We are deeply saddened to announce the death of a great man, mentor, researcher, and teacher. Carl L. Monismith died Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Missoula, Montana, at the age of 98. Services will be held this spring in California.
“Carl’s impact and legacy at the Institute of Transportation Studies will be felt for generations to come,” says ITS Berkely Director Daniel A. Rodriguez. “His dedication and care for his students, employees, and the Institute were truly commendable, surpassed only by his innovative and influential research.”
Carl was a true Cal alum, he received both his B.S. (1950) and M.S. (1954) degrees in Civil (Structures) Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and stayed on to teach, perform research and lead programs, the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Institute of Transportation Studies and its UC Pavement Research Center. He also holds an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
“Professor Monismith was a pioneer in the development of modern pavement structural design and understanding of asphalt materials. He was an outstanding teacher and mentor to many future leaders around the world, and he helped establish methods of advancing knowledge into practice that we are relying on today,” says John Harvey, current director of the UC Pavement Research Center at UC Davis and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He was also advised by Carl. “He will be missed for his contributions but also as a colleague and friend.”
In 1951, Carl became a member of the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Berkeley. From 1974-1979, he served as Department Chair and served as Chair of the Division of Transportation Engineering from 1970-1974, which at the time included Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Engineering and Management. He earned a Fulbright Grant in 1971 to travel to University of New South Wales in Australia, where he earned the Rupert Myers Award in 1976.
“I appreciate Carl because he was department chair when I was hired. Hopefully he does not regret the decision,” says UC Berkeley Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Emeritus Carlos Daganzo. “I had both his kids in my CE 155 class and was later happy to see that they successfully survived the experience. It must have been Carl's genes.”
In 1996, he became a Professor of the Graduate School and earned the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. He remained active with the department and ITS for many years afterwards. His last position at UC Berkeley was the Robert Horonjeff Professor of Civil Engineering, Emeritus and Director Emeritus of Berkeley’s Pavement Research Center of the Institute of Transportation Studies.
From 1951-2008, he supervised 37 doctoral students, who work in academia, government and industry in 10 states and nine countries. He was inducted to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 2012. He received a Special Recognition at the ITS Berkeley Awards ceremony in 2016 “with affection and gratitude for his extraordinary contributions to transportation research and your service to the University of California, Berkeley, from 1951 to 2016.” At the time, when he looked back across more than 60 years of pavement research at UC Berkeley, he simply saw a lucky life. “I can’t imagine a better profession than being a civil engineer, and my colleagues at Berkeley were simply the best.”
Many of Carl’s colleagues held him in high esteem as he took to advise younger researchers and serve in leadership positions. C. William Ibbs, UC Berkeley CEE Professor Emeritus, remembers when Carl served as the Group Leader for the Construction Engineering & Management Program (EPM's precursor) for at least one year when no one else was able to do so, and was a strong supporter of the EPM program in countless other, intangible ways.
“Carl was an unselfish man, he advised me on some of my research when I first came to Berkeley in 1987, as well as many other young scholars,” says Ibbs.
His dedication to teaching and research, primarily in pavement engineering, was evident in his actions, and he was a strong advocate of diversity in faculty and students. He was a visiting scholar at Tongji University in Shanghai in the 1980s, just as China was opening up to the world, and made lifelong friends from that time. He also was an advocate and supporter of women in engineering, especially at a time where there were so few.
“Carl was a good man who encouraged me personally and mentored me professionally throughout my education and career. I will miss him,” says ITS Assistant Director Laura Melendy, ITS alum. “I know I'm far from alone in those regards, there are countless alumni and colleagues that will echo these sentiments.”
Outside of the classroom, Carl left a lasting legacy in the asphalt pavement technology field, pavement design and rehabilitation, and pavement management. Over his career, he authored 492 papers, many of which are still read and cited today.
“Carl wasn't just held in high regard by academics, but he was long seen as foundational for pavement engineers across many agencies,” says ITS Librarian Kendra K. Levine. “Anytime I am in a meeting with somebody from a state DOT who happens to work in pavement, they ask if I know Carl and then talk about how much they rely on his work. I can't think of another ITS researcher who's had such a profound and direct impact on practice.”
Long involved in the activities of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), he served as Chairman of the Pavement Design Section from 1973-1979 and as a member of the Committee on Flexible Pavement Design, the Long Term Pavement Performance Committee, and numerous National Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) panels.
His involvement in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) included: President of the San Francisco Section from 1979-1980, chairman of the committee on Pavement Design, Highway Division from 1981-1982, member of the Committee on Curricula and Accreditation, and member the Education Division Executive Committee. He has also served as President of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT) from 1968-1969.
He was also a founding member of the International Society for Asphalt Pavements and served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Director from 1988-1990 and was a member of the committee from 1990-2002. He also served as an Honorary Member.
His contributions to the profession have been recognized by several awards, including TRB's K. B. Woods Award, First Distinguished Lectureship Award, and Roy W. Crum Distinguished Service Award. He was inducted into both the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA) Hall of Fame and the Roll of Honor of the Asphalt Institute. In 2012, the ASCE Geo-Institute established the Carl L. Monismith Lecture in Pavement Engineering, to be given annually to an individual who has made outstanding research contributions in pavement engineering.
He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), an Honorary Member of ASCE and a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Throughout his career, Carl offered consulting services to national and international companies, including Chevron Research Company, The Bechtel Corporation, Transport Canada Air, US Air Force and The Asphalt Institute.
He will truly be missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and the transportation world. His academic and professional footprint was only eclipsed by his kindness.