Dr. Stacey D. Diefenderfer, Ph.D., P.E., is a three-time graduate from the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. From 1997 to 2003, she worked as a graduate research assistant and graduate teaching assistant and was a recipient of the prestigious Via Doctoral Fellowship. While working towards her Ph.D., she taught several semesters of CEE 3684 (CEE Materials) and conducted research at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Smart Road. She also coordinated and organized the installation of the pavement instrumentation during the paving operations at the Smart Road.



Since 2004, Stacey has been employed by the Virginia Department of Transportation at the Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research in Charlottesville and currently holds the title of Senior Research Scientist. She has developed a research program that combines the characterization of asphalt materials with pavement engineering to produce implementable outcomes.



Diefenderfer has led VDOT’s research on warm-mix asphalt (WMA) since 2006. WMA is a paving material similar to hot-mix asphalt but placed at lower temperatures allowing for reduced energy inputs (approximately 30 percent) and lower production emissions (ranging from 30 percent to 90 percent) depending on the process used. As a result of her work, approximately 90% of the over 3.5 million tons of asphalt placed annually for VDOT is now using this innovative technology contributing to significant reductions in environmental emissions and improving paving quality statewide. Because of this, Virginia is known nationally as a leader in the use and implementation of WMA. In 2011, Stacey received a VDOT Commissioner’s Award for Outstanding Achievement for her WMA research and implementation efforts.



Dr. Diefenderfer was a member of the Warm Mix Asphalt Technical Working Group, a national expert panel sponsored by FHWA and the National Asphalt Pavement Association. She is also a member of several National Cooperative Highway Research Program panels and is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists. She is active with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), one of the major divisions of the National Research Council of the National Academies, serving as a member of several technical committees.



Dr. Stacey Diefenderfer currently lives in Charlottesville with her husband Brian, also a Virginia Tech Civil Engineering graduate and Outstanding Young Alumni award recipient and future Hokies Ian and Eric.