Dr. Deb McAvoy joined Ohio University's Civil Engineering Department in the Fall of 2007. She received her Ph.D. from Wayne State University after working as a civil engineering consultant for eleven years. Dr. McAvoy worked as the lead research engineer for the Wayne State University Transportation Research Group for three years while working toward her Ph.D. She completed her M.S. degree in Transportation Engineering from Wayne State University, and her B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Detroit. She is a registered professional engineer in the states of Michigan and Ohio. She is also certified as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) through the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).

Research Activities

Dr. McAvoy's principal area of research interest is in highway safety, traffic engineering, traffic signal system optimization and progression, roadway design and human factors engineering. She has worked on projects for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP). As a part of these studies, she has conducted technical analyses for signal timing, congestion, crash, gap studies and has substantial experience in corridor progression and work zone safety analyses.