Course Listing - by Instructor

NameBiography
PMI
Sushil Bhavnani Dr. Sushil H. Bhavnani holds the Henry M. Burt Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University. His primary research area is in liquid cooling of high-powered microprocessors. In 2013, he received the Senior-level Research Award for Excellence from the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council. He is the 2008 recipient of the ASME Electrical and Electronics Packaging Division’s Clock Award for sustained contributions to the area of electronics packaging. He has authored 150 refereed journal and conference publications resulting from research sponsored by NASA, the National Science Foundation, the U. S. Department of Energy, the U. S. Department of Defense, Southern Company, Vulcan Engineering Company, the Electric Power Research Institute, Dresser Rand Corporation, and Alabama Electric Cooperatives. His teaching has been recognized with twelve excellence awards, including the Mortar Board Award, the Walker Award, the Birdsong Award, the Pumphrey Award, and the Leischuck Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Sushil has led student teams in international solar-powered car and solar house competitions and is the recipient of the 2014 Auburn University Spirit of Sustainability Award.

Deborah Boswell Deborah Boswell is an accomplished speaker, trainer, and consultant in the area of business communications. As founder and president of Professional Speech Services of Alabama, P.C., she combines her clinical and corporate experience to improve the communications skills of engineers, technical professionals, and other business clients. The firm has offices in Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama. Ms. Boswell received her B.S. degree from Auburn University. She received a Master of Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Montevallo. Deborah's husband majored in Agricultural Engineering and is now working in Supply Chain Management after years in the ductile iron pipe industry.

W. Martin Bretherton W. Martin Bretherton Jr. is a registered professional engineer in the State of Georgia, received an Master in Business Administration from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Martin has been very active in the Traffic Engineering profession. He has been the President of the Georgia Section of Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), is the 2012 Vice President of the Southern Section of ITE and has been on the Executive Committee of the ITE Safety and Traffic Engineering Council and is a past chair of the Traffic Engineering Council and is a Fellow of the Institute. Martin has published and presented over 20 technical papers with many of them winning technical awards from the Georgia and Southern Section of ITE. He chaired a committee that was awarded the Best Committee Report by ITE. He has served on many panels for NCHRP and chaired two NCHRP research panels. He is listed in Who's Who in Science and Engineering. He has been honored by the Georgia ITE Section with the Karl Bevins Distinguished Service Award and the John D. Edwards Individual Achievement Award from the Georgia Section and the John F. Exnicios Government Service Award from the Southern District of ITE. Mr. Bretherton has worked for the Georgia DOT, the City of Conyers, and retired from the Gwinnett County DOT with 20 years of Service. He presently works for the HNTB Corporation as a Senior Project Manager. He, also, is a Principal of WMB Engineering in Atlanta.

Danny Butler Dr. Danny Butler is a Thomas Walter Center Professor at Auburn University. He has received awards for outstanding research in Services Marketing and Marketing Education. Dr. Butler has received 28 teaching awards from the college, university, and international organizations. He has taught academic courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive level. These include Marketing Management, International Marketing Operations, Marketing Research, Entrepreneurship and the Commercialization of Technology, International Supply Chain Management, and Health Care Marketing. Dr. Butler works jointly in the College of Business and the College of Engineering in the Business Engineering Technology program where he helps commercialize technology. Dr. Butler has led student teams in China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the United Kingdom. Dr. Butler has developed and presented Executive Development programs for numerous global companies.

Don Chancy Has worked with Alabama Power Company since graduation in various areas of the Company including Distribution- design, operation, & maintenance of overhead and underground systems supplying residential, commercial, and industrial customers on our system and Supervision of Engineers and crew personal at different levels; Substation Maintenance- Supervisory responsibility for maintenance, testing, and operation of Company substations; Marketing- Industrial Accounts Manager- responsible for account management of several major industrial customers that included tariff applications, coordination of customer requests with our company; Power Quality Engineer- responsible for the investigation and resolution of Power Quality inquiries within one of the six geographic regions for Alabama Power Company for residential, Commercial and Industrial customers with an emphasis on the Major Industrial customers.

