Student of the Year Award
2009 Recipient
Scott Koch
Koch is expected to earn his M.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Wyoming (UW) in May 2010. He earned his B.S. degree in civil engineering from UW in 2009. He is currently a graduate student in civil engineering focusing on transportation at UW.
Scott was an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at UW from January 2008 until May 2008. During that time, he managed traffic counter equipment, performed traffic studies, surveyed road users, and assisted with graduate studies data collection. From May 2008 to the present, Scott has been a research assistant for the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center. His research focused on the use of Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) in gravel roads as well as exploring the implementation processes associated with the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). Scott's thesis is focused on the use of RAP as a dust suppressant on gravel roads. He has preformed surface distress surveys, collected dust samples and moisture samples on eight test sections throughout the state of Wyoming. From this data, analysis on the performance of RAP in gravel roads has been performed. A paper on Scott's research has been assembled and submitted for publication. Scott is expected to finish his thesis work in the spring of 2010.
Scott earned a GPA of 3.55/4.0 for his academic performance as an undergraduate at UW. He currently holds a 4.0 for his graduate studies. During his time thus far at UW, Scott has received many scholarships including the Harold and Bonnie Jane Kester Scholarship for three consecutive years, the National Coal Transportation Association Scholarship the past two years and the Colorado-Wyoming Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Scholarship for 2009. He has also been named to the University of Wyoming's College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean's List every year at UW.
In addition to his research duties, Scott is a teaching assistant for Soil Mechanics, a junior level course at UW. Scott has also participated in a number of activities outside of the classroom. He is currently the president of the UW ITE Student Chapter. Scott is also a member of Tau Beta Pi. He was also a member of the UW Cowboy Football Program as well as the UW Rugby Program.
