We align technical insight with disciplined execution to provide measurable gains across operational, financial, and strategic domains.

Dr John Yeaman AM, FTSE

Professional Biography

Dr John Yeaman AM, FTSE is an Australian pavement scientist and engineer with a career in road and airfield construction spanning seven decades. He began in 1956 as a laboratory technician with Blue Metal Industries (now Boral), where he spent almost twenty years in the materials laboratory, gaining a practical grounding in crushed rock, road base, and asphalt. From 1974 to 1981, he was Technical Director of SAMI Pty Ltd, developing bitumen rejuvenators, polymer-modified binders and strain-alleviating membrane interlayers (SAMI).

While studying part-time, he completed a science qualification at the NSW Institute of Technology (now UTS), a Master of Engineering at the University of New South Wales (1976), and a PhD at UNSW (1981) under Professor Ian K. Lee on pavement management systems for local government. During his doctoral studies, he spent six months at the University of California, Berkeley, with Professor Carl L. Monismith, studying the effect of water on road base under repeated loading. Monismith's mentorship shaped his lifelong work on pavement deterioration modelling. With Lee, he co-authored the two-volume Handbook of Pavement Management (1979).

In 1981, he founded Pavement Management Services Pty Ltd (PMS) and developed the PARMMS pavement management system, built on deterioration models for Australian conditions. PMS introduced Australia's first falling weight deflectometer (1983), camera condition surveys and automated distress logging, and later 3D laser (LCMS) surveys. From 1996, he advised on Australia's first Performance Specified Maintenance contracts and helped establish long-term performance-based road contracting in Australasia. He also led network studies in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

From 2011, he was Professor of Civil Engineering Construction at the University of the Sunshine Coast and later held the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) endowed Chair as Professor of Pavement Engineering. There, he supervised PhD and Master’s research on pavement instrumentation, climate effects on pavement response, recycled materials in asphalt and soil stabilisation. He has also served as an external PhD examiner for the University of Birmingham, the University of Auckland, and Swinburne University.

He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2003. He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, where he served on the university accreditation board for many years, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (UK). He has been a Life Member of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists since 1972 and was a founding member of the International Society for Asphalt Pavements. He is an Honorary Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Worshipful Company of Paviors (2004), and received the Transport Association of Canada President's Medal (2008). In the 2017 Australia Day Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to civil engineering and road asset maintenance management, to professional organisations, and to the community.

Still active in research, he continues to develop knowledge-based pavement management systems that use machine learning and 3D pavement data.

Education, Professional Career and Honours

Category Organisation Role / Qualification Year
Employment Blue Metal Industries (now Boral) Laboratory Technician, Materials Laboratory 1956 to 1974
Employment SAMI Pty Ltd Technical Director 1974 to 1981
Employment Pavement Management Services Pty Ltd Founder and Director 1981 to 2008
Employment Pavement Management Services, UAE Operations Consultant 2008 to 2011
Academic Career University of the Sunshine Coast Professor of Civil Engineering Construction; DTMR Professor of Pavement Engineering From 2011
Education NSW Institute of Technology (now UTS) Science Qualification Not specified
Education University of New South Wales Master of Engineering 1976
Research University of California, Berkeley Visiting Research with Professor C. L. Monismith During PhD
Education University of New South Wales PhD, Civil Engineering 1981
Honours Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellow (FTSE) 2003
Honours Commonwealth of Australia Member of the Order of Australia (AM) 2017

Journal Articles

PMS1.    Clark, B.R., Gallage, C. and Yeaman, J. (2020). Temperature variation through deep multigrade asphalt pavements and proposed method for accounting for fluctuations. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 32(3), 04020005. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0003059. (QUT)

2.    Kodippily, S., Yeaman, J., Henning, T. and Tighe, S. (2020). Effects of extreme climatic conditions on pavement response. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 21(5), 1413–1425. DOI: 10.1080/14680629.2018.1552620. (University of Waterloo record)