Mark Clark Mark Clark has a dual appointment in the College of Business at Auburn University. He serves as a Management Scientist in the Auburn Technical Assistance Center and he also serves a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Aviation and Supply Chain Management Department. Dr. Clark has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and specializes in the area of production and operations management. He has eight years of experience in the pulp and paper industry, and served as a process engineer for approximately three years before joining the management team at one of the International Paper production facilities. In the classroom, Dr. Clark teaches Quality Management, Project Management, and Quantitative Methods at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. He is also an instructor in the Executive MBA Program. Dr. Clark has been in his current role since 1998.

Larry Crowley Have worked with Alabama Power Company since graduation in various areas of the Company including Distribution- design, operation, & maintenance of overhead and underground systems supplying residential, commercial, and industrial customers on our system and Supervision of Engineers and crew personal at different levels; Substation Maintenance- Supervisory responsibility for maintenance, testing, and operation of Company substations; Marketing- Industrial Accounts Manager- responsible for account management of several major industrial customers that included tariff applications, coordination of customer requests with our company; Power Quality Engineer- responsible for the investigation and resolution of Power Quality inquiries within one of the six geographic regions for Alabama Power Company for residential, Commercial and Industrial customers with an emphasis on the Major Industrial customers.

Milton Denny Milton E. Denny is a registered surveyor in seven states, received his certificate in Land Boundary Surveys from the University of Illinois and a veteran of surveying, mapping and GIS. His special interest has always been in project development and management of firms. He is a past president of the Alabama Society of Professional Land Surveyors, a Fellow in the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and served for many years on the Board of Direction. Mr. Denny is the author of many manuals dealing with surveying, mapping and GIS. He is a nationally known speaker and lecturer on these subjects and writes a column called “The Business Side” for a trade magazine. He was instrumental in the starting of a new member organization in the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping called the “Geographic and Land Information Society and served as the first president. Mr. Denny recently finished publishing a book on the history of surveying measurement call “Surveying The Land: Survey Measurement Devices 1620 to 1920”. He also does a first person presentation of the Colonial Surveyor Andrew Ellicott. Since retirement he has formed the firm of Denny Enterprise, LLC to better serve the surveying and mapping community. He is currently working at off campus locations for Auburn University teaching basic and advanced surveying for the Alabama Department of Transportation. He is available for consulting on many different issues, including Buying and Selling a Company, Business Planning, Future of Surveying Technology, and Training at both the entry and advanced level for field and office personnel.

Wesley Donald Wesley N. Donald, PhD, Research Fellow IV, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Auburn University Wesley N. Donald is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University. Dr. Donald received a Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees in Civil Engineering from Auburn University. The focus of his doctoral research was on the use of ditch check practices in channelized flow for controlling erosion on highway construction sites. Currently Dr. Donald is continuing his research in ditch check practices; is assisting in the testing of sediment barriers in sheet flow applications for evaluating ALDOT sediment barrier practices; evaluating catch basin inserts for urban runoff applications; provides training in erosion and sediment control technologies to industry practitioners; and is instructing undergraduate and graduate students in Introduction to Engineering, Construction Engineering and Management, and Erosion and Sediment Control Technologies in Construction.

Ron Eck Ron is Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at West Virginia University and Senior Advisor with the West Virginia Local Technical Assistance Program (WV LTAP). He has been involved in traffic engineering, including pedestrian transportation, for over 35 years. He is a member of the Pedestrian Committee of the Transportation Research Board. He authored the chapter on Pedestrians in McGraw-Hill’s Handbook of Transportation Engineering. He facilitates walkability audits and Walkable Communities Workshops for communities in West Virginia. For the past 4 years, he has taught “Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility” workshops throughout the United States.

David Elton

Dr. David J. Elton, P.E., is a professor of civil engineering at Auburn University who has been specializing in geotechnical engineering for more than 25 years. His extension activities include the many videos sold by Auburn University Engineering Continuing Education on this website, and the hundreds of live short courses he continues to teach on soils, erosion control, drainage, foundations, soils for roads, lime stabilization, slope stability, and mechanically stabilized backfill walls. His specialty areas include: foundations, geosynthetics, liquefaction, soil mechanics, soils magic and pavement evaluation. Dr. Elton has been honored with national and international awards for his research, teaching and service, including the Fred Burggraf Award from the Transportation Research Board. Dr. Elton has served as president of the North American Geosynthetics Society, and has organized the national professor training course for Geosynthetics for five years which is taught at Auburn University. He has also served as editor of the International Geosynthetics Society Newsletter for five years. He holds two U.S. patents and is a registered professional Engineer.

