Ramez M. Hajj
Primary Research Area
- Transportation Engineering
Research Areas
For more information
Biography
I am an Assistant Professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to joining UIUC, I completed my Ph.D. and Master's in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. I obtained my Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech. My current research lies at the intersection between materials, mechanics, and pavement engineering. Primarily, my research focuses on asphalt binders, mixtures, and pavements, but more broadly, these research areas are situated in wider research areas of viscoelasticity, composites, and computational modeling. So far, my work includes fundamental scientific discoveries into the origins of cracking in asphalt binder microstructure, as well as practical contributions to the asphalt industry, state Departments of Transportation, and local transportation agencies. To date, I have published in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals in these areas, and presented my work at many international conferences. Currently, my research is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) in the areas of flexible pavement design and maintenance.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 2019
- Master of Science, Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 2016
- Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2014
Academic Positions
- Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jan. 2020 - Present
Professional Societies
- AKM 20 - Committee on Asphalt Binders, Member, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020 - Present
- Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering, Academic Member
- American Society of Civil Engineers, Associate Member
- Engineering Mechanics Institute, ASCE, Member
Service on College Committees
- Diversity Committee, Grainger College of Engineering, 2020 - Present
- Member, IDEA Institute, 2020 - Present
- Grainger College of Engineering Ombudsperson Position Development Committee, 2020
Other Outside Service
- External Grant Reviewer, Swiss National Science Foundation, 2021 - Present
- External Grant Reviewer, Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, 2020 - Present
- Technical Reviewer for Journals: Construction and Building Materials (Elsevier), Mechanics of Materials (Elsevier), Transportation Geotechnics (Elsevier), International Journal of Pavement Engineering (Taylor and Francis), Road Materials and Pavement Design (Taylor and Francis), Materials and Structures (Springer), Energy & Fuels (ACS Publications), Journal of Cold Regions Engineering (ASCE), Journal of Engineering Mechanics (ASCE), Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (ASCE), Journal of Transportation Engineering Part B: Pavements (ASCE), Journal of Testing and Evaluation (ASTM), Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (SAGE Publishing), Science Progress (SAGE Publishing), International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology (Springer Nature), Transportation in Developing Economies (Springer Nature), Advances in Civil Engineering (Hindawi), Applied Sciences (MDPI), Materials (MDPI), Sustainability (MDPI)
Research Interests
- Asphalt binder rheology and chemistry
- Mechanics of viscoelastic materials
- Computational modeling of infrastructure materials
- Flexible pavement design, construction, and maintenance
- Pavement surface characteristics and treatments
Research Statement
My research occurs at the intersection of Transportation, Materials, and Mechanics. My lab focuses on developing a better understanding of the mechanical fundamentals that drive behavior of infrastructure materials. In the long term, I hope that the work we do will lead to the development of a new generation of materials for pavements and other applications that can contribute to a more durable, more sustainable, and longer lasting infrastructure.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
I am currently looking for motivated undergraduate students who want to learn more about the world of asphalt materials and pavements. Interested students should contact me with a copy of their resume.
Graduate Research Opportunities
I am currently looking for Graduate Research Assistants and the Masters and PhD level for Fall 2020 and beyond. Interested students should contact me with a CV.
Post-Doctoral Research Opportunities
I am not currently looking to hire Post-Doctoral scholars. However, externally funded post docs are welcome to apply to join my research group.
Primary Research Area
- Transportation Engineering
Research Areas
For more information
Selected Articles in Journals
- Ahmed, R. B., Hossain, K., Aurillio, M., & Hajj, R. (2021). "Effect of rejuvenator type and dosage on rheological properties of short-term aged binders." Accepted in Materials and Structures.
- Gul, M. A., Khan, K., Islam, M. K., Shalabi, F. I., Ozer, H., Hajj, R., & Bhasin, A. (2021). “Developing a performance based mix design and evaluating the influence of various factors on sulfur-extended asphalt.” Accepted in Construction and Building Materials.
- Hajj, R., & Young, S. (2021). An analysis of theoretical and empirical relationships between two asphalt binder cracking parameters. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 1-17.
- Ahmed, R. B., Hossain, K., & Hajj, R. M. (2021). Chemical, Morphological, and Fundamental Properties of Rejuvenated Asphalt Binders. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 33(2), 04020461.
- Sreeram, A., Leng, Z., Hajj, R., Ferreira, W. L., Tan, Z., & Bhasin, A. (2020). Fundamental investigation of the interaction mechanism between new and aged binders in binder blends. International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 1-11.
- Filonzi, A., Hajj, R., Smit, A. D. F., & Bhasin, A. (2020). Validation of inverse stereology generation of two dimensional area gradations for computational modelling of asphalt mixtures. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 1-15.
- Filonzi, A., Lee, S. K., Ferreira, W., Hajj, R., & Bhasin, A. (2020). A micro-extraction method for use with 4 mm plate geometry in the Dynamic Shear Rheometer to evaluate asphalt binder rheology. Construction and Building Materials, 252, 119024.
