Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Brian K. Diefenderfer,
1996 B.S. Civil Engineering, 1998 M.S. Civil Engineering, 2002 Ph.D. Civil Engineering
Senior Research Scientist, Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

Dr. Brian K. Diefenderfer has been awarded three Civil Engineering degrees from the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He earned a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in 1996, 1998, and 2002, respectively.



Dr. Diefenderfer worked from 2001 to 2004 for Concorr, Inc., a private consulting company, where he conducted research on corrosion of reinforced concrete structures. He is currently a Senior Research Scientist with the Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research (VCTIR, formerly the Virginia Transportation Research Council), the research division for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), where he has been employed since 2004. He has actively pursued a research program in pavement design and rehabilitation with the goal of improving the pavement-related business practices of VDOT by introducing cost-effective and innovative treatments.



Dr. Diefenderfer also serves as the executive secretary for VDOT's Pavement Research Advisory Committee which works to guide the pavement research program for VDOT. The results of this research work include modifications to VDOT's pavement rehabilitation decision making processes, directly influencing approximately $250-300 million worth of paving procured annually by VDOT. More recently, he has led VDOT's research on in-place recycling as a pavement rehabilitation alternative. Dr. Diefenderfer's accomplishments have been recognized at VCTIR where he has twice been awarded the Horizon Award for Outstanding Productivity and Achievement and received the Jack H. Dillard Award for best VCTIR research report.



Dr. Diefenderfer has also worked in furthering the education of others by teaching civil engineering graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Virginia and serving as chair, co-chair, or committee member for graduate students at both Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.



Dr. Diefenderfer is active with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), one of the major divisions of the National Research Council of the National Academies. He is currently a member of the technical committees on Pavement Rehabilitation and Full-Scale Accelerated Pavement Testing. He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists.



Dr. Diefenderfer lives in Charlottesville with his wife Stacey, also a Virginia Tech civil engineering graduate, and sons Ian and Eric.