Christopher Estes Chris Estes, PLA, President, Estes Design, Inc. Christopher J. Estes is president of Estes Design, Inc., an environmental design and consulting company in Charlotte, NC that specializes in Low Impact Development, storm water quality, and environmental regulatory services. Mr. Estes is a University of Georgia graduate and has 25 years of professional experience. Before starting his company, Mr. Estes worked for the City of Charlotte Engineering Department for 11 years, including 9 years in the Storm Water Services Division. He initiated Charlotte’s storm water stream restoration program, and five master’s thesis research projects. Mr. Estes has initiated, conducted and published hydraulic research in peer review publications such as the Journal of American Water Resource Association and industry publications including Stormwater Magazine. He has been a contributor to several books including The Engineering Guide to LEED New Construction. Mr. Estes initiated and designed the first pervious concrete parking infiltration BMP in North Carolina that was constructed in clay soils, then researched and monitored for 3 consecutive years. Most recently, Mr. Estes has assisted North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources rewrite Chapter 18 of the NC BMP Manual, “Permeable Pavement”. Changes to this chapter were in part due to research initiated and conducted by Mr. Estes.

Charles Gross Dr. Charles A. Gross is the Square D Professor of Electrical Engineering at Auburn University. His more than thirty-five years of electrical engineering experience in industry and education includes work with several industries, consulting firms, and governmental agencies. Professor Gross holds a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama as well as M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla. He is a registered engineer and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Dr. Gross is an IEEE Fellow 2008 for contribution to Power Engineering Education and also received the international "Outstanding Power Engineering Education Award for 2001" from the IEEE Power Engineering Society. The second edition of his book, Power Systems Analysis, was published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. in the spring of 1986. He has authored or co-authored numerous technical papers and received several outstanding teaching awards.

Jeffrey Hall

Jeffrey Hall is the Digital Sales Manager with Summit Media, an integrated marketing and advertising company in Birmingham, Alabama. He holds A Bachelor of Fine Arts from Auburn University at Montgomery. Currently, he works with other marketing professionals and business owners across multiple business verticals to develop effective marketing strategies that often incorporate digital marketing, radio advertising & events. He has received multiple digital marketing certifications over his 12 years experience in digital marketing environment.

Roy Hartfield Roy J. Hartfield, Jr. is the Walt and Virginia Woltosz Professor of Aerospace Engineering in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University. He holds a PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia (1991). r. Hartfield has been employed by Auburn University as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, and Woltosz Professor of Aerospace Engineering since December, 1990. Dr. Hartfield’s technical interests include optimization of aerospace systems, rocket propulsion, airbreathing propulsion, aerodynamics, wind tunnel testing, and optical diagnostics. Dr. Hartfield is active in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, having served as a member of the High Speed Airbreathing Propulsion Technical Committee, a member of the Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee and as Technical Chair of the 25th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference. Dr. Hartfield has authored over 100 journal articles and conference papers and continues to be actively involved in research. He holds three US patents, a Canadian patent and a Chinese patent.

Michael Hein Mr. Michael Hein is a Professor in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn University. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Tulane University in 1971 and Masters Degree in Structural Engineering from Princeton University in 1973. His industry experience includes working as a Project Engineer for structural consulting offices in New York, Olympia and Seattle, Washington, and Auburn and Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Hein is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Washington. He has extensive experience in computer based training and software application development for architecture, engineering and construction. His specialty areas include CAD, Structural Design, Soils and Foundations, and Computer Aided Instructional delivery methods including the WWW. In 1994, he was selected Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year by the students of the AU Architecture School. He is director of Educational Technology for the College.

