Ramez M. Hajj

 Ramez M. Hajj
Ramez M. Hajj
  • Assistant Professor
(217) 244-6107
1201 Newmark Civil Engineering Bldg

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Education

  • Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2014
  • Master of Science, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 2016
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 2019

Biography

Ramez Hajj is an Assistant Professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to joining UIUC, he completed his Ph.D. and Master's in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech. Dr. Hajj's research spans everything related to asphalt materials and flexible pavements, from as small as investigating asphalt binder behavior at the molecular, nano-, and micro-scale, to developing novel materials for roadway pavement and railroad trackbed applications, to solving network-level transportation infrastructure problems. Primarily, his research focuses on asphalt binders, mixtures, and pavements, but more broadly, these research areas are situated in wider research areas of viscoelasticity, composites, machine learning and computational modeling. So far, his work includes fundamental scientific discoveries into the origins of cracking in asphalt binder microstructure, as well as practical contributions to the asphalt industry, state Departments of Transportation, and local transportation agencies. To date, he has published in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals in these areas, and presented his work at many international conferences. Dr. Hajj's research is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the Smart Transportation Infrastructure Initiative (STII), the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, and numerous industry partners.

Academic Positions

  • Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jan. 2020 - Present

Resident Instruction

  • CEE 598IAM - Infrastructure Asset Management, Spring 2024, 18 students
  • CEE 405 - Asphalt Materials I, Fall 2023, 12 students, 11 responding, 3/4 credit hours (100% taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 4.6/5.0
  • CEE 310 - Intro to Transportation Engineering, Fall 2023, 59 students, 22 responding, 3 credit hours (50% taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 4.1/5.0
  • CEE 405 - Asphalt Materials I, Fall 2022, Asphalt Materials, 15 students, 15 responding, 3/4 credit hours (100% taught), Instructor Rating: 4.4/5.0
  • CEE 598ABM - Advanced Bituminous Materials, Spring 2022, 18 students, 11 responding, 4 credit hours (100% taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 4.7/5.0
  • CEE 405 - Asphalt Materials I, Fall 2021, 19 students, 11 responding, 3/4 credit hours (100% taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 5.0/5.0
  • CEE 506 - Pavement Design II, Spring 2021, 13 students, 8 responding, 4 credit hours (100% Taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 4.9/5.0
  • CEE 310 - Intro to Transportation Engineering, Spring 2021, 23 students, 11 responding, 3 credit hours (50% taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 4.5/5.0
  • CEE 405 - Asphalt Materials I, Fall 2020, 12 students, 10 responding, 3/4 credit hours (100% taught), Overall Instructor Rating = 4.4/5.0
  • CEE 310 - Intro to Transportation Engineering, Spring 2020, 3 credit hours (50% taught); Overall Instructor Rating = 4.3/5.0

Course Development

  • New course developed - CEE598IAM - Infrastructure Asset Management, Spring 2024

Student Organizations

  • Faculty Advisor, Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects, UIUC Chapter, 2022 - Present

Research Interests

  • Asphalt binder rheology and chemistry
  • Mechanics of viscoelastic materials
  • Computational modeling of infrastructure materials
  • Flexible pavement design, construction, and maintenance
  • Pavement surface characteristics and treatments
  • Asphalt applications in railroad trackbeds
  • Artificial intelligence for infrastructure material engineering

Selected Articles in Journals

Articles in Conference Proceedings

Abstracts (in print or accepted)

