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Hot Mix Asphalt for the Undergraduate
Including the Superpave Mix Design System
The materials for the undergraduate course for Superpave have finally arrived. Lee Gallivan, FHWA Indiana Division, states that "the development of the materials has been a long time in coming, but that the payoffs will be far greater than expected." The development of the program was first announced in the November/December 1997 Focus. A follow-up article by Greg Schiess, FHWA Florida Division, June 1998 Focus, regarding the extension of the Indiana plan into Florida generated increased interest in the program from representatives from the States, industry, and academia across the Country and internationally, thus solidifying the need for the program.
The course is intended to introduce the Superpave mix design system as well as a basic understanding of asphalt technology to sophomores and juniors in civil engineering programs. The course materials are intended to be used as a supplement to the basic materials contained in existing asphalt undergraduate courses in materials or pavements. The materials can also be used as stand alone segments in the course curriculums. The development of the senior level undergraduate curriculum has not begun due to the funding issues of TEA-21. Mr. Gallivan states that he "is hopeful that after the distribution of materials and subsequent comments from the users that the FHWA can find the necessary funding to complete the project."
The university course materials include two 50-minute lectures for sophomores and twelve 50-minute lectures for juniors. The class lectures are in Powerpoint format and include instructor's notes, a Laboratory Instructor's Guide, Student work book, and the dreaded "homework" problems.
The materials, including a CD/ROM, will be distributed directly to the AASHTO Subcommittee on Materials, FHWA Technology Transfer Centers, Superpave Centers, FHWA Headquarters and Field offices, as well as various Industry groups. The FHWA Field offices will be asked to distribute and coordinate the extension of the undergraduate program to the Universities in their respective states through State DOT's and Industry representatives. The partnering efforts by Governmental, Industry and academia to extend the Superpave technology in Indiana and Florida can be used as an example to encourage colleges and universities to include the course materials in the undergraduate curriculums. It has been determined that the introduction of asphalt technology, e.g., the Superpave system, to the undergraduates will benefit the entire highway community for years to come.
The CD/ROM is also available through the FHWA Research and Technology Report Center (Phone 301-577-0818, Fax 301-577-1421, Publication No. FHWA-RD-99-073) for those not already on the mailing list. For those wanting multiple copies of the materials, a version is available on the FHWA web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/asphtech for downloading.
The course materials were developed by the FHWA through a contract with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University.
Lee Gallivan, Project Manager, is the Pavements and Materials Engineer for the FHWA Indiana Division and a member of the FHWA Extended Superpave Technology Delivery Team. Phone: 317-226-7493, Fax: 317-226-7341, E-mail: victor.gallivan@FHWA.dot.gov.
