UA Doctoral Student Named Fellow by International Organization

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A University of Alabama engineering doctoral student was named a fellow by the International Road Federation.

Samwel Zephaniah, a native of Kenya, will travel to Washington D.C. in January for the Federation’s annual multi-day leadership and orientation program.

The program is designed to enhance fellows’ leadership skills and provide insight into the transportation industry through visits to prominent domestic, regional and international organizations.

These typically include the World Bank, Federal Highway Administration, Inter-American Development Bank, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center.

Zephaniah is pursuing a doctorate in civil engineering from the University, where he also works as a teaching assistant and as a research assistant to Dr. Steven L. Jones Jr., UA associate professor in the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering.

His research interests are primarily in crash prediction modeling and costing framework for unpaved, low volume rural roads. In Kenya, Zephaniah has worked on numerous projects involving traffic data collection, highway development soils investigation and geometric design.

Zephaniah has worked as a civil engineer for the United Nations Development Program, working in project planning and project design, and he has published three articles on transportation engineering since 2009. He earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Nairobi and expects to complete his doctorate in civil engineering from the University in 2016.