J. Richard Willis, Ph.D.

Richard serves as NAPA’s expert on mix design, recycled materials, life-cycle cost analysis, and pavement design. He serves as the staff liaison for NAPA’s Committee for Asphalt Research and Technology; Council for Engineering, Research, and Sustainability; Workforce Development Committee; and Pavement Economics Committee Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Task Force. He is also a co-host of NAPA’s “Pave It Black” podcast. Richard has a passion for teaching and regularly travels throughout the country to educate people on NAPA’s initiatives and priorities.

Experience

Before joining NAPA, Richard worked as an associate research professor at the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University (NCAT). While at NCAT, he conducted research on topics related to recycled materials, sustainability, laboratory mixture characterization, and life-cycle assessment. He served as the principal investigator on National Cooperative Highway Research Program project 9-55 on the use of recycled asphalt shingles in asphalt mixtures with warm mix and led many asphalt industry research projects on pavement vehicle interaction.

Education

B.S. in Physical Science, Freed-Hardeman University

Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE), Auburn University

M.S., Auburn University

Ph.D., Auburn University