3.    Kodippily, S., Tighe, S.L., Henning, T.F.P. and Yeaman, J. (2018). Evaluating pavement performance through smart monitoring: effects of soil moisture, temperature and traffic. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 19(1), 71–86. DOI: 10.1080/14680629.2016.1235507. (Tighe CV)

4.    Tahmoorian, F., Liyanapathirana, S., Yeaman, J. and Egwurube, J. (2023). Performance of hot-mix asphalt and modified binders containing polyethylene. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements, 149(1), 04023001. DOI: 10.1061/JPEODX.PVENG-502. (Google Scholar)

5.    Tahmoorian, F., Samali, B., Yeaman, J. and Mirzababaei, M. (2022). Evaluation of volumetric performance of asphalt mixtures containing recycled construction aggregate (RCA). International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 23(7), 2191–2205. DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2020.1849686. (Google Scholar)

6.    Tahmoorian, F., Samali, B., Yeaman, J. and Crabb, R. (2018). The use of glass to optimize bitumen absorption of hot mix asphalt containing recycled construction aggregates. Materials, 11(7), 1053. (PubMed Central)

7.    Clark, B.R., Gallage, C. and Yeaman, J. (2018). Temperature susceptibility of multigrade bitumen asphalt and an approach to account for temperature variation through deep pavements. International Journal of Urban and Civil Engineering, 12(6), 712–717. (USC Research Bank)

8.    Tahmoorian, F., Samali, B., Tam, V.W.Y. and Yeaman, J. (2017). Evaluation of mechanical properties of recycled material for utilization in asphalt mixtures. Applied Sciences, 7(8), 763. DOI: 10.3390/app7080763. (Google Scholar)

9.  White, G., Tighe, S., Emery, S. and Yeaman, J. (2017; online 2016). Developing a framework for diagnosis of shear distress in asphalt surfaces. International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 18(12), 1039–1051. DOI: 10.1080/10298436.2016.1141413. (Taylor & Francis)

10.  Fairweather, H. and Yeaman, J. (2014). A study of the parameters affecting the performance of roads under an extreme rainfall event. International Journal of GEOMATE. DOI: 10.21660/2014.13.3131. (Academia.edu)

Books, Chapters and Theses

1.  McCallum, A.B., Yeaman, J., Farrar, M. and Urbaez, E. (2022). Improving the bearing capacity and all-weather trafficability of Australian soils. In: Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (11th BCRRA, Trondheim), Vol. 2, pp. 29–42. CRC Press. DOI: 10.1201/9781003222897-3. (USC Research Bank)

2.  Tahmoorian, F., Samali, B. and Yeaman, J. Evaluation of structural and thermal properties of rubber and HDPE for utilization as binder modifier. Book chapter, IntechOpen. (IntechOpen)

3.  Yeaman, J. (2002). A Study Guide for Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation. Centre for Pavement Engineering Education, Deakin University. (Griffith University citation)

4.  Yeaman, J. (1981). PhD thesis on the development of pavement management systems for local government. University of New South Wales (UNSW)

5.  Yeaman, J. and Lee, I.K. (1979). A Handbook of Pavement Management, Vol. I: Principles and Practice of a Management System Based on a Visual Rating of Pavement Condition; Vol. II: Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation Strategies. Unisearch Ltd and S.A.M.I. Pty Ltd. (TRB NCHRP Synthesis 126; library listing)

6.  Yeaman, J. (1976). Skid Resistance and Brick Making Materials. Master of Engineering dissertation, University of New South Wales. (Western Sydney University thesis citation)

Conference papers and presentations

  1. Tahmoorian, F., Bracken, R., Wheatley, M. and Yeaman, J. (2019). Life cycle assessment of hot mix asphalt containing recycled materials: case study in Australia. International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference, Chicago, USA, pp. 143–149. (USC Research Bank)

  2. Tahmoorian, F., Crabb, R., Jansz, R., Samali, B. and Yeaman, J. (2019). Innovations in asphalt mix production incorporating waste materials. Conference contribution. (CQUniversity)

