CEE Abel Bliss Professor in Engineering and Paul F. Kent Endowed Faculty Scholar Erol Tutumluer has been named the 2026 recipient of the Roy W. Crum Distinguished Transportation Research Achievement Award. Named for Roy W. Crum, who served as the Board’s director from 1928 until his death in 1951, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of transportation research.
The Roy W. Crum Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Transportation Research Board. Named for Roy W. Crum, who served as the Board’s director from 1928 until his death in 1951, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of transportation research.
Erol Tutumluer
Tutumluer is being honored for more than three decades of pioneering research and leadership in transportation geotechnics. His work has advanced the design, evaluation, and long-term performance of highway pavements, airfields, and railway track infrastructure by integrating geomechanics, advanced laboratory characterization, computational modeling, sensing technologies, computer vision, and artificial intelligence. His accomplishments include more than 140 externally funded projects totaling over $25 million, two U.S. patents, more than 500 scholarly publications, and more than 15,000 citations.
Since joining the faculty of CEE at Illinois in 1996, Tutumluer has educated approximately 3,000 students, guided 28 Ph.D. and 49 M.S. students to complete their degrees, and mentored both postdoctoral researchers and visiting scholars. Throughout his career, he has delivered more than 180 invited and keynote lectures and been recognized for his professional accomplishments through numerous international honors, including his recent election as an ASCE Distinguished Member.
Tutumluer will be presented with the award on Wednesday, January 13, 2027, during the Chair’s Plenary Session portion of the TRB Annual Meeting, January 10 - 14, 2027, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.