Lynne Irwin, Ph.D.   Associate Professor   Profile and CV	422 Riley Robb   lhi1@cornell.edu   Web site

Biography

Irwin's experience is in the area of highway engineering, with particular emphasis on highway materials and pavement design. At Cornell he is the director of the Local Roads Program, which provides local highway agencies in New York State with technical assistance and training through Cooperative Extension. Irwin served for three and one-half years on the research staff of the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University prior to coming to Cornell in 1973. Before that, he taught civil engineering at California State University at Chico for three years. A registered professional engineer, he has also worked for a large building contractor and a consulting engineering firm. He has been a consultant to industrial firms and government agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service. He recently spent a year working with the Strategic Highway Research Program of the National Research Council. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of Asphalt Pavement Technologists, and the American Public Works Association.

Research Interests

Our research deals primarily with the development of methods for nondestructive evaluation of existing pavements and with development of materials and methods for economical rehabilitation of pavements.

A large portion of the road system in the United States is approaching or has surpassed its design life, and the problems of deterioration are receiving increasing recognition as being of critical importance to the future stability of the economy. Deteriorating roads cost less to repair if they are rehabilitated before they are badly broken up. Furthermore, roads that are allowed to deteriorate cost the road users more to drive on them. Through nondestructive testing (NDT), we are working on ways to identify roads that are near the end of their life, before they become broken and deteriorated. If scheduled for rehabilitation at the optimum time, the repair cost is minimized and the excessive road-user costs are eliminated.

Funding from the National Science Foundation enabled the Cornell Local Roads Program to import a Danish Falling Weight Deflectometer and this is proving to be a very valuable field research tool for investigations that are leading to a better understanding of the seasonal variations in pavement strength. We have developed several computer programs that enable us to process the NDT deflection data to determine pavement strength and the need for rehabilitation.

In research on stabilized materials, we are seeking to identify ways of recycling existing road materials and, in the process, to significantly improve their strength and durability. Results with some full-scale field test sections have shown that the stabilized materials have much less tendency to become weak during spring thaw. Recent research by graduate students has advanced our understanding of the laboratory test properties of stabilized materials, and the study is continuing with the objective of developing a rapid procedure for the proportioning of stabilized mixtures.

Current Research Projects

Seasonal Variations in Pavement Strength

Other participants: one research specialist; graduate and undergraduate students

Soil Stabilization Mix Design

Other participants: one research specialist; one graduate student

Prediction of Frost Heave Potential of Aggregate Base Courses

Other participants: one research specialist; graduate and undergraduate students

Flexural Fatigue Behavior of Asphalt Concrete (New York State Department of Transportation)

Other participants: two research specialists

Professional CV

 Registered Professional Engineer, Texas #31770

Academic Training

• Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Texas A & M University, 1973
• M.S., Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1966
• B.S., Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1965

Specializations

• Pavement Engineering/Pavement Systems Management
• Nondestructive Structural Evaluation of Pavements (FWD applications and back-calculation)
• Highway Materials (including frost effects on highway materials)
• Highway Engineering (emphasis on low-volume roads)
• Technology Transfer for Low-volume Road Agencies

Professional Experience

• Research Engineer, Danish Road Directorate, 1995 (5 mos.)*
• Senior Staff Engineer, Strategic Highway Research Program, 1988 (12 mos.)*
• Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research Lab, 1980 (6 mos.)*
• Highway Engineer, U.S. Forest Service, Willamette NF, 1979 (6 mos.)*
• Associate Professor, Cornell University, 1978-present
• Assistant Professor, Cornell University, 1973-1978
• Engr. Research Associate, Texas A & M University, 1971-1972
• Research Assistant, Texas A & M University, 1970-1971
• Assistant Professor, California State University at Chico, 1966-1969
• Materials Engineer, Testing Engineers Inc., California, 1965 (3 mos.)
• Construction Intern, Continental-Heller Construction Co., California, 1964 (3 mos.)
• Design Engineer, Utility Body Co., California, 1963 (7 mos.)