  3. Kodippily, S., Yeaman, J., Henning, T.F.P. and Tighe, S. (2018). Effects of variation in moisture and temperature on pavement response. 28th ARRB International Conference, Brisbane. (University of Waterloo record)

  4. Kodippily, S., Yeaman, J., Henning, T.F.P. and Tighe, S. (2018). Moisture sensitivity of pavement basecourses. 28th ARRB International Conference, Brisbane. (University of Waterloo record)

  5. Tahmoorian, F., Samali, B. and Yeaman, J. (2018). Utilization of plastic for pretreating RCA to eliminate its binder absorption in asphalt mixture. 4th Australasia and South-East Asia Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, Brisbane. (Western Sydney University thesis)

  6. Tahmoorian, F., Samali, B. and Yeaman, J. (2018). Classification and characterization of recycled construction aggregate (RCA). Conference contribution. (CQUniversity)

  7. Gray, C., Yeaman, J. and Tighe, S. (2015). Using innovative in-situ measuring tools to better understand asphalt performance. AAPA International Conference, Gold Coast. (Tighe CV)

  8. Tighe, S. and Yeaman, J. (2015). Developing a framework for innovative research and education which improves pavement life cycle and reduces costs. AAPA International Conference, Gold Coast. (Tighe CV)

  9. Haas, R., Tighe, S., Yeaman, J. and Cowe Falls, L. (2008). Long term warranty provisions for sustained preservation of pavement networks. Annual Conference of the Transportation Association of Canada, Toronto. (TAC)

  10. Tighe, S., Manion, M., Yeaman, J., Rickards, I. and Haas, R. (2007). Using performance specified maintenance contracts: buyer/seller beware. Infrastructure Reporting and Asset Management, ASCE, pp. 108–116. (Tighe CV)

  11. Yeaman, J. (2006). Critical review of performance specified maintenance after ten-plus years. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (TAC 2008; TAC 2009)

  12. Yeaman, J. (2005). Are we afraid of the IFI? International Surface Friction Conference, New Zealand. (NZ Transport Agency)

  13. Haas, R. and Yeaman, J. (2001). Alternative strategies for network based asset management contracts. 20th ARRB Conference, Melbourne. (Haas Distinguished Lecture)

  14. Haas, R., Yeaman, J., Raymond, C. and Cowe Falls, L. (2001). Pavement management in long term (performance-based) contracts.

  15. Yeaman, J. (2000). Management of the pavement component of infrastructure assets within the performance specified maintenance paradigm. 1st European Pavement Management Systems Conference, Budapest. (Haas Distinguished Lecture)

  16. Yeaman, J. (1997). The management of the pavement component of infrastructure assets within the performance specified maintenance paradigm. 10th AAPA International Flexible Pavements Conference, Perth. (Haas Distinguished Lecture)

  17. Yeaman, J. (1991). Automated pavement data collection. New Zealand Land Transport Symposium, Wellington, pp. 791–805. (Pavemetrics/ARRB reference list)

  18. Yeaman, J. (c. 1983). Rubberized bitumen: a state of the art. Pavement Management Services. (World Bank Group Archives)

  19. Yeaman, J. (1981). Modes and mechanisms of pavement distress. Residential Workshop on Management Techniques for the Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Pavements, Albury-Wodonga, UNSW. (BITRE Occasional Paper 64)

  20. Yeaman, J. (1981). The management of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation for local government. Residential Workshop on Management Techniques for the Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Pavements, Vol. 1, Albury-Wodonga, UNSW. (BITRE Occasional Paper 64)

Research Supervision

  1. Ahmadinia, E. (2017). Redesigning the Austroads creep procedure for the evaluation of permanent deformation of asphalt pavements in Australia. PhD, University of Southern Queensland. Co-supervisor. (USQ)

  2. 3D pavement surface measurement technology/certification and automated pavement distress identification and reporting. RPUG 2023. (RPUG)

  3. 3D pavement data for better road decisions. IPWEA Queensland and Northern Territory Annual Conference, 2026. (PMS)

  4. From 3D measurement to reliable pavement decisions. RPUG 2026, Pittsburgh. (John Yeaman)