Meet Our Highly Qualified Team of Professionals

Imad L. Al-Qadi, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE

President and Principal Engineer

Imad Al-Qadi is the Founding President of TEST, Inc. He is also the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Director of the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT), and leader of the Illinois Autonomous and Connected Track (I-ACT). Prior to joining UIUC, he served as a Full Professor at Virginia Tech, where he was named the Charles E. Via Jr. Professor.

At Virginia Tech, Dr. Al-Qadi established the roadway infrastructure group and designed the various heavily instrumented pavement sections of the Smart Road, a state-of-the-art, full-scale, test bed research facility that become one of the leading facilities in North America in providing diverse test environments for transportation research. At UIUC, Dr. Al-Qadi established and elevated ICT to an internationally renowned transportation center. He also built out a premiere and innovative program for advanced mobility as part of the state-of-the-art I-ACT.

Dr. Al-Qadi’s teaching, research, and consulting interests and expertise focus primarily on highway and airfield pavement mechanics, advanced modeling, tire-pavement interaction, pavement fracture modeling and testing, interface and interlayer systems (including geosynthetics), pavement materials, sustainability, resiliency, and life-cycle assessment, asphalt mixes and performance, modified asphalt binder rheology, pavement recycling optimization, ground-penetrating radar optimization and signal analysis, infrastructure asset management systems and pavement condition assessment, preservation technologies, transportation infrastructure instrumentation and full-scale accelerated testing; autonomous and conceded vehicles and trucks, energy harvesting, truck platoons, and forensic engineering and arbitration.

A registered professional engineer, Dr. Al-Qadi is an elected Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Chapter Honor Member of Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society, honorary member of the Societa Italiana Infrastrutture Viarie, emeritus member of TRB Committee on Pavement Maintenance, and served as an honorary professor at Southeast University in Nanjing, Chang ’An University in Xian, and Tongi University in Shanghai, China; Aston University, UK; and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as an honorary chair professor at Harbin Institute of Technology, China and the ARAMCO honorary chair at KFU, Saudi Arabia. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Pavement Engineering, Associate Editor of the Research in Nondestructive Evaluation Journal, past Regional Editor of the Construction and Building Materials Journal, and Guest Editor of other journals. He also serves on the editorial boards of several other journals.

Dr. Al-Qadi is the only pavement engineer to ever receive the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award (1994) and the Quadrennial International Geosynthetic Society Award (2002). He has received numerous prestigious awards including the ASCE James Laurie Prize (2007), ARTBA S.S. Steinberg Award (2013), ASCE Robert Horonjeff Award (2021), ASCE Turner Award (2014), TRR of the National Academies D. Grant Mickle Award (2006), ASCE Carl Monismith Lecture (2022), Limoges Medal of Merit (2004), STS Research Award (1993), Virginia Tech College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (2001), ASCE Outstanding Instructor Award (2006), Illinois Center for Transportation Research Award (2012, 2015), Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising (2010), as well as several best paper awards. His achievements were profiled in the TRNews of the National Academies in the November-December 2006 issue.

Dr. Al-Qadi is the past President of the Board of Governors of the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute and Founder and current Chair of the Executive Board of the Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE). He also served as Group Leader of ISAP Technical Committee on Interlayer Systems, a member of the USDOT Truck Size and Weight Study National Committee, and as a member of the TRB Operation and Maintenance Group. He is the past chair of TRB Preservation and Maintenance Section, TRB Subcommittee on Interlayer Systems to Control Reflective Cracking (founder), TRB Committee Sealants and Fillers for Joints and Cracks, TRB Subcommittee on Geosynthetics in Flexible Pavement Systems (founder), ASCE Highway Pavement Committee, and ASCE Design, Construction, and Maintenance Executive Council. His service record also includes the role of chair/co-chair of more than 25 international conferences, such as the 5th, 6th, and 7th RILEM International Conference on Pavement Cracking; 2006 International NDE Conference on Civil Engineering; Advanced Characterization of Pavement and Soil Engineering Materials; 2006, 2010, 2013, 2017, and 2019 ASCE International Airfield and Highway Pavement Conferences; the First ASCE Transportation and Development Institute Congress, and the 2017 and 2021 Pavement Life Cycle Assessment Conference.

