Better Roads Ahead
Traffic jams. Greenhouse gases. Contaminated waters. Crumbling roadways…. Problems related to our stressed and aging transportation system are manifold and call for immediate, effective, and sustainable solutions. How can we protect our natural resources from the negative impacts of development and urbanization? What new technologies and policies are needed to improve design and operation of our transportation system without increasing the burden on taxpayers or compromising our environment?
Experts in sustainable transportation at WSU are spearheading development of long-term solutions to the complex urban and rural mobility problems that confront our state, nation, and world. David McLean, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Curtis Hinman, a specialist in low-impact development and stormwater management technologies, lead transformative research aimed at enhancing transportation within our built environments and improving the health and economic vitality of our communities—for today and tomorrow.
Featuring: David McLean, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor and Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture
David McLean is professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering and Architecture at WSU. He also serves as WSU director of the Transportation Research Center, a tri-partner agreement between WSU, the University of Washington, and the Washington State Department of Transportation. His research interests include the behavior and design of reinforced concrete and masonry structures, the seismic response and retrofitting of bridges, and the use of composite materials in structures. External funding for his research currently exceeds $12 million.
During the past 25 years, Dr. McLean has received numerous regional and national awards for his research, teaching, advising, and consulting activities, and he was recently awarded the annual Engineer of Merit Award from the Inland Empire Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has written more than 100 refereed papers, technical reports, monographs, and book chapters. He studied civil engineering at the state universities of Louisiana and Colorado and earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering at Cornell University.
Featuring: Curtis Hinman
Associate Professor, WSU Pierce County Extension, and Director, WSU Low Impact Development Research Program
Curtis Hinman is an associate professor with WSU Extension and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at WSU. He also directs water resource programs for WSU Extension in Pierce County to help educate civic leaders and citizens in watershed ecology and to help protect water quality and aquatic habitat in the Puget Sound basin. Professor Hinman is author of the Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual for Puget Sound and the Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington Homeowners.
He is active in research, design, and monitoring of low-impact development strategies for western Washington, while serving on advisory committees to develop regional stormwater management policy and identify funding and research needs. Professor Hinman studied environmental policy analysis and planning, specializing in lake ecology and water resource management, at the University of California, Davis, and earned his master’s degree with a concentration in stream ecology and watershed management from Yale University.