Carola Gordillo, a faculty member at the School of Earth Sciences Engineering (FICT), is conducting a technical visit to The University of Texas at Austin from March 24 to April 3, 2026. The purpose of this academic visit is to explore opportunities for developing a line of research on pavements, focused on modeling the effect of truck loads and the empirical-mechanistic analysis of structural performance.
As part of this visit, a meeting was held with the research team led by Jorge Prozzi, a professor and researcher at the university. During the session, the team’s main lines of research were presented, highlighting the use of advanced modeling tools for analyzing pavement performance.
The research focuses on quantifying the structural wear and tear of road infrastructure—including pavements and bridges—based on vehicle loads. It also incorporates predictive models to assess key performance parameters such as skid resistance and hydroplaning risk, which are critical to road safety. This approach relies on data from pavement management systems and advanced technologies such as LIDAR and high-resolution sensors.
Likewise, performance-based maintenance strategies are analyzed, which allow for the optimization of decision-making in road maintenance through network-scale data analysis. The work carried out by the team led by Dr. Jorge Prozzi is an international benchmark in applied pavement research, integrating advanced modeling, structural analysis, and collaboration with public entities such as the Texas Department of Transportation.
This type of academic experience strengthens FICT’s research profile by promoting the incorporation of innovative approaches to the analysis of road infrastructure. Furthermore, it contributes to capacity building among students and faculty, with the potential to improve the planning, design, and maintenance of road networks in the country.
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