Dr. Al-Qadi is a member of several technical committees and a member of the State Transportation Innovation Leadership Team-Illinois. He is an emeritus member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), a life member of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT), and a member of North American Geosynthetic Society (NAGS), International Society of Asphalt Pavements (ISAP), International Geosynthetic Society (IGS), American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), International Association of Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Dr. Al-Qadi’s scholarly record features 800+ authored/co-authored publications. His research resulted in the development of new standard tests, testing specifications, advanced modeling and simulation of pavement loading, pavement layer interface and crack devices, analysis of radar electromagnetic wave interactions with civil engineering materials, roads, and bridges, and connected truck platoon models. Dr. Al-Qadi presented the outcome of his research at 800+ national and international conferences and international meetings, including numerous invited keynote and distinguished lectures. He has served as principal investigator of 150+ research projects, with funding in excess of $150 million, sponsored by various federal, state, and international agencies and industry. He has also managed more than 280 projects sponsored by ICT. Dr. Al-Qadi has consulted for numerous federal, state, and major public agencies in the U.S. and abroad, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), BP Amoco, Michelin, Bekaert, Maccaferri, DMJM+HARRIS, Jacobs, and Koch.

Hasan Ozer, Ph.D., M.ASCE

Director of Infrastructure and Principal Engineer

Hasan Ozer is TEST’s Director of Infrastructure and Co-founder. He is also an Associate Professor at the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment of Arizona State University (ASU), Director of ASU’s National Center of Excellence on Smart Innovations, and Founder and Director of ASU’s Southwest Pavement Technology Initiative. Before joining ASU in 2019, he served as Research Faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and the Illinois Center for Transportation. He led or co-led many projects sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Tollway, and private industry.

Dr. Ozer is actively involved in professional organizations, serving the pavement community. He is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Pavement Engineering, Committee Chair for the ASCE Highway and Pavement Committee, and Subcommittee Chair for the Sealant and fillers for joints and cracks (AKT30) TRB Subcommittee. Dr. Ozer has recently been awarded the 2023 Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE) Outstanding Academic Member Award and the 2022 Wilber S. Smith Award, established by the ASCE Highway Division (now the Transportation & Development Institute).

Dr. Ozer’s research and teaching interests are in the area of infrastructure materials, structural performance modeling of pavements, and transportation sustainability. His research is primarily concentrated in the areas of computational fracture mechanics, numerical modeling of pavement response, sustainable pavement systems, use of recycled materials in pavements, rheological and mechanical characterization of highly polymerized asphalt binder, and wireless sensor networks for monitoring infrastructure’s health. His research scope on sustainability encompasses development of guidelines to improve sustainable practices, sustainability assessment of highway infrastructure, and alternative materials used in asphalt mixture production and aggregates production.

Yanfeng Ouyang, Ph.D., M.ASCE

Director of Operations and Principal Engineer

Yanfeng Ouyang brings in many years of technical experience in transportation systems analysis, operations management, large-scale optimization, and data analytics. Since receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 2005, Dr. Ouyang has served as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator of over 50 research projects, with over $13 million of total funding, from various sponsors such as the U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Toll Highway Authorities, and the private sector (e.g., ADM and CSX). His research outcomes have been successfully transferred to field practice, leading to various prestigious awards such as a 2014 High Impact Project Award from the Illinois DOT, a 2013 Chairman’s Award of Excellence from CSX Inc., and a 2015 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

He is an active member and officer of professional societies such as the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science (INFORMS), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He has authored/coauthored well over 100 technical publications and delivered more than 250 national/international presentations. He is also a Department/Area/Associate Editor of multiple top academic journals.

Issam Qamhia, Ph.D.

Senior Engineer

Issam Qamhia is a senior engineer at TEST with vast experience in pavement and geotechnical engineering. He was previously a Research Scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC). Dr. Qamhia’s areas of expertise include characterization of pavement materials – mainly soils and aggregates, soil stabilization, pavement design and evaluation, nondestructive pavement testing, accelerated pavement testing, sustainable construction, and infrastructure engineering.

Dr. Qamhia serves as a younger committee member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Highway Pavement Committee, and as a Topics Board Editor for the CivilEng Journal by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), and is also a recognized reviewer for the Transportation Geotechnics Journal. Issam has professional affiliations to ASCE, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI), American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), and UIUC Alumni Association.

Dr. Qamhia holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, a master’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Birzeit University – Palestine.

Ester Tseng

Senior Engineer

Ester Tseng has over ten years of technical experience in pavement and geotechnical engineering. She has worked for engineering consulting, research, and government organizations in several countries, including USA, Australia, France, Brazil, and Spain. Ms. Tseng has provided geotechnical and pavement investigation, design and construction support for numerous road, port, and airfield projects. She has also served as technical leader for a variety of government-funded research projects involving pavement design methods, materials testing, and sustainability. She was involved in the preparation and review of pavement design guidelines and has delivered technical training courses to pavement practitioners.

Ms. Tseng has previously served as the Chairman of the Western Australia Pavements Group (a subcommittee of the Australian Geomechanics Society) and was the recipient of the Western Australia Emerging Leader Award from the Australian Flexible Pavement Association in 2019.

Ms. Tseng holds master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of California Davis and from the École des Ponts ParisTech, and a master’s degree in Transportation Engineering from the University of São Paulo.