By Micaela Myers
When you drive around Wyoming, you probably aren’t aware that the University of Wyoming has a hand in making those roadways safe and their maintenance efficient. As director of the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center, part of the Local Technical Assistance Program, and a professor of civil engineering in UW’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, Khaled Ksaibati is genuinely passionate about all things transportation. Ksaibati received his graduate degrees from Purdue, worked for the Indiana Department of Transportation, and in 1990 joined the UW faculty, where he teaches pavement- and transportation-related courses. For the past 10 years he’s also headed up the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center, which is sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, in cooperation with UW, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), and Wyoming cities and counties.
Sharing Knowledge: “One of the main missions of the center is to provide educational opportunities and training to transportation professionals around the state,” Ksaibati explains. The center’s three engineers teach professionals from partner agencies, including contractor associations and local governments, about new technologies to improve efficiency and about new federal rules and guidelines. The center also provides certification programs that address issues such as making work zones safer, managing federal funds and conducting materials testing for concrete, asphalt and aggregate.
“Some of the local government agencies don’t have any other opportunities for outreach,” Ksaibati says. “They really do not have the financial means to go out of state for training, so this way we go to their hometowns, and they can attend our workshops. It’s very beneficial for them.”
Safety First: “One of our programs we have to help local governments is the Wyoming Rural Roads Safety Program,” Ksaibati says. “We identify locations with high crash rates, and then we work with counties to identify low-cost safety improvements. We help them write proposals for funding to improve the safety of their roadways.”
Whether it’s helping local governments with needed reports and studies, giving them the tools to make cost-effective decisions, or providing technical information and training, Ksaibati and the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center are making a difference for Wyoming’s residents and visitors.
