The Canadian Culture for Civil Engineering (CSCE) honored Yi Jiang with the 2023 Thomas C. Keefer Medal, celebrating his impactful research in the field. Jiang, professor of development management technology in Purdue University’s Polytechnic university, collaborated to publish a deep dive into how street floor conditions relate to the outcomes of targeted traffic incidents, advocating for the use of refined knowledge examination to boost security on the streets.
The Thomas C. Keefer Medal, named to honor a founding figure in civil engineering, is an annual award to acknowledge excellence in hydrotechnical, transportation, or environmental engineering operates.
The research introduced in “Exploring Implicit Interactions amongst Pavement Area Friction and Auto Crash Severity Employing Interpretable Extraordinary Gradient Boosting Method,” coauthored by Guangyuan Zhao, Shuo Li, and Susan Tighe, has implications in civil engineering as perfectly. Collaborative, cross-disciplinary investigate is a mentioned precedence of Purdue Polytechnic due to the fact the opening of the multi-collegiate Dudley and Lambertus Halls previously this 12 months.
Findings from Jiang and his crew are specially considerable in locations of reduced pavement friction, highlighting distinct friction levels that warrant more overview and rapid motion to improve street protection expectations.
“Receiving this award underscores the functional relevance of our conclusions to the domain of highway protection and encourages the application of these kinds of research in policymaking and infrastructure routine maintenance,” said Jiang.
Echoing the concepts of Thomas Keefer, known for his dedication to enhancing community operates, Jiang expressed, “Our do the job continues Keefer’s legacy—advancing the necessary infrastructure that supports our daily lives.”
Reflecting on the implications of Jiang’s research, Daniel Castro, dean of Purdue Polytechnic famous, “The collaborative and interdisciplinary analysis led by Professor Jiang is reflective of the dynamic educational philosophy we endorse, blending chopping-edge technological know-how with core engineering disciplines.”
Baijian “Justin” Yang, Purdue Polytechnic’s affiliate dean for investigation, pointed out the methodological innovation in the review.
“Employing equipment discovering methods this kind of as XGBoost in conjunction with SHAP values,” Yang claimed, “demonstrates the sturdy analytical capabilities that our higher education is regarded for.”
Jiang hopes extra investigate will lead to larger comprehending of the effect of distinctive pavement materials on friction and consequent safety implications for numerous roadway styles.