Research Associate and Engineering Instructor
Victor is a doctoral candidate of the Civil Engineering department at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is also a research assistant of the Department of Education and engineering instructor for El Paso Community College (EPCC)
"My professional goal is to design infrastructure that will bridge diversified communities, and pave roads for future bright young engineers."
Education
September 2017 - December 2020
Doctoral Degree
Victor's dissertation titled is "New Generation of Performance-engineered Asphalt Mixtures Based on Balanced Mix Design Concept." His research was sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). He was awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation National Fellowship Program (DDETFP) and recognized as the 2018 Top-Ranked DDETFP Doctoral Fellow.
September 2014 - June 2016
Master's Degree
Victor completed his Master's of Science in Civil Engineering with focus on Transportation Engineering. His thesis title was "A Cracking Methodology to Assess Fracture and Fatigue Properties of Asphalt Concrete Mixtures using Overlay Test." He was awarded a three-year merit based scholarship from the UTEP National Science Foundation/Graduate Bridge Program.
September 2009 - June 2014
Bachelor's Degree
Victor obtained a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso in 2014. He was awarded the Andrew D. Jones, Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. Victor was also selected as a Minority Fellow of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He published a journal paper as the first author in the top-tier Journal of the Transportation Research Record.
Professional Philosophy
I am frequently asked the question: “What has led you to pursue a career-track in academia?” I can only answer that I have always been an educator and I will remain a student forever. From an early age, my family instilled in me a spirit of volunteering and giving back to society; a passion that has driven my talents to empower students to pursue professional engineering careers through education, scientific research, and community service. During my academic and professional career, I have had extraordinary teachers and mentors who have taught me not only the fundamentals of civil engineering but instilled in me the confidence to journey into unexplored scientific lands and tackle challenging engineering problems with innovative research and inclusive educational programs.
Research
Motto: Be the bridge between an idea and its realization!
Ongoing Research
TxDOT 0-7061 “Optimizing Laboratory Curing Conditions for Hot Mix Asphalt to Better Simulate Field Behavior”
TxDOT-TxAPA Asphalt Pavement Quality Initiative Implementation of Balanced Mix Design
TxDOT 5-6815-1 “Implementation of Improved Overlay Tester for Fatigue Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures.”
TxDOT 0-6923: “Develop Guidelines and Design Program for HMA Containing RAP, RAS, and Additives through a Balanced Mix-Design Process.”
Recent Publications
Reyna, M., Garcia, V., Garibay, J., Abdallah, I., and Nazarian, S. (2020) “Evaluation of Aggregate Crushing Tests And their Correlation with Volumetric and Mechanical Properties of a Typical Superpave Mix Design,” ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering.
Garcia, V., Barros, L., Garibay, J., Abdallah, I., and Nazarian, S. (2020) “Effect of Aggregate Gradation on Performance of Asphalt Concrete Mixtures,” ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering.
Barros, L., Garcia, V., Garibay, J., Abdallah, I., and Nazarian, S. (2019) “Implications of Including Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Materials to Performance of Balanced Asphalt Concrete Mixes” Journal of the Transportation Research Record. Transportation Research Board: Washington, D.C.
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Mixtures Testing Lab
My research group is continuously challenged with research tasks that required the implementation of testing standards (e.g., ASTM, AASHTO, and TxDOT) and protocols to assess the engineering properties of asphalt mixtures.
Servant Leadership
“Of all the things that sustain a leader over time, love is the most lasting. The best-kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its work.” - James Kouzes and Barry Posner in The Leadership Challenge
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