- Sakib, N., Hajj, R., Hure, R., Alomari, A., & Bhasin, A. (2020). Examining the Relationship between Bitumen Polar Fractions, Rheological Performance Benchmarks, and Tensile Strength. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 32(6), 04020143.
- Hajj, R., Ramm, A., Bhasin, A., & Downer, M. (2020). Real-time microscopic and rheometric observations of strain-driven cavitation instability underlying micro-crack formation in asphalt binders. International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 21(8), 977-989.
- Hajj, R., Filonzi, A., Rahman, S., & Bhasin, A. (2019). Considerations for using the 4 mm plate geometry in the dynamic shear rheometer for low temperature evaluation of asphalt binders. Transportation Research Record, 2673(11), 649-659.
- Sreeram, A., Leng, Z., Hajj, R., & Bhasin, A. (2019). Characterization of compatibility between aged and unaged binders in bituminous mixtures through an extended HSP model of solubility. Fuel, 254, 115578.
- Hajj, R., Filonzi, A., Smit, A., & Bhasin, A. (2019). Design and Performance of Mixes for Use as Ultrathin Overlay. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 145(3), 04019026.
- Sabaraya, I. V., Filonzi, A., Hajj, R., Das, D., Saleh, N. B., & Bhasin, A. (2018). Ability of nanomaterials to effectively disperse in asphalt binders for use as a modifier. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 30(8), 04018166.
- Hajj, R., & Bhasin, A. (2018). The search for a measure of fatigue cracking in asphalt binders–a review of different approaches. International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 19(3), 205-219.
- Hajj, R., Hure, R., & Bhasin, A. (2017). Evaluation of stiffness, strength, and ductility of asphalt binders at an intermediate temperature. Transportation Research Record, 2632(1), 44-51.
Articles in Conference Proceedings
- Hajj, Ramez, Adam Ramm, Kiran Mohanraj, Amit Bhasin, and Michael Downer. “Micro-scale observations of fatigue damage mechanism in asphalt binder.” AM3P 2020: Advances in Materials, Pavement Performance, and Prediction. San Antonio, TX. 2020.
- Hajj, Ramez and Amit Bhasin. “Importance of triaxial stress state on asphalt binder tensile failure.” AM3P2020: Advances in Materials, Pavement Performance, and Prediction. San Antonio, TX. 2020.
- Hajj, Ramez, Nazmus Sakib, Amit Bhasin, Adam S. Ramm, and Michael C. Downer. "Relation of modified bitumen microstructure to cracking indicators." In Advances in Materials and Pavement Prediction, pp. 189-192. CRC Press, 2018.
- Sakib, Nazmus, Ramez Hajj, Amit Bhasin, Adam S. Ramm, and Michael C. Downer. "Bulk microstructures in bitumen and its influence on rheology." In Advances in Materials and Pavement Prediction, pp. 411-414. CRC Press, 2018.
- Komaragiri, Satyavati, Angelo Filonzi, Ramez Hajj, Amit Bhasin, and Arash Motamed. "Three-dimensional profiler for performance evaluation of chip seals." In Advances in Materials and Pavement Prediction, pp. 579-582. CRC Press, 2018.
- Tehrani, Mehran, Ayoub Y. Boroujeni, Ramez Hajj, and Marwan Al-Haik. "Mechanical Characterization of a Hybrid Carbon Nanotube/Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composite." In ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers Digital Collection, 2013.
Magazine Articles
- Hajj, Ramez. "Finding thinner strength: ultra thin overlays can have more muscle.'' Roads \& Bridges March 2018: 42-46.
Reports
- Hajj, Ramez, Angelo Filonzi, Aliasghar Dormohammadi, Cheng Zhu, Vivek Tandon, and Amit Bhasin. ``Design and construction of ultra thin overlays as an alternative to seal coats.'' Technical Report No. FHWA/TX-18/0-6857-1. March 2018.
- Filonzi, Angelo, Indu Venu Sabaraya, Ramez Hajj, Dipesh Das, Navid B. Saleh, Amit Bhasin, and Enad Mahmoud. ``Evaluating the use of nanomaterials to enhance properties of asphalt binders and mixtures.'' No. FHWA/TX-17/0-6854-1. September 2018.
- Hajj, Ramez, Angelo Filonzi, and Amit Bhasin. ``Improving the Performance Graded asphalt binder specification.'' Technical Report No. FHWA/TX-18/0-6925-1. May 2019.
- Filonzi, Angelo, Sang Ki Lee, Ramez Hajj, Darren Hazlett, and Amit Bhasin. "Implementing Revisions to the Allowable Maximum Recycled Binder Ratio (RBR) Specification." No. FHWA/TX-20/0-6947-1. September 2020.
- Hajj, Ramez and Yujia Lu. "Current and Future Best Practices for Pothole Repair in Illinois." FHWA-ICT-21-003. February 2021.
Teaching Honors
- List of Teachers Ranked at Excellent, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (Fall 2020)
- Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellowship, Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (2021 - 2022)