Professor Davalos excels at both the teaching and research mission. During his 21-year tenure at West Virginia University (WVU) he has attained an outstanding record in quality research and teaching.



The quality of his research has been recognized both within the university (six times Researcher of the Year in CEMR) and outside, including awards from PennDOT, Modern Plastics Magazine, Composites Institute, ASCE Materials Congress, the prestigious ASCE Materials Div. Best Paper Award (1999), and the Applied Research Paper Award from the ASCE Construction Institute (2002). His publications record of over 280 articles includes several feature articles, position papers, and book chapters. He serves on the editorial boards of two major journals.



In the last 10 years, he has successfully developed and nurtured an interdisciplinary research team in advanced materials, with major accomplishments in establishing programs in high-performance concrete and steel, wood composites, fiber-reinforced polymer composites, and infrastructure security. He has graduated Master and Doctoral students from several disciplines and participated in graduate committees at other universities. He has shown visionary and effective leadership abilities, and is committed to advancing national recognition of WVU and economic development of West Virginia.



His teaching and research activities are focused on structural engineering and advanced materials for civil infrastructure and his graduate courses serve a broad spectrum of students within the college. He is a promoter of an “integrated approach to teaching and research,” and a strong advocate of inter- and multi-disciplinary research efforts. He has received grants for combined research and curriculum development approaches and has made annual presentations to new faculty on effective teaching and research methods. Dr. Davalos is an active member of the American Society for Engineering Education, and has made important contributions to the scholarship of teaching through publications, membership in panels and committees within and outside WVU, and devoting time to work with students and faculty as mentor and advisor.



In the last 15 years, and after being honored with the WVU Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award in 1995 as assistant professor, Dr. Davalos has demonstrated continuous growth and enthusiasm in teaching innovations. He has developed and implemented unique and effective "active learning" teaching methods, and has energized students and faculty to reach new levels of learning and teaching excellence. In 2005, he was honored for a second time with the WVU Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award. He has been honored with the Department’s Excellence in Teaching Award, every year from 1994 to 2010, and the College’s Teacher of the Year Award several times.