Taking on the Difficult Problems

How Katie DeCarlo and Heritage Research Group Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges Today

Katie DeCarlo, Engineer with the Pavement Research Group at Heritage Research Group, has had some surprising moments in her professional career, but surely the one that was most unexpected arrived at the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA) annual meeting in 2023. 

“I got asked if I would help moderate a keynote speaker’s fireside chat,” Katie explains. “I didn’t realize initially that meant I’d be interviewing Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn in front of a thousand people.” 

Despite her nerves at the time, she laughs about the story today. She also sees it as one of the formative experiences in her relationship with NAPA and the larger asphalt industry. 

“I didn’t know at the time how much that event would help me make connections with people. I had so many conversations after that which began with, ‘Oh hey, I saw you on stage.’ It helped me break the ice and build relationships with people in an industry that often feels like a big family.” 

Katie has been with HRG for nearly four years, arriving shortly after earning her doctorate from the University of New Hampshire. It was while in her new role that she began working with NAPA, where she quickly assumed new roles and responsibilities within the organization. 

That includes membership in the Committee for Asphalt Research and Technology (CART), where she helps formulate programs for the development and implementation of research and technology; membership of the Balanced Mix Design Implementation Work Group, which facilitates the exchange of knowledge, experience, and best practices among NAPA members related to BMD; and a role as task force co-chair for the Pavement Economics Committee’s Life Cycle Cost Analysis task force. 

All this volunteer service keeps Katie busy, but she sees it as a vital part of her work. 

“Being so plugged in means I have the benefit of taking in a lot of information from all kinds of sources. When we see multiple companies experiencing the same pain points, it tells us there’s value in solving that problem,” Katie says. “At HRG, we’re thinking five, ten years or more down the road; we want to identify tomorrow’s challenges now and work to address them.” 

Being an active member of an industry organization like NAPA helps give Katie the inputs necessary to develop this kind of deep foresight. In turn, it also equips HRG to actively tackle industry-wide problems and open up new opportunities for innovation. 

“One real-world example of this is the research we’re doing on airfield pavements in partnership with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) and the University of Nevada Reno (UNR). Airfields are notoriously harder to design, and their specifications are incredibly strict,” Katie says. “That makes airfield projects very expensive and very difficult for most companies to take on. Our research is demonstrating that you can actually relax some of those specifications related to aggregate gradation and still meet or exceed high performance standards.”  

Katie appreciates that she works for a company committed to doing the right thing always while championing new innovations. 

HRG’s collaboration with Heritage Construction + Materials is a key part of this process, and it serves as a real-world proving ground for new asphalt technologies. Once a concept is developed in the HRG lab, it can be trialed through HC+M’s operations, allowing researchers to observe how new materials and techniques perform under actual jobsite conditions. This partnership helps validate research findings and accelerates the timeline from lab testing to field application. Likewise, when HC+M encounters a unique pavement challenge, HRG is there to help identify the underlying cause and determine the best treatment solution.   

“I do think HRG is really uniquely positioned within the industry. It’s understood that we support Heritage companies, but we’re known as an independent voice in the industry,” Katie says. “We’re working on difficult challenges and driving innovation, while partnering with our Heritage companies, agencies, and academia to help evaluate new ideas, products, and technology. It’s a great combination.” 

To learn more about how Heritage Research Group is developing tomorrow’s asphalt solutions today, visit hrglab.com.