By Matt Marcure, with Mark Gudenas; top photo by Mario Rodriguez, UC Davis
The University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) transforms research data into tools and practices that agencies use to improve California’s roads. Somayeh Nassiri, the center’s new director, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis, is driven to build on this mission. Her goals include advancing the state’s leadership in pavement innovation, and continuing to collaborate with transportation agencies across the nation and the world. Somayeh succeeds John Harvey, UC Davis Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Building the Legacy
When the center launched in 1948 as part of UC Berkeley, it operated under a different name and focused solely on asphalt research. When he took over as director in the late 1990s, John Harvey renamed it the UCPRC and brought it to Davis. Under his leadership, he fostered research into all types of pavement, and encouraged his staff to become general pavement engineers, in addition to being specialists in specific pavement areas.
John viewed the center’s primary role as helping transportation agencies make the decisions that benefit the state the most. “We’re not the deciders,” he explained. “We’re the influencers. We’re giving them better data and analysis to make better decisions.”
His vision and work has elevated the UCPRC to being one of the leading pavement research groups in the world. “I understand the pressure, the expectation, and John’s legacy,” Somayeh said. “The goal has to be to continue delivering high-quality research that can benefit the state and the people of California.”
Developing Trust
The connection between John Harvey and Somayeh Nassiri goes beyond the conventional story of succession. He knew he needed to find a replacement years before his retirement and recommended that his successor be recruited early. In 2022, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering hired Somayeh Nassiri with the intention that she would succeed him as director. This allowed Somayeh to learn the ins and outs of the UCPRC while working alongside John.
Most importantly, it gave her the time to build trust and meaningful relationships with the engineers, professional researchers, and other technical and administrative staff in UCPRC and with the center’s partners, such as Caltrans.
New UCPRC Director Somayeh Nassiri works a box test of a new mix design at the UCPRC as an undergraduate student assistant with the vibrator looks on. Photo by Paul Fortunato, UC Davis
“I think I can be the glue for UCPRC to [stay] aligned and genuinely make people’s lives better when it comes to taxpayer money that goes toward our roads,” Somayeh stated. She believes the center’s greatest strength lies in connecting researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers, so that promising innovations move more efficiently from the laboratory into practice.
Driving Forward
As the center’s director, Somayeh is committed to delivering solutions that help California by strengthening existing partnerships, investing in practical research, and expanding collaborative research projects, like the Lab2Slab program. Funded by Caltrans and made possible through industry partnerships, the program evaluates and accelerates the adoption of sustainable concrete materials and technologies, reducing implementation timelines from 10 years to two years.
Somayeh wants to drive the center to do more collaborative efforts like this, especially ones that bring together industry, transportation agencies, and researchers from universities across the country. “What I can do is encourage, strengthen, and level the path for collaborations,” Somayeh expressed, “leading multi-scale, multi-collaborative projects and proposals to solve California’s most pressing pavement challenges.”