Michael Heitzman Dr. Michael Heitzman assumed duties of Assistant Director with the National Center for Asphalt Technology in October 2007. In the previous nine years, he served as the State Bituminous Materials Engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation. Prior to October 1998, he worked 18 years for the FHWA and specialized as asphalt paving technical specialist in the Pavement Division in Washington, D.C., from 1990 through 1993. His career also includes professional experience in geotechnical engineering, pavement design, and program management. He currently serves as a NCHRP panel member for Synthesis of Highway Practice Topic 38-06, Pre-Overlay Treatment of Existing Pavements and chairs the NCHRP panel for Research Project 09-45, Development of Specification Criteria for Mineral Fines Used in HMA. He has published several reports in the area of asphalt paving materials, particularly on the subject of modified binders, asphalt recycling and HMA film thickness. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington and Iowa. He received a B.S. degree in civil engineering and an M.S. degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri – Rolla and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Iowa State University.

J. Lee Hutchins Doctor of Science- Transportation & Urban Planning; PLG Consulting- Senior strategic and transportation executive with an extensive record of identifying, implementing and leading lines of business. Diverse leadership experience with industrial and professional service firms in domestic and international transportation industries. Expertise in freight transportation, land use and industrial development for investment and operating and decisions resulting in an increased asset value and utilization. Experience comes from a history of working with varied stakeholders in numerous international settings. Specialties: Port and intermodal development, Industrial port and terminal operation, Joint venture and project team development and operation. Joint venture Board memberships, Industrial facility design and development, Environmental restoration and closure.

John Jahera Dr. Jahera has been a member of the Auburn faculty since 1980. He served as Head of the Department of Finance from 1988 until 2012 except for the years 2000-2004 when he also served as Interim Dean of the College of Business. Dr. Jahera is the author of more than eighty articles in a variety of academic and professional journals including the Journal of Financial Research, the Journal of Law, Economics & Organization, Research in Finance, the Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics and the Journal of Banking & Finance. The primary focus of his research has been in the area of banking, corporate finance and corporate governance.. He currently serves as co-editor of the Journal of Financial Economic Policy and also is on the Editorial Board of Corporate Finance Review, Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets & Policies, and also the International Journal of Business & Finance Research. He has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as in the Executive MBA and the Physician Executive MBA programs. In addition, Dr. Jahera has taught in a number of executive education and corporate training programs for firms in the southeast. He has been recognized on several occasions for outstanding teaching. He is a member of a number of professional organizations including the Financial Management Association, the Southern Finance Association, Healthcare Financial Management Association, Eastern Finance Association, and the American Finance Association. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Conference on Leadership and is also on the Board of Scholars of the Alabama Policy Institute.

Rod Jenkins Dr. S. Rod Jenkins is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy, and is a Professor Emeritus of Auburn University. Dr. Jenkins' teaching and research interests are in the Environmental Engineering arena, but he also has a continuing interest in engineering economy and has taught many short courses on the subject. Dr. Jenkins received his B.S.C.E. degree from Georgia Tech and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. He taught at the University of Wyoming and Auburn University (for 22 years) before moving to USAFA. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in both Alabama and Wyoming.

Jeff LaMondia Jeff LaMondia is a national expert in travel demand, active travel safety and travel choice/behavior analyses. His expertise is in the development and application of discrete choice models as well as advanced travel survey methods. Dr. LaMondia's research focuses on two major areas: equitable planning for vulnerable road users (VRU), with an emphasis on promoting safe cycling, and modeling long distance travel behavior, with a focus on activity participation and tour scheduling. He often develops advanced technologies for his research, including creating his own smartphone application for tracking cyclist routes, coding simulation and network prioritization tools in geographic information systems (GIS), and distributing the first web-based longitudinal survey of overnight travel (LSOT). Dr. LaMondia has received a number of awards for his research and teaching (including the National Academies' Transportation Research Board Fred Burggraf Best Paper Award, the Auburn University College of Engineering Faculty Research Award, and the Walker Teaching Award) as well as been invited to speak at a variety of national and international conferences (including the International Association of Travel Behavior Researchers, International Conference on Travel Survey Methods and the Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting).

