System Dynamics for Complex Problems in Pavement Engineering

Increasingly, segments of the civil infrastructure are considered to be parts of larger systems, which requires a systems approach for a fuller and proper understanding of and solutions to problems. Unfortunately, the subject of a system or a systems approach is barely covered in a standard civil and environmental engineering curriculum. Most, if not all, civil engineering problems involve interdependency, and hence segmented approaches of learning one individual topic at a time make it difficult for students to learn, understand, and apply rational concepts for the design, construction, and maintenance of larger infrastructure components. System Dynamics for Complex Problems in Pavement Engineering presents an introduction to a systems approach to help readers evolve and develop their capabilities of learning, communicating, and researching through system dynamics modeling and experimentation.

Furthermore, it helps students appreciate the need for systems thinking in modeling, analyzing, and proposing solutions for multidisciplinary problems in pavement engineering.

Rajib Basu Mallick, PhD, PE, FASCE, is Visiting Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas, El Paso, and an Affiliate Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, USA. He is a graduate from Auburn University, USA, and has worked as a senior research associate at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), Auburn University, as a Ralph White Family Distinguished Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, USA and as a Professor of Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi, India. He has more than 30 years of experience in the field of pavement engineering, specifically resilient and sustainable pavements. He has successfully completed more than 30 research projects and 10 consulting projects for the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and State Departments of Transportation, and has developed technologies that are used for the design of innovative bituminous mixes. He is a recipient of the US Fulbright fellowship, has authored 2 textbooks, 106 journal papers, 75 conference papers, and 38 research reports, and has a US patent.