Transportation and Infrastructure Systems Engineering
As a branch of civil engineering, transportation engineering has a history that is long and illustrious and a future that is full of promise. The National Academy of Engineering has identified restoring urban infrastructure and implementing smart mobility as grand challenges. We need coordinated approaches to tackle transportation issues by integrating car, rail, bus, truck, walking and bicycling to meet sustainability goals. Currently, we see how smartphones have enabled ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, while taxis and GPS-equipped cars and trucks are providing massive amounts of data that was unimaginable a few years back. Before long, it may be common to have vehicles are talking to infrastructure (V2I) and vehicles talking to each other (V2V). Traffic flow with automated vehicles is expected to be much safer and more efficient than with human drivers.
The journey to that future will be fascinating and challenging. The safe and efficient movement of people and goods relies on infrastructure. Highways, airports, railroads, waterways and pipelines need to be planned, designed, operated, and maintained. Purdue's Transportation and Infrastructure Systems Engineering faculty offer a wide range of classes, research facilities, and experiences. Their efforts will have noticeable impacts on challenges such as:
- Asset management
- Data acquisition and analytics
- Emergency response
- Energy
- Freight Transportation and Logistics
- Environment
- Smart Mobility
- Sustainability
- Urban infrastructure
The award-winning Purdue Student Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers introduces students to the transportation profession and fosters a close association of students with practicing engineers, educators from other institutions, and local and national chapters of ITE.
Spotlights
June 3, 2011
Some years ago, Kumares Sinha found himself in a remote corner of Bangladesh contemplating the challenge of building roads in areas with alluvial soils and abundant rivers prone to frequent flooding.
May 6, 2011
Congratulations to Michelle Dojutrek and Gary Sahi for being selected to receive the Institute of Transportation Engineers 2011 Edward J. Cox Memorial Scholarship.
March 31, 2011
Rebecca McDaniel, Technical Director of the North Central Superpave Center, was recently profiled in the news magazine of the Transportation Research Board.
March 3, 2011
Top federal and state transportation officials will kick off the 97th annual Purdue Road School, to be held March 8-10. Some 2,000 local and state transportation officials from throughout Indiana will participate in the event, sponsored by the Joint Transportation Research Program in cooperation with the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program, both housed at Purdue.
March 3, 2011
Congratulations to Prof. Kumares Sinha on being awarded the 2011 James Laurie Prize by the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute.
February 16, 2011
The application deadline is March 21, 2011 for this 10-week internship that runs May 23 - July 31, 2011. Interns will be assigned to work on a NEXTRANS-funded project based on educational background, availability, and if possible, indicated interests.
January 14, 2011
Congratulations to Eleni Bardaka for being awarded first prize in the Eleventh International Contest on LTPP Data Analysis.
January 11, 2011
Congratulations to Prof. Satish Ukkusuri for being awarded the Council of University Transportation Centers New Faculty Award, recognizing outstanding teaching and research contributions to the transportation field by a new tenure track faculty member.
December 22, 2010
Congratulations to Dr. Pengcheng Zhang (Ph.D. 2010), recognized by the Council of University Transportation Centers with the Pikarsky Award for best Ph.D. dissertation in science and technology.
December 3, 2010
Civil engineers at Purdue University helped the Indiana Department of Transportation save more than $1 million over the past two years by using shredded tires as a new low-cost material in construction projects.
October 19, 2010
Prof. Kumares Sinha has been appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board.
September 2, 2010
The
NEXTRANS Center at Purdue University has been awarded a $2.1 million research grant from the
U.S. Department of Transportation to develop solutions to transportation challenges by capturing the interactions between vehicle, traveler and infrastructure.
July 26, 2010
Civil engineers at Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation are teaming up on green projects around the state, including work aimed at saving taxpayers $300,000 annually by recycling a waste product from cement manufacturing.
June 30, 2010
Prof. Darcy Bullock has been named director of the Joint Transportation Research Program, effective July 15th. JTRP collaborates with the Indiana Department of Transportation on research and educational programs.
May 6, 2010
A recent USA Today article cites research by Prof. Darcy Bullock and his team to help track how long airline passengers are stuck at security checkpoints.
May 3, 2010
Congratulations to Mike Barbier, Scott Sandstrom & Sam Leckrone on their achievement!
May 3, 2010
Congratulations to Sarah Hubbard, Darcy Bullock & Fred Mannering for their award-winning paper, "Right-Turns on Green and Pedestrian Level of Service: A Statistical Assessment"
January 25, 2010
Dr. Srinivas Peeta is a recipient of the 2010 UniSA Distinguished Researcher Award from the University of South Australia (UniSA), awarded by the Australian Competitive Grants and Fellowships Development Committee.
October 20, 2009
Congratulations to Prof. Kumares Sinha, recipient of the Transportation Research Board's 2009 Roy W. Crum Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in transportation research and research management and is the highest honor bestowed by the TRB.
October 15, 2009
Congratulations to Prof. Satish Ukkusuri for advising his most recent Ph.D. student to being honored with the INFORMS Transportation Science & Logistics Best Dissertation Award for 2009.