Charlene Lebleu Charlene LeBleu, FASLA, AICP, is an Associate Professor of the Master of Landscape Architecture Program at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Professor LeBleu teaches urban ecology, regional ecology, stormwater construction and a community outreach studio. Her primary areas of interest and research have been focused on green building and water quality issues, especially issues related to low impact development design. She is the current Vice President of the Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Professor LeBleu has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in university, town, and state affairs as well as in our national professional and academic organizations. She has a B.S. Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, and a Master of Community Planning, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Auburn University.

Julie Levinson-Gabis

An experienced marketing specialist, Julie Levinson-Gabis has worked across multiple media in Alabama since 1987. Julie joined SummitMedia, llc in 2014 in a newly created role of Digital Specialist for a radio broadcast group. Julie is responsible for developing and executing digital strategies for her clients as well as assisting broadcast account executives with their digital marketing efforts. Prior to this, Julie worked at The Alabama Media Group/Advance Digital where she managed the emerging markets in Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. Julie's experience also includes cable, print & broadcast sales in television and radio in both management and sales positions.

Julie has her BA from UAB in Public Relations and Business ('86). She graduated from Leadership Birmingham in 2007 and she is teaching a professional development course on Digital Marketing to non-marketing professionals through Auburn University Engineering Continuing Education. Julie lives in Birmingham with her husband, Bernard (Bud) plus two dogs, Fiona and Arya and a cat, Vida.

Jeffery Lucas Jeffery N. Lucas is in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Lucas has been in the surveying business for 31 years. He is a licensed land surveyor registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. Mr. Lucas is also a licensed attorney and member of the Alabama State Bar. Mr. Lucas specializes in land boundary issues and practices throughout the southeast. He has been a seminar leader on surveying topics that include ALTA/ACSM standards, survey technical standards, boundary law, survey law, legal descriptions, state plane coordinates, geodetic surveying, and water boundaries. In addition, he has authored many articles on surveying and boundary issues that have been published in state and national professional journals.

Dan Marghitu Dan Marghitu has a degree from Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse and a PhD from Southern Methodist University, Dallas. He joined the mechanical engineering department at Auburn University in 1994. He has more than thirty years of mechanical engineering experience in education and industry. He is the author of more than 60 journal papers and 6 books on dynamics, mechanical impact, mechanisms, robots and biomechanics.

John McCarthy John R McCarthy, PE, is a Traffic Engineer III, with the City of Montgomery, AL. Mr McCarthy has over 35 years of experience as a traffic engineer, engineering instructor and engineering administrator in state and local governments. In one assignment, he made presentations to local officials for the removal of 100 traffic signals in three cities of one county. He also reviewed the design and did the inspection of 70 upgraded traffic signals in that county. He has written technical reports and newsletter articles on many traffic engineering subjects covering signs, markings, roadway lighting, traffic signals, work zones and safety benefits of alternative geometric improvements. He has conducted seminars and given presentations on asset management, the Internet, roadway markings, roundabouts and work zones. He also written and edited several engineering websites and co-authored a lab manual on computer usage in Civil Engineering. While with the Alabama Highway Department, as it was called then, he was on the editing team of the Alabama MUTCD. He also administered the small town traffic studies and the work zone training program. He assisted in writing a three-volume research report that was published by the Federal Highway Administration.

ometric improvements. He has conducted seminars and given presentations on asset management, the Internet, roadway markings, roundabouts and work zones. He also written and edited several engineering websites and co-authored a lab manual on computer usage in Civil Engineering. While with the Alabama Highway Department, as it was called then, he was on the editing team of the Alabama MUTCD. He also administered the small town traffic studies and the work zone training program. He assisted in writing a three-volume research report that was published by the Federal Highway Administration.

