UC Pavement Research Center Postdoc Mohamed Elkashef Earns Mistletoe Fellowship

By Bonnie Dickson

Mohamed Elkashef, a postdoc working with Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor John Harvey and University of California Pavement Research Center Associate Director David Jones, recently received a 2018-2019 Mistletoe Research Fellowship, which connects researchers with resources, investors, entrepreneurs and community partners to accelerate startups and support the commercialization of new innovations.

Working with researchers at the UC Pavement Research Center and the California Department of Transportation, Elkashef is studying the performance of reclaimed and recycled asphalt pavements. His research focuses on the use of recycled materials in new pavements, particularly the chemical and physical changes that occur from the use of recycled materials and other additives into pavements. His research also explores the environmental and economic benefits of using recycled materials for asphalt pavements.

Prior to joining UC Davis, Elkashef worked at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, as an adjunct assistant professor. He earned a Ph.D. in structural engineering from Cairo University in Egypt in 2010 and later moved to the United States to study pavement materials at Iowa State University. He earned a second Ph.D. in civil engineering materials from Iowa State University in 2017.

His research at Iowa State University led to a patent introducing a range of products using soybean oil to restore the properties of old pavements and allow for higher amounts of recycled materials in new pavements. Elkashef also received Iowa State University’s 2018 Karas Award for Outstanding Dissertation in the mathematical and physical sciences and engineering discipline. The award recognizes a superior dissertation by a graduate student that provides an original and unusually significant contribution.