Engaging Undergraduate Students in Solving Real Roadway Problems 
at the Campus of the Islamic University of Madinah

Aiman S Kuzmar

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Conference: 2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference
Location: Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
Publication Date: March 28, 2025
Start Date: March 28, 2025
End Date: March 29, 2025
Page Count: 19
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--54661
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/54661
Download Count: 20

Paper Authors

biography

Aiman S Kuzmar Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia

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Dr. Aiman Kuzmar, P. E. has a 1994 Ph. D. from Duke University. He has a 1987 Master’s from Rice University. His 1984 BS degree is from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. All of his degrees are in Civil Engineering.

Dr. Kuzmar is a licensed Professional Engineer (P. E.) with the State of North Carolina since 1999. He is also a licensed Registered Engineer with the Jordanian Association of Engineers.

For 10 years since 2015, Dr. Aiman Kuzmar has been an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the Islamic University in Madinah Saudi, Arabia.
His industrial experience includes working as a Consultant Structural Engineer for one year in 1994 and 1995 with Stewart Engineering, Inc. in North Carolina. He worked as a Pavement, Materials, and Structures Research Staff Engineer with the Research and Development Unit of the North Carolina Department of Transportation in Raleigh, NC for five years between 1995 and 1999. He was a Bridge Engineer with the Structures Unit of the North Carolina Department of Transportation in Raleigh, NC for one year in 1999 and 2000.

His other academic experience includes the following: He was an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Penn State Fayette for 10 years between 2000 and 2010. He served as an Associate Professor of Construction Management and Engineering Technology with the Department of Agricultural and Engineering Technology at Sam Houston State University for five years from 2010 to 2015. He also taught as an Adjunct Professor with Fairleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey, USA in the 2014/2015 academic year. He worked as an occasional instructor with the College of Mainland in the Galveston area in Texas, USA.

Dr. Kuzmar has a dual citizenship. He is a Jordanian as well as a US citizen.

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Abstract

Undergraduate research is an excellent teaching tool in engineering education. Service learning is another beneficial educational technique in engineering. A brief introduction on both undergraduate research and service learning is presented along with a summary of their benefits. This paper is on combining these two tactics in a senior highway engineering course in the civil engineering curriculum at the Islamic University of Madinah.

The CE 3742 undergraduate Highway Engineering course at the Islamic University of Madinah had a mandatory research component in its proceedings in the span of the past ten years. This research part is designed to be a service learning activity. The purpose of this process is to simultaneously attain the combined educational benefits from both undergraduate research and service learning.

During each offering, the class was divided into groups of three or four students. Each group investigated a real problem that existed on the highways of the Islamic University of Madinah campus and provided a professional and technical solution to it. A description of the research projects is presented. This includes chronological details on its requirements from the selection and assignment of the highway problem at the start of the semester to the presentation and report phase at the end of the term. A general list of the research topics which were investigated by the students is provided. Observations on this tactic are provided and the attained benefits are listed. Some of the challenges which the students faced are stated. A conclusion is made and recommendations are offered. This seems to be an excellent educational technique. It is suggested that other engineering educators are encouraged to engage their students in similar activities.

Citation
Format

Kuzmar, A. S. (2025, March), Engaging Undergraduate Students in Solving Real Roadway Problems at the Campus of the Islamic University of Madinah Paper presented at 2025 ASEE North Central Section (NCS) Annual Conference, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--54661