Jason Moore Jason Moore has worked as a Laboratory Research Engineer for NCAT for 7 years and is currently serving as Laboratory Manager. His duties include scheduling, managing, and conducting research, analyzing data, and preparing technical reports. He also assists in preparing proposals and developing work plans for research. He is responsible for maintaining AMRL accreditation for the NCAT laboratory. His laboratory research work has required extensive use of laboratory performance testing equipment such as the MTS, AMPT, IDT, and bending beam fatigue apparatus. He is very knowledgeable of laboratory test procedures and requirements including sample preparation, testing frequencies, and test temperatures required for a variety of hot mix asphalt laboratory performance tests. In addition to his laboratory experience, Mr. Moore has taught several special training courses involving extensive knowledge of asphalt technology. He has also taught technician training and certification courses regarding Asphalt Plant QC/QA testing, Roadway Technician responsibilities, and Aggregate Technician duties. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Alabama.

NCAT
Andrzej Nowak Dr. Nowak is Professor and Department Chair of Civil Engineering at Auburn University, after 25 years at the University of Michigan and 8 years at the University of Nebraska. He received his MS and Ph.D. from the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. His area of expertise is structural reliability and bridge engineering, and major research accomplishments include the development of a reliability-based calibration procedure for calculate ion of load and resistance factors. The procedure was successfully applied on calibration of AASHTO LRFD design code for bridges, ACI 318 Code for Concrete Buildings, Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code, and British Standard BS-5400. He made important contributions in the area of bridge diagnostics and evaluation, including analytical load models used for prediction of extreme load events for bridges and buildings and the development of efficient experimental procedures for weigh-in-motion measurement of truck loads, dynamic loads on bridges and fatigue load spectra. In the area of materials, Dr. Nowak has developed a design guide for self-consolidating concrete (SCC), including field applications. Dr. Nowak has authored over 450 technical publications, and chaired a number of committees associated with professional organizations such as: ASCE, ACI, TRB IABSE and IABMAS. He is a Fellow of ASCE, ACI and IABSE, he received the ASCE Moisseiff Award, IFIP WG 7.5 Award, Bene Merentibus Medal, Kasimir Gzowski Medal from the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers.

Michael Perez font size="2" face="Verdana">Michael A. Perez, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University Michael A. Perez is an Assistant Professor in Iowa State University's Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering specializing in construction and post-construction stormwater practices, methods and technologies. Perez earned his doctorate degree (2016) and masters degree (2014) in civil engineering from Auburn University. He earned his bachelors degree (2012) from Florida State University with a double major in civil engineering and environmental engineering. Perez also conducted research at the Auburn University – Erosion and Sediment Control Testing Facility, where he investigated and improved department of transportation (DOT) standard stormwater management practices using large-scale testing techniques. He has performed investigations into the application of using unmanned aerial vehicle technology for construction and stormwater inspections. In addition, he has industry experience managing a DOT MS4 program and designing low impact development and green infrastructure stormwater practices for roadway projects.

Buzz Powell Dr. R. Buzz Powell earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Auburn University (1990, 1996, and 2006, respectively) with emphasis in pavements and geomaterials. He completed his professional internship with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) in site characterization and geotechnical construction. While with ALDOT, he gained a total of 10 years of experience in pavement management, pavement design, pavement research, and pavement materials characterization. Following a 12-year career with ALDOT, he worked for 2 years as the Principal Engineer for an engineering consulting firm. Dr. Powell has served as NCAT’s Test Track Manager since 1999, and he has been an Assistant Director at NCAT since 2007. The focus of his research at Auburn University is accelerated pavement testing, pavement performance measurement, and pavement construction. Dr. Powell is a registered professional engineer in the State of Alabama.

James Reilly Dr. James P. Reilly received his B.S. in Mining Engineering from Penn State and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Geodetic Science from Ohio State. After a varied career in engineering, University research and teaching, industrial and private consulting, Reilly currently serves as Department Head in the Department of Surveying Engineering at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. Through his firm, Geodetic Enterprises, LLC., Reilly does GPS consulting and seminars on surveying applications and GPS. He writes a bi-monthly column, "The GPS Observer," for P.O.B. Magazine. Dr. Reilly is the current President of the American Congress of Surveyors and Mappers.

Thaddeus Roppel Dr. Thad Roppel is Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Auburn University. He established the Cooperative Robotics Research Laboratory at Auburn in 2006. He and his students develop teams of robots that collaborate with each other and with people to accomplish missions such as disaster search and rescue. Dr. Roppel teaches courses in robotics at all levels from freshman through Ph.D. He also supervises a variety of student projects and extracurricular activities centered on robotics, including the NASA Planetary Mining Competition team. He also coordinates outreach activities to elementary and middle schools to engage students in robotics from the earliest ages.

