Roy W. Crum
National impact on the transportation industry and research in materials and highway construction and innovative leadership in the Iowa State Highway Commission
Inducted 2021
Roy Crum earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Iowa State in 1907 and continued as a teacher for 12 years. He served concurrently as a structural engineer for the Iowa Engineering Experiment Station. He then started at the Iowa State Highway Commission before moving to the national Highway Research Board.
As director of the Highway Research Board for 23 years, Crum responded immediately to the transportation problems during World War II; he developed wartime bulletins, which transformed into the “Current Road Problems” series post-war. Crum also got the Highway Research Board through the Great Depression unscathed while expanding the research program. His time as director was fundamental in the continued success and expansion of the Highway Research Board.
He received the Alumni Merit Award from the ISU Alumni Association and the Anson Marston Medal from the College of Engineering. The Highway Research Board established an award in recognition of outstanding achievement in transportation research and named it the “Crum Award” to honor him and his dedication. Crum was President of the American Concrete Institute and the Iowa Engineering Society as well as director of ASCE.