2024 Southeast Cement Conference

October 29-30, 2024

The Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center

Blacksburg, Virginia

Speakers

Fares Abdo, PE

205-370-8883
fabdo@morgan-corp.com

Andy Babish, PE obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering Technology from Bluefield State College and his MSCE from Virginia Tech. Andy has been with VDOT over 27 years with the last 16 years as the State Materials Engineer. He started as a geotechnical engineer designing deep foundations for bridges within VDOT before moving to Materials where he worked on soft ground improvement methods for major projects. Subsequently, he took roles in various District Materials offices before becoming the State Materials Engineer.

804-328.-3102
andy.babish@vdot.virginia.gov

Hayden Bilyeu attended Middle Tennessee State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Concrete Industry Management in 2016. Hayden cut his professional teeth in 2014 working as an engineering technician, where he tested construction materials in the field and laboratory. Since starting out as a boots-on-the-ground technician and serving as a project and laboratory manager for Collier Engineering, he has been involved in multiple projects involving subgrade stabilization utilizing Full-Depth Reclamation where he specialized in the development of mixture design and soil testing and then the inspection and testing of the material during field operations. In August 2021, Hayden joined the Southeast Cement Promotion Association as the Pavement Applications Director for Tennessee.

615-427-3213
hbilyeu@secement.org
 

Jessie Anna Boone has a Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management from Middle Tennessee State University. Her background is concrete as she held several positions in the Ready Mix and Cement industry before she found her passion as a promoter for Full Depth Reclamation during her 6 years with the Southeast Cement Promotion Association. Between her time as Tennessee’s Pavements Applications Director with the SCPA and Market Development Director with Road Worx, Jessie acquired critical knowledge and experience in the world of reclamation which led her to her current role as Market Development Manager in the Recycling Division with Wirtgen America. She now gets to spread the good word about recycling pavements using FDR, CIR and CCPR across the US and Canada. When Jessie is not talking about how to build pavements more sustainably, she and her husband Master Sergeant Justin Boone are spending time at the baseball field and the taekwondo mat with their two boys, Sawyer, and Sullivan.

615-604-8108
jessie.boone@wirtgen-group.com
 

Ben Bowers, PhD, PE is the McCartney-Chase Highway Engineering Distinguished Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Auburn University. Bowers’ research and education efforts are focused predominantly on sustainable pavement materials and pavement resiliency, with an emphasis on cold recycling and full-depth reclamation. Prior to joining Auburn University, Bowers worked at the Virginia Transportation Research Council. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia.

334-844-6235
bfbowers@auburn.edu

 
Eric Carroll, PE received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in South Carolina and has over 13 years of experience with SCDOT. He has served in various positions with the SCDOT’s Office of Materials and Research including Assistant Geotechnical Materials Engineer, Research Assistant, Chemical Stabilization Engineer and, most recently, State Pavement Design Engineer.

carrolle@scdot.org

Stephen Cross, PhD, PE serves as the Technical Director for the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), serving as a point of contact for technical information on each of ARRA’s core disciplines including cold planing, hot in-place recycling, cold recycling and full-depth reclamation. He is a co-author of ARRA’s Basic Asphalt Recycling Manual and an Emeritus Professor in the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Oklahoma State University. 

405-334-3243
steve.cross@okstate.edu

 

Eshan Dave obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Civil Engineering in 2003 and 2009, respectively. At present, he is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. Eshan’s research interests include performance evaluation of pavements and paving materials, development and implementation of performance-based specifications, resilient design of transportation infrastructure, climate variability impacts on infrastructure longevity, life cycle assessment, and cold regions pavement operability and performance. He is director at large for the International Society for Asphalt Pavements (ISAP) and chair of the Technical Committee on Pavement Field Evaluation. He is also convener for the RILEM (International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures) cluster on bituminous materials and pavements. He has recently led and participated in research studies on performance-based material selection, in-place pavement recycling, including full depth reclamation, design and management of resilient pavement infrastructure, and climate-change adaptation strategies of road infrastructure.

eshan.dave@unh.edu

 
Brian Diefenderfer, PhD, PE is a Principal Research Scientist at Virginia Transportation Research Council (research division of VDOT) in Charlottesville where he has worked for the past 19 years. His research focuses on providing better tools for VDOT to use when designing and rehabilitating its pavement network, including pavement recycling techniques. Brian received his Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

434-293-1944
brian.diefenderfer@vdot.virginia.gov

Roger Faulkner, PE is Executive Director of the Southeast Cement Promotion Association, Inc. (SCPA). SCPA is a trade association of cement companies in the southeastern United States which promotes cement and concrete infrastructure solutions in the 9-state area of AL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA and WV. He has over 45 years of experience in the construction and engineering design industry and has been in his current role since 2011. He has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Capital University, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) Degree from The Ohio State University and is a Professional Engineer.

