentor Award.
