UTEP Teams Participated at the 2023 Asphalt ROAD-EO in Buda, Texas
Two teams composed of UTEP civil engineering students participated in the 6th Asphalt ROAD-EO mixture design competition organized by the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association (TXAPA). The Sun City Asphalt Miners team placed 2nd in the overall competition, while the Texas Western Blacktop team finished in the top three for two of the four categories evaluated.
The competition took place at the TXAPA headquarters in Buda, Texas, between April 14th and 15th, 2023. Nine teams from universities in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas joined the event. The teams were tasked to prepare an asphalt mixture slab with good friction, rutting, and cracking performance, in addition to making use of innovative materials. Additionally, the teams were interviewed by a panel of judges comprised of experts from the asphalt pavement industry and the Texas Department of Transportation. Each performance component and presentation were worth 25 points.
The Sun City Asphalt Miners team, formed by Daren Perez, Melanye Gutierrez, Hector Garcia, and Pedro Chavez Jr., finished 2nd in the overall competition with a monetary award of $1000 for each student. The asphalt mixture slab prepared by this team was modified with rubber recycled from asphalt tires. The final product performed well for all the performance tests, showing a balanced mixture design.
Daren Perez a sophomore student in civil engineering mentioned that “Participating in this competition it’s a highlight in my career. I met experts in this field, learned more about asphalt materials, and worked with my peers to solve a mixture design problem. I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge in this field of civil engineering.”
Pedro Chavez Jr. also shared his testimony from the event: “The event has motivated me to keep pushing forward in my career focusing on transportation. I believe every undergraduate should take these opportunities because, in the end, the students will acquire knowledge and skills such as learning how to better manage time, teamworking, collecting data, meeting deadlines, and communication skills. These are great foundations that every student should have to be successful after graduating.”
Another participant that shared his experience is Hector Garcia: “I learned how to teamwork and the pros and cons of doing a mix design. This event encouraged me to keep learning about the asphalt pavement industry and motivated me to pursue a master’s degree in the transportation area in the future. I want to return to this event next year and encourage other students to participate and get involved in these opportunities.”
Melanye Gutierrez also shared her experience: “I am glad to say I was part of Asphalt ROAD-EO competition. I learned new life-long valuable skills that will help me prepare better for my future career as an engineer. My experience in this event also allowed me to improve my teamwork abilities and we were able to get a satisfactory experience by winning second place.”
The Texas Western Blacktop team members were Marian Loaeza, Ana-Cristina Anaya, Sebastian Morales, and Maximiliano Morales. The team incorporated plastic recycled from water bottles into their mixture design. The asphalt mixture slab modified with plastic showed the best friction number in the competition. The team also delivered a presentation that ranked in the top three.
“Every project that we do in the laboratory has a meaning after I attended this event,” said Maximiliano Morales about his experience in the Asphalt ROAD-EO competition. “It motivates me to keep working in this field because I understand the purpose of doing all the mix of asphalt materials and recycled products. I am going to graduate in the following semester, but I want to keep working in this field and conduct performance tests in the laboratory and field.”
Ana-Cristina Anaya stated that “As a senior student at UTEP, I am glad to have participated in the Asphalt ROAD-EO competition. I gained experience in incorporating recycled materials into asphalt mixtures. I believe that adding plastics to asphalt mixtures can provide engineering, economic, and environmental benefits. The knowledge I have obtained through CTIS and this experience have led me to decide that transportation is a good fit for my career. I recommend young engineers to participate next year in this competition which would help them towards their career path.”
CTIS is extremely proud of the performance of both teams in the competition. The teams attempted to develop sustainable mixture designs without sacrificing performance and showed great commitment to preparing themselves and producing the slab for the competition. UTEP has ranked in the top three for the last five editions of the Asphalt ROAD-EO competition.