770-807-2868
rfaulkner@secement.org

Eric Ferrebee, PE is the Senior Director of Technical Services with the American Concrete Pavement Association. He is responsible for providing technical resources and consulting services to ACPA members and the agencies and owners they serve. He is a key team member in the development of industry resources including PavementDesigner.org, WikiPave, and ACPA’s Sustainability efforts. Eric has earned both his Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Illinois.

eferrebee@acpa.org

Gerardo W. Flintsch, PhD is the Dan Pletta Professor of Engineering with The Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Center for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute at Virginia Tech. He has directed asset management research and development projects in many counties and has produced more than 400 journal papers, technical reports, articles and conference presentations. He also chairs the TRB standing committee AKP10 on Pavement Condition Evaluation and the PIARC technical committee 3.3 on Asset Management. He and serves as vice-president and technical director of FM Consultants, LLC.

540-998-9227
flintsch@vt.edu

 
Michael J. Galli, PE has over 38 years’ experience in the geotechnical, environmental and construction materials testing consulting industry. He currently serves as Sr. Vice President and Subsidiary Regional Manager for ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC. Mr. Galli is a licensed professional engineer in Va and NC and received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University and obtained a Master’s Degree in Geotechnical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an MBA from Averett University. He also has received his Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering certification from the ASCE Academy of Geo-Professionals.

757-564-5234
MGalli@ecslimited.com

Andrew W. Hartel served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve in the Chemical Corps performing Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Operations beginning in 1991. He is also a graduate of Ashford University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies in 2015. Andrew began his career in engineering with Law Engineering and Environmental Services in 1998 as a technician performing geotechnical drilling, construction material testing, and laboratory testing. As Law Engineering merged with Mactec he became involved in Special Inspections with structural concrete in nuclear power plants in the United States eventually becoming the lab manager. In 2011 Andrew moved to Summit Design and Engineering as a Certified Engineering Inspector working on NCDOT projects. In 2017 he was placed as the Geomaterials Field Specialist for Divisions 1, 2, and 4 with the NCDOT. He is still currently in this position teaching certification classes, instruction, and training.

Steve Lander, PE is Director of Pavement Management at WithersRavenel with over 31 years of design and construction experience. Mr. Lander has over 21 years of pavement management experience which includes working for a paving contractor for 3 years and 18 years of managing over 140 municipal pavement conditions surveys. With hands-on construction and asset management experience, he has assisted clients in creating robust and fully sustainable pavement management programs. Mr. Lander’s efforts (generating pavement condition awareness, providing necessary information to key decision makers, promoting/implementing FHWA’s 3 Rs) have helped municipalities create complete long-term pavement management plans.

336-215-5521
slander@withersravenel.com

Daniel Ruczko, PE serves as a CE&I Project Manager with Infrastructure Consulting and Engineering and has worked on SCDOT construction projects for the last 13 years around the Columbia, SC area. During that time, he has worked as a representative for both DOT as well as contractor quality control; most recently serving as the assistant QC manager on several large design-build projects. He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Clemson University and holds his Professional Engineer’s license in SC.

803-605-4901
daniel.ruczko@ice-eng.com

Jay Thompson, PE began his career at Clemson University, participating in Asphalt and Concrete research while pursuing his graduate degree in Civil Engineering. He has been involved in the fields of pavement engineering and CE&I for 23 years. He had the opportunity to spend 10 of those years at SCDOT serving in the roles of Resident Construction Engineer and State Pavement Design Engineer. He is currently employed by Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, as their VP for Pavement Consultancy Services operating around the Southeast. His role at ICE is focused on pavement design and management, along with supporting construction projects through problem solving or value engineering.
Jay spends his free time with his wife Sherree and two children – Jesse and Daisy, watching track and volleyball along with relaxing in the great outdoors.
803-881-2711
jay.thompson@ice-eng.com
 

 
Dan Vipperman, PE, CE is a project manager with A.G. Peltz. He was recruited to A.G. Peltz in 2007 due to his construction and production experience with RCC on the Calvert City Metals and Alloys plant in Kentucky. As part of a value engineering effort, Dan helped design an RCC paving system that resulted in cost savings to a client in excess of $6 million. Since joining A.G. Peltz, Dan has been intimately involved with every aspect of RCC design, production, and construction. This includes significant experience with intermodal facilities including the KCS Railways in Kendleton, Texas; Victoria Salinas, Mexico; and Puerta D’Mexico, Mexico. Dan recently managed the ACPA award winning PCC paving project for Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores, AL.
Education:
• B.S. Environmental Science, Virginia Polytechnic University, (1997)
• B.S. Civil Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic University, (2000)
• Minor, Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic University, (1997)
• OSHA 40-Hour Health and Safety Training: (29 CFR 1910.120)
 dvipperman@agpeltz.com
 

 
Chaz Weaver, PE, CPEM, Virginia DOT
• VDOT Staunton District Materials Engineer for the past 19 years
• Member of VTRC/VDOT Pavement Research Advisory Subcommittees
• Member of TRB Standing Committees on Geomaterials & Recycled Materials and Quality Assurance
• Master’s Degree in Engineering Management (ODU, 2011)
• B.S.C.E. (VT, 1998)
• Certified Professional Engineering Manager (American Society for Engineering Management, 2015)
• ASCE Virginia Section President (2023-2024)
 Chaz.Weaver@VDOT.Virginia.gov