J. Riley Edwards, PhD, PE

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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J. Riley Edwards is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Scientist in the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois), where he oversees rail infrastructure research and advises students.  He obtained his BS in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2004, MS from Illinois in 2006, and a PhD from Illinois in 2019.  After graduation, he worked for Hanson Professional Services, Inc. as a Construction Engineer on BNSF Railway’s Memphis Intermodal Expansion project in Tennessee. His research interests include the design and performance of railway track components.