  • Hajj, R. (2023) Use of nonlinear tests and chemistry to understand anti-aging effect of an asphalt softener. In IRF Global R2T Conference & Exhibition. Phoenix, AZ.
  • Hajj, R. (2023) Considerations for rejuvenating larger amounts of recycled asphalt binder. In International Conference on Resource Sustainability. Surrey, UK.
  • Lu, Y. & Hajj, R. (2023) Experimental and simulation-based design of self-healing asphalt capsules. In 60th Peterson Research Conference. Laramie, WY.
  • Asadi, B. & Hajj, R. (2023) Strain field distribution in I-FIT test based on Digital Image Correlation. In ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2023 Conference. Atlanta, GA.
  • Hajj, R. (2022) Durability and maintenance demand of porous asphalt concrete in cold regions. In TriDurLE 2nd Annual Symposium. Honolulu, HI.
  • Hajj, R. & Asadi, B. (2022) Data-driven generation of modulus and phase angle master curves. In 93rd Annual Meeting of The Society of Rheology. Chicago, IL.
  • Hajj, R., Lu, Y., Maia, R. (2022) Investigation of laboratory techniques for evaluating rejuvenator effectiveness and dosage. In 59th Peterson Research Conference. Laramie, WY.
  • Asadi, B. & Hajj, R. (2022) A data-driven model for master curves of viscoelastic materials. In ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute 2022 Conference. Baltimore, MD.
  • Hajj, R. (2020) Fundamental and empirical relationships between binder cracking indicators. In 57th Peterson Asphalt Research Conference. Laramie, WY.

Refereed Conference Papers and Presentations

  • Asadi, B. & Hajj, R. "Development of Rubberized Asphalt Concrete Mix for Use as an Under Tie Pad Alternative in Railroad Applications." In Transportation Research Board 101st Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. 2022.
  • Lu, Y., Maia, R.S., & Hajj, R. "Backcalculation of Asphalt Concrete Poisson's Ratio using the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test." In Transportation Research Board 103rd Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. 2024

Invited Lectures

  • Asphalt binder multi-scale studies and the future of pavement engineering and collaboration
  • Multiscale characterization of viscoelastic construction materials using microscopic experiments and machine learning
  • Leveraging materials science and machine learning to design the next generation of roads

Magazine Articles

  • Hajj, Ramez. (2018) "Finding thinner strength: ultra thin overlays can have more muscle.'' Roads & Bridges, 2018, March: 42-46.

Reports

Journal Editorships

  • Editorial Board Member (2022 - Present), Road Materials and Pavement Design (Taylor & Francis)
  • Junior Editorial Board Member (2021 - Present), Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience (Springer Open)

Conferences Organized or Chaired

  • Local Organizing Committee member, Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference and Probabilistic Mechanics & Reliability Conference (EMI/PMC 2024). Chicago, IL.
  • Local Organizing Committee member, Centennial Meeting of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT), 2024. Chicago, IL.
  • Lead Organizer of Mini-Symposium on Mechanics and modeling of pavement structures and materials. Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference, 2024. Chicago, IL.
  • Lead Organizer of Mini-Symposium 809: Mechanics of Sustainable Alternative Pavement Materials, Modeling, Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference, 2023. Atlanta, GA.
  • Co-organizer of Mini-Symposium 804: Chemo-Mechanics of Asphalt Materials: Experimental Characterization and Numerical Modeling, Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference, 2022. Baltimore, MD.

Professional Societies

  • AKM 20 - Standing Committee on Asphalt Binders, Member and Research Coordinator, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020 - Present
  • Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering, Academic Member, 2020 - Present
  • American Society of Civil Engineers, Associate Member, 2020 - Present
  • Engineering Mechanics Institute, ASCE, Member, 2020 - Present
  • Association of Asphalt Paving Technologiests (AAPT), Member and Serving on Newer Member Committee, 2020 - Present
  • Mechanics of Pavements Committee, Member, ASCE EMI, 2021 - Present
  • AKM 40 - Standing Committee on Asphalt Mixture Evaluation and Performance, Member, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, 2022 - Present
  • Transportation and Development Institute, ASCE, Member, 2022 - Present
  • Society of Rheology, Member, 2022 - Present
  • American Society of Civil Engineers East Central Branch, Vice President, 2023 - Present