William Sauser Dr. William Sauser is Professor of Management and Higher Education at Auburn University. His teaching and research center primarily on Principles of Management and Business Ethics, which he teaches in Auburn’s world-class Executive MBA program. Dr. Sauser earned his BS in Management and MS and PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Georgia Tech. He is licensed to practice psychology in Alabama and holds two specialty diplomas from the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Sauser is a frequent consultant to private-, public-, and voluntary-sector organizations on matters of strategic planning, human resources management, business ethics, and human relations in the workplace.

Kristine Sizemore

Kristine equips business owners and sales leaders striving to grow their businesses with the attitudes, behaviors and techniques to pursue profitable prospects at the right time with an effective message, so they don’t waste time, money and effort on the wrong ones. Equipping them with the ability to effectively present solutions to motivated prospects. That results in closing business more quickly and more profitably.

Established first Sandler Training office in Birmingham in 17 years.
Initiated first Sandler Sales Mastery class April 10th 2019. Class meets Wednesday mornings at Faulkner University
Prepare and conduct private training engagements
Public speaker, provide free talks on business development topics to networking groups, non-profits and businesses
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL M. A. Marketing, 1994; University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS B.S.B.A. Business, Cum Laude, 1993.

Michael Stallings Dr. J. Michael Stallings is Professor of Civil Engineering at Auburn University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Alabama. He holds B.C.E. and M.S. degrees from Auburn University and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. His teaching and research interests include structural analysis and design, experimental study of structural behavior, fatigue and fracture mechanics, and bridge evaluation and rehabilitation. Dr. Stallings is an accomplished researcher and is a past member of technical committees of ASCE and TRB. He has been recognized for his classroom teaching with a Birdsong Merit Teaching Award and Fred H. Pumphrey Teaching Award from the college of engineering, an Undergraduate Teaching Excellence award from Auburn Alumni Association, and he has been selected four times (yearly award) by the students at Auburn as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Faculty Member.

Robert Thomas Rob Thomas is a Professor Emeritus in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Auburn University. He joined the faculty in 1988. Prior to coming to Auburn he worked in industry as an industrial engineer, in military equipment design and procurement and in consulting. Dr. Thomas is a Registered Professional Engineer (Texas) and a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE).

Pamela Turner Pamela Turner received her Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1996. While attending UK, she worked as a co-op student at the Asphalt Institute laboratory. After completing her degree, she accepted a full time position with the Asphalt Institute as a Materials Engineer, focusing primarily on asphalt binder testing. She joined the NCAT staff as a laboratory engineer in March, 2004. Pamela is experienced in all aspects of asphalt binder testing, including conventional test methods and the Superpave system. She has participated in many research projects, both at the national level and for private clients and has supervised the everyday activities of one of the premier asphalt binder testing facilities in the country. Pamela is also familiar with the Superpave mix design system, Superpave performance tests, and has considerable experience with laboratory performance testing equipment such as the MTS, AMPT, IDT, and many other asphalt-related tests.

Rod Turochy Rod E. Turochy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University, where he has been employed since 2001. He earned bachelors and master's degrees at Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. at the University of Virginia, all in civil engineering. He teaches courses in transportation engineering, traffic engineering, intelligent transportation systems, and roadway design. His current research activities are in the areas of traffic engineering, highway safety, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Dr. Turochy also has four years of work experience with the Virginia Department of Transportation; in his last position with the Virginia DOT, he was responsible for traffic design and work zone safety for the Salem District.


Reginald Vachon Dr. Reginald I. Vachon is a licensed attorney in Alabama and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He is also a Professional Engineer licensed in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Wisconsin. Dr. Vachon is Principal and COO of Gipco Holdings International, Ltd.. He has over 30 years experience in corporate management, administration, engineering, design, construction, manufacturing and education for government, business and industry. He also has domestic and international experience as CEO, COO and/or Principal of firms engaged in engineering, manufacturing, product design and development, marketing, consulting, construction, software development, and laboratory and environmental services.

