Upchurch Receives Top Recognitions from ASCE, ITE

Arizona State University (ASU) Professor Emeritus Jonathan Upchurch ’82, a doctoral alumnus of the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been named an Honorary Member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The distinction comes just months after the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) named Upchurch a Distinguished Member.

The combination of honors is rare: in the entire history of ASCE and ITE, which have a combined membership of more than 150,000, only six individuals have received both of these designations. The ITE honorary membership is the highest accolade offered by the organization, and ASCE Distinguished Membership is one of the highest honors available in the civil engineering profession as a whole.

Upchurch, an expert on traffic control devices, has influenced public policy through his work—including nine years as executive secretary—with the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which makes recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on standards for uniformity, appearance, application, and installation of road signs, markings, and traffic signals. He also played a crucial role in developing the FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways. In the 2000s, Upchurch was on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he helped prepare legislation, known as SAFETEA-LU, that authorizes funding for highways, safety programs and transit.

At ASU, where he taught for 16 years, Upchurch has advocated strongly for student involvement in professional societies. His former students include 11 ITE Section Presidents and two ITE International Directors. He himself has been deeply involved not only with ITE, including as its International President in 1991, but with the Transportation Research Board, having served for 43 years as a member of TRB’s Traffic Control Devices Committee and six years as its chair.

Upchurch has also served on 13 project panels and committees for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the National Academy of Sciences.

“Dr. Upchurch has made lasting contributions across government, academia, and professional associations,” ITE said in a press release. His decades of service exemplify the spirit of ITE Honorary Membership.”

Learn more about Professor Upchurch.

Published February 16, 2026