Service on Department Committees

  • CEE THRIVES Committee Member and organizer of Assistant Professor subgroup, 2022 - Present
  • Search Committee Member, Research Scientist, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (2021)
  • Search Committee Chair, Research Engineer, Illinois Center for Transportation (2021)
  • Search Committee Member, Senior Research Scientist, Illinois Center for Transportation (2020)

Service on College Committees

  • Peer Observer, Collins Scholar Program, 2021
  • Diversity Committee, Member, Grainger College of Engineering, 2020 - 2021
  • Member, IDEA Institute, 2020 - Present
  • Grainger College of Engineering Ombudsperson Position Development Committee, Member, 2020

Service on Campus Committees

  • Facilitator, Mentoring Matters Series, Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Spring 2022 and Summer 2023

Service to Federal and State Government

  • Project Panel on Pavement Marking Friction Levels and Testing Methods Needed for Road Users (vehicular and vulnerable users, i.e. motorcycles and bicycles), Panel Member, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024 - Present.
  • Project Panel on Performance-Based Tests for Asphalt Emulsion Treatments as part of Agency Acceptance and Incentive Programs, Panel Member, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024 - Present.

Other Outside Service

  • External Grant Reviewer, Swiss National Science Foundation, 2021 - Present
  • External Grant Reviewer, Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, 2020 - Present
  • Technical Reviewer for Journals: Construction and Building Materials (Elsevier), Fuel (Elsevier), Mechanics of Materials (Elsevier), Transportation Geotechnics (Elsevier), International Journal of Pavement Engineering (Taylor and Francis), Molecular Simulation (Taylor & Francis), Road Materials and Pavement Design (Taylor and Francis), Materials and Structures (Springer), ACS Omega (ACS Publications), ACS Sustainable Resource Management (ACS Publications), Energy & Fuels (ACS Publications), Journal of Cold Regions Engineering (ASCE), Journal of Engineering Mechanics (ASCE), Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (ASCE), Journal of Transportation Engineering Part B: Pavements (ASCE), Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems Part B: Mechanical Engineering (ASME), Journal of Testing and Evaluation (ASTM), Composites and Advanced Materials (Sage Publishing), Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (SAGE Publishing), Reviews on Advanced Materials Science (Degruyter), International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology (Springer Nature), Transportation in Developing Economies (Springer Nature), Polymer Engineering and Science (Wiley), Advances in Civil Engineering (Hindawi), Applied Sciences (MDPI), Buildings (MDPI), Coatings (MDPI), Materials (MDPI), Sustainability (MDPI)

Honors

  • Outstanding Reviewer, Journal of Transportation Engineering Part B: Pavements (2022)
  • Outstanding Reviewer, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (2021 )

Teaching Honors

  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, CEE 405, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (Fall 2023)
  • Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellowship, Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (2021 - 2022)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, CEE 405, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (The instructor ratings were outstanding) (Fall 2021 )
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, CEE 310, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (Spring 2021)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, CEE 506, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (The instructor ratings were outstanding) (Spring 2021)
  • List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, CEE 405, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (Fall 2020 )

Research Honors

  • Faculty Fellow, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (2021)

Improvement Activities

  • KEEN National Conference, 2024
  • KEEN Faculty and Industry Relationships (FIRE) Workshop, 2022
  • Grainger Engineers Accelerating Research (GEAR), 2021
  • Mentoring Matters Series, University of Illinois Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Spring 2021
  • Collins Scholar Program, Graduate, 2021
  • Online Teaching Academy, University of Illinois, Summer 2020

Recent Courses Taught

  • CEE 310 - Transportation Engineering
  • CEE 405 - Asphalt Materials I
  • CEE 506 - Pavement Design II
  • CEE 598 ABM (CEE 598 ABO) - Advanced Bituminous Matls
  • CEE 598 IAM (CEE 598 IAO) - Infrastructure Asset Mngmnt

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