Don Watson Mr. Don Watson has over 40 years experience with Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and other construction materials. Prior to joining NCAT in August, 2001, Mr. Watson served for 32 years with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and retired as Assistant State Materials and Research Engineer. He is currently responsible for directing the NCAT training program which typically involves about 700 participants annually. The courses regarding asphalt technology, asphalt mixture design and construction, and various technician certification courses involve knowledge of materials and technical requirements for asphalt mix design, pavement design, HMA production and construction, and pavement maintenance and management systems. Mr. Watson is also Principal Investigator of several current research projects, and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Georgia.

Rick Williams Rick Williams is a Visiting Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University. He earned his Bachelors and Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from Auburn University. Upon graduating from Georgia Tech, Rick was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy where he served on board a submarine and qualified as chief engineer for a naval nuclear power plant. He then worked for Corning Incorporated and was awarded four U.S. Patents for aspects of the manufacturing of optical fiber. Rick left Corning to pursue his Ph.D. and a teaching career. Prior to joining the faculty at Auburn he was an Associate Professor at East Carolina University. At Auburn, he teaches a variety of mechanical engineering courses as well as a course on nuclear power regulation as part of Auburn’s Nuclear Power Generation Systems minor. Since joining the faculty at Auburn Rick has been awarded the William F. Walker Merit Teaching Award and the Mark A. Spencer Creative Mentorship award. He is a licensed engineer in Virginia.

J. Richard Willis Dr. Richard Willis joined NCAT in January 2009 as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. He received a BS in physical science from Freed-Hardeman University in 2003 and a BCE from Auburn University in 2004. In 2005, he graduated with a Masters degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University. Dr. Willis has been involved in several studies at the NCAT Pavement Test Track. He was a member of the forensic team that investigated the causes of multiple pavement failures. He used mechanistic pavement models, laboratory produced data, and forensic trenching to help verify debonding in pavements, the energy ratio concept, and strain regimes in perpetual pavements. Dr. Willis was also among the first research engineers to quantify acceptable variability in embedded pavement instrumentation both between gauges and within a single gauge. Dr. Willis has played a vital role in developing the test plans for the 2009 NCAT Pavement Test Track as well as finalizing the results from the 2006 Test Track experiment. He is currently developing relationships between laboratory performance testing data and field performance measurements for flow number and the bending beam fatigue test. He is also beginning to study how warm-mix asphalt influences pavement performance in the field when coupled with high percentages of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP).

Davis Woodruff Davis M. Woodruff, PE, CMC is an internationally recognized consultant, professional speaker and author. He grew up on a family farm in rural southern Alabama where his family also owned and operated a “country store.” From this background he earned a Chemical Engineering degree from Auburn University, became a Professional Engineer and Certified Management Consultant. He was a manufacturing executive with 3M for ten years and became the youngest manufacturing superintendent in the company prior to forming a management consulting company, Management Methods. Since 1984 he has served clients in 35 states and on 3 continents. From Vermont to Malaysia Davis’ clients include scores of large and small organizations. As a professional speaker, certified management consultant, published author, and professional engineer Davis Woodruff brings immediate benefits to businesses. These benefits include developing leaders; optimizing resource utilization; improving processes, quality and customer satisfaction; and saving time and $$$. Having authored three full-length books, over five dozen articles and multiple online professional development courses, Davis is on the cutting edge of today’s business world. Davis and Lynn have been married since 1970 and they have two daughters, two sons-in-law, three grandchildren and one dog. He is actively involved with his family, in his community and in his church where he leads an adult Bible Study class each week.

Wesley Zech Wesley C. Zech is the Brasfield & Gorrie Associate Professor of Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University. Dr. Zech attended the State University of New York at Buffalo where he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1995, a M.E. in Construction Engineering and Management in 1999, and a Ph.D. in 2004. He currently teaches courses in the areas of construction engineering, construction equipment and methods, and construction safety and health management. The focus of Dr. Zech’s research program is in the areas of work zone safety, construction safety, the use of geospatial technologies in construction, and erosion and sediment control.