Biography
Dr. Songsu Son is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Liberty University. His expertise is in transportation engineering with interests in sustainable pavement materials, innovative technologies on road construction, and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV). Prior to joining Liberty University, Dr. Son was an Associate/Assistant Professor at American University in Dubai, UAE. He also worked as a research associate at the Illinois Center for Transportation, where he conducted several governmental projects on new road materials that used environmentally friendly and cost-effective materials. His professional experiences also include working as an international development professional at the National University of Architecture, the Ministry of Transportation in Morocco, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Dr. Son serves on the technical committee of the World Road Association (PIARC) and a panel of the NCHRP project. He was a founding committee member of the Chartered Institution for Highways and Transportation (CIHT) in Dubai. He is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan and provides consultation for various transportation projects.
Specialty Areas
- Sustainable pavement materials
- Pavement mechanics and performance
- Autonomous vehicles on transportation infrastructure and systems
Honors and Awards
- Provost’s Award for Innovation in Teaching (Pedagogy), American University in Dubai (2020)
- 1st Place, Youth for Public Transport Hackathon, International Association of Public Transport (2019)
- 1st Place (Judge’s Choice Award) & 1st Place (People’s Choice Award), Driving Innovation Competition, Gulf Traffic and Exhibition (2018)
- 2nd Place, Youth for Public Transport Hackathon, International Association of Public Transport (2018)
- 1st Place, Youth for Public Transport Hackathon, International Association of Public Transport (2017)
- KOTAA Excellent Paper Award, 25th Korean Transportation Association in America Annual Meeting (2014)
- KOTAA Travel Award, Korean Transportation Association in America Annual Meeting (2012, 2013)
- Student Research Award, 52nd Illinois Bituminous Paving Conference (2011)
- CEE Student Fellowship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008, 2009)
- Honors Scholarships, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University (2006, 2007)
- Honors Scholarships, Korea Cultural Foundation for Youth (2006)
Publications and Presentations
- Choi, Y. and Son, S., Autonomous Vehicles and Roundabout: Impacts of Penetration Rate on Roundabout, 102nd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., USA, Jan., 2023
- Notheis., L., Choi, Y., Rothermel, C., and Son, S., Analysis of Traffic Operation Performance for Single-Lane and Two-Lane Roundabouts under Various Priority Rules, 102nd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., USA, Jan., 2023
- Alfawal, A. and Son, S., Assessing the Impact of Autonomous Vehicle on Pavement Performance and Service Life, Proceedings of Transportation Research Board 101st Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., 2022
- Son, S., Said, I., and Al-Qadi, I.L., Fracture Degradation of Asphalt Concrete under Repeated Loading, Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, Vol. 147, Issue 3, 2021
- Son, S., Effect of Peak-Hour Characteristics on Pavement Structural Design, Proceedings of the 26th World Road Congress, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2019
- Barakat, F., Herzallah, S., Alozn, M., and Son, S., On-Lane Traffic Control, Proceedings of the 26th World Road Congress, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2019
- Alfawal, A. and Son, S., Optimization of Public Bus Routes using a Linear Programming Model, Proceedings of the 26th World Road Congress, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2019
- Son, S., Impact of Aggressive Driving Behavior on Intersection Efficiency and Traffic Control, Proceedings of International Conference on Human Factors in Transportation, Washington, D.C., USA, 2019
- Son, S., Said, I., and Al-Qadi, I.L., Flexibility Index and Fracture Properties of Asphalt Concrete, Construction & Building Materials, Vol. 222, pp. 332-341, 2019
- Bello, J. and Son, S., Optimization of the Dubai Public Transport Systems, International Road Federation Examiner, Vol. 13, pp. 13 – 18, 2018
- Alfawal, A. and Son, S., Effects of Left-Turn Radius on Intersection Efficiency at Signalized Intersections, Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., USA, 2018
- Alozn, M., Abdulghany, S., Al Hamdan, Y., and Son, S., On-Lane LED Traffic Control, International Road Federation Middle East North Africa Regional Congress, Dubai, UAE, 2017
- Son, S., Sustainable Road Materials using Steel Slag and Fibers, International Road Federation Middle East North Africa Regional Congress, Dubai, UAE, 2017
- Son, S., Effect of Human Reactions at Signalized Intersection on Intersection Efficiency and Safety, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Vol. 484, pp. 193-205, 2016
- Son, S., Al-Qadi, I. L., and Zehr, T. G., Engineering Benefits of 4.75-mm SMA for Asphalt Thin Overlays, International Journal of Pavement Engineering, Vol.17, Issue 9, pp. 799-809, 2015
- Son, S. and Al-Qadi, I. L., Effect of Pavement Surface Temperature Correction on Pavement/Tire Noise, Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., 2015
- Son, S. and Al-Qadi, I. L., Engineering Cost-Benefit Analysis of Thin Durable Asphalt Overlays, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2456, pp. 135-145, 2014
- Son, S., Al-Qadi, I. L., and Zehr, T. G., Rutting Potential of Thin and Durable Asphalt Wearing Courses: Laboratory Prediction and Field Performance, 2013 Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference. Transportation and Development Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 2013
- Son, S., Al-Qadi, I. L., and Zehr, T. G., 4.75-mm SMA on Thin Durable Asphalt Overlays. Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., 2013
- Son, S., Al-Qadi, I. L., Lippert, D. L., and Zehr, T. G., Innovative Sprinkle Treatment for Thin Durable Asphalt Overlays, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2366(1), pp.87-97, 2013
- Al-Qadi, I. L., Son, S., and Carpenter, S. H., Development of an Economical, Thin, Quiet, Long-lasting, and High Friction Surface Layer-Volume 1: Mix Design and Lab Performance Testing (No. FHWA-ICT-13-001), Illinois Center for Transportation, 126 pgs., 2013
- Al-Qadi, I. L., Son, S., and Zehr, T. G., Development of an Economical, Thin, Quiet, Long-lasting, and High Friction Surface Layer-Volume 2: Volume 2: Field Construction, Field Testing, and Engineering Benefit Analysis (No. FHWA-ICT-13-006), Illinois Center for Transportation, 63 pgs., 2013
- Son, S., Al-Qadi, I. L., and Zehr, T. G., Construction and Field Performance of Thin and Durable Asphalt Wearing Course. The Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2012
- Leng, Z., Al-Qadi, I., Shangguan, P., and Son, S., Field Application of Ground-Penetrating Radar for Measurement of Asphalt Mixture Density. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2304(1), pp. 133–141, 2012
- Son, S., Lee, J.S., and Chon, K.S., Study of the Proper Location of Near-Side Traffic Signals Considering Road Safety and Efficiency at the Intersection. 2007 UK Conference on Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, Reston, VA, 2007
- Son, S. and Chon, K.S., Analysis of Changes on the Intersection LOS by Introducing Near-Side Traffic Signals. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol. 6, pp. 311, 2005
- Son, S., Sécurité Routière à Rabat (Road Safety in Rabat), le Ministère du Transport et de l’Equipement au Maroc (Ministry of Equipment and Transport in Morocco), 163 pgs., 2004