ASCE has honored Laurence R. Rilett, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE,with the 2021 Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award for contributions to innovative research on transportation systems and collaborative leadership to develop a diverse workforce in transportation engineering.
Rilett has contributed revolutionary work on roadway network performance modeling, analysis methods, and operations management. His work on shortest-path algorithms and link travel speeds has been widely cited and incorporated into software systems. Rilett’s focused work continues with contributions to updating the Highway Capacity Manual and modeling the impact of connected and automated vehicles on network performance. He has contributed over 90 peer-reviewed papers and one textbook in the general domain of transportation systems.
He has been recognized as a Distinguished Professor and Chaired Professor at the University of Nebraska. He has received best paper awards from ASCE (Wellington Prize) and TRB (Committee on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service). Rilett has demonstrated his insights into design, operation, and management of transportation infrastructure and facilities. Researchers and practitioners have benefited from his publications and contributions to the industry. His performance in building a transportation program at the University of Nebraska illustrates his professional leadership. He established a transportation center (NTC), obtained a new building for transportation research (Whittier Building), increased funding, and improved graduate student quality and numbers in the transportation program. These accomplishments illustrate his energy, vision, and leadership.
Rilett is active in technical committees of the Transportation Research Board and ASCE. He has mentored many graduate and undergraduate students and greatly contributed to the transportation engineering profession.
The Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award recognizes the best example of innovative or noteworthy planning, design, or construction of transportation facilities.
