Staff within the Infrastructure Maintenance and Materials Program Area

1. Eli Cuelho, P.E. has been a Research Engineer at the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) since 1998 and currently serves as the Program Manager for the Infrastructure Maintenance and Materials program area.  He has project experience related to geotechnical engineering, geosynthetic design, pavement design and analysis, ITS technology evaluation and deployment, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses, and remote sensing and data acquisition equipment.  Eli has 12 years experience testing geosynthetic materials and is the chair of an ASTM task group dedicated to developing new test procedures for geosynthetics used as pavement and subgrade reinforcement.  He is also a member of two TRB committees: the Dynamics and Field Testing of Bridges committee and the Geosynthetics committee.

2. Michelle Akin is a Research Associate at WTI.  Michelle began working for WTI as an undergraduate student as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates NSF program.  After completing her undergraduate degree in Environmental Resources Engineering, she then earned her Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at Montana State University and subsequently joined the Western Transportation Institute to conduct full-time research.

3. Michael Berry, PhD is a Research Assistant Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at Montana State University focusing on civil structures.  He recently completed his doctoral degree in Structural Mechanics where he focused on modeling strategies for concrete bridge columns.  Dr. Berry’s research interests include modeling of reinforced concrete columns subjected to seismic loading; damage prediction in reinforced concrete members and use of recycled materials as cement and aggregate replacements in reinforced concrete.

4. Doug Cross recently joined WTI as a Project Manager.  With extensive construction experience, he will be integrally involved in developing WTI’s cold-region test facility in Lewistown, Montana.  In addition, Doug has 8 years experience developing innovative structural concretes made with byproducts and recycled materials.  Notably, his work has focused on concretes made using only fly ash as the binder, and most recently, on using crushed glass as the aggregate in these concretes.

5. Jason Harwood is a Research Associate at WTI.  He recently completed his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Montana State University where he focused on finite element analyses of coated mirrors in cold environments.  Jason also has experience with irrigation systems which he is using to design the snowmaking system for the cold-region test facility in Lewistown, Montana.

6. Robert Mokwa, PhD, P.E. is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Montana State University with over 15 years of experience covering a broad range of geotechnical, geo-environmental, transportation, and civil engineering research and design projects.  His research skills were recognized by his award of the President’s College of Engineering Research Excellence Award from his alma mater, Virginia Tech.  He currently teaches classes and conducts research in the area of geotechnical engineering, soil and aggregate materials, frost heave, soil-structure interactions, deep foundations, and site investigative techniques.

7. Steven Perkins, PhD, P.E. is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Montana State University where he teaches courses and conducts research in the areas of geotechnical and pavement engineering.  Dr. Perkins has been involved in the preparation of several synthesis reports for NCHRP and AASHTO on research and practice of geosynthetics in pavements.  He has also helped develop and deliver several short courses and workshops on pavement design with geosynthetics sponsored by industry and agency groups, which were delivered to practicing engineers and departments of transportation.  Dr. Perkins is also an instructor of a National Highway Institute course on geotechnical aspects of pavements. His most recent research has focused on the development of mechanistic-empirical pavement design and analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pavements.

8. Jerry Stephens, PhD, P.E. is the Research Director at WTI and a Professor of Civil Engineering at Montana State University where he teaches courses and conducts research in structural engineering.  With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Stephens has and continues to study a variety of transportation issues, ranging from the effects of vehicle loads on the deterioration of the highway infrastructure, to bridge instrumentation and analysis, to the development of innovative construction materials.  He has been actively involved with various TRB committees and NCHRP project panels.

9. Dan Williams recently joined WTI as a Senior Research Associate after a 22 year career at the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) where he was primarily the Winter and Roadside Management Specialist.  He has authored numerous manuals, instigated several research efforts, been involved with several national and regional committees, and has created several programs that are now models for national efforts.  His “hands on” approach has been well received by both field staff and headquarters management.  Dan brings a wealth of practical knowledge and advisory support to our program area to ensure our project results are implementable