At the Asphalt Institute’s (AI) recent 2004 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., two distinguished industry leaders were recognized for their outstanding achievements by being named to the Institute’s Roll of Honor.
Dr. Jon A. Epps and Jay Hensley, P.E., were each named to the Roll of Honor for their outstanding contributions and commitment to the asphalt industry. Both recipients have dedicated their extensive knowledge of asphalt to industry publications, studies, and the promotion of asphalt for decades.
“The Roll of Honor is our most prestigious award,” said Pete Grass, president of the Asphalt Institute. “These men have shown unmatched dedication to the advancement of asphalt and we are grateful for their countless contributions.”
Each recipient received a framed certificate in recognition of their award. The Institute also awarded each recipient the Asphalt Institute award medallion—a polished brass medallion with engraved AI logo and images of the liquid asphalt supply industry.
Dr. Jon A. Epps
Dr. Epps began his professional career as a professor with Texas A&M University in 1968. He moved to the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Nevada – Reno in 1982, serving as the Dean of the College of Engineering from 1986 to 1993. He currently works as Engineering Services Manager for Granite Construction and is responsible for the company’s quality control, training, and engineering services.
Dr. Epps is known in the asphalt industry for his work as a research engineer during the Strategic Highway Research Program. Together with Dr. Claine Petersen (a past Roll of Honor recipient), Dr. Epps served as a consultant to prepare the first technical amplification of the $50 million national research program on asphalt composition and physical properties, a component of the Strategic Transportation Research Study (STRS). This study later became part of the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP). Dr. Epps has authored over 250 technical papers and reports in the area of asphalt materials, asphalt mixture properties, maintenance, recycling, and pavement design and economics. He is a past president of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (of which he has been a member since 1968) and the International Society for Asphalt Pavements.
M. Jay Hensley, P.E.
M. Jay Hensley began his career in 1960 as a Research Engineer with the Arkansas Department of Transportation. In 1967, Jay went to work for the Asphalt Institute and stayed with the association for 33 years as an engineer, achieving the position of Chief Engineer in 1999. Throughout his career, Jay served on many committees and technical panels, including Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists Board of Directors (Life Member), the Civil Engineering Academy at the University of Arkansas, and Chairman of the Arkansas Highway Research Advisory Committee.
Jay’s many accomplishments include playing a key role in the development and promotion of rubblization technology and asphalt underlayments for railroad track beds. He was also a leader in the development of the Institute’s Thickness Design (MS -1) and Mix Design (MS-2) manuals. During Jay’s 33 years of service to AI from 1967 to his retirement in 2000, he was a major contributor to the overall increased use of asphalt throughout the industry. His leadership and training of Institute Field Engineers, combined with his relationship building skills in every aspect of the asphalt industry, have left a lasting legacy of service and dedication.
The Asphalt Institute is a U.S.-based association of international petroleum asphalt/bitumen producers, manufacturers and affiliated business. Its mission is to promote the use, benefits, and quality performance of petroleum asphalt, through environmental, marketing, research, engineering and technical development, and through the resolution of issues affecting the industry. For more information, visit www.asphaltinstitute.org.