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
September 7, 2021
Kumares C. Sinha, Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, is featured in a recent article from Wallethub weighing in on the best & worst cities to drive in.
August 12, 2021
The Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University invites applications for a tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor as part of Purdue Engineering’s Autonomous and Connected Systems (ACS) Initiative.
July 9, 2021
Professor Kumares C. Sinha, Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, published an article titled “Reflections on the History of the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering” in the Journal of Transportation Engineering (JTE) that was recognized as the Editors' Choice.
July 2, 2021
The Indiana Department of Transportation and Purdue University have announced plans to develop the world’s first contactless wireless-charging concrete pavement highway segment. The project will use innovative magnetizable concrete – developed by German startup Magment GmbH – enabling wireless charging of electric vehicles as they drive.
June 8, 2021
Students Sania Seilabi & Amir Davatgari, post-doctoral researcher Mohammad Miralinaghi, and Professor Samuel Labi of the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and the Center for Connected & Automated Transportation (CCAT), received the 2021 Sussman Best Paper Prize from the Frontiers in the Built Environment journal, for their paper titled "Promoting Autonomous Vehicles Using Travel Demand and Lane Management Strategies."
May 28, 2021
Dr. Mohammad Miralinaghi, a post-doctoral researcher in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and researcher at the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) has been recognized with the 2020 Matthew G. Karlaftis Best Paper Award.
May 6, 2021
Grad student Jairaj Desai has been named a recipient of the 2021-2022 Edward J. Cox Memorial Transportation Scholarship Award. The award is presented annually by the Indiana Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
May 6, 2021
CE senior Steven Rogers has been named a recipient of the 2021-2022 Edward J. Cox Memorial Transportation Scholarship Award. The award is presented annually by the Indiana Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
May 6, 2021
PhD student Bortiorkor "Naa" Alabi has been named a recipient of the 2021-2022 Edward J. Cox Memorial Transportation Scholarship Award. The award is presented annually by the Indiana Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
April 25, 2021
Purdue University is poised to be the first to roll out TScan - an innovative, fully automated scanning system for acquiring traffic microscopic data at road intersections.
April 25, 2021
Purdue University is a partner in a $9.95M U.S. Department of Transportation project aimed at demonstrating the safety and mobility potentials of a next-generation traffic control system. Called “smart intersections,” the technology is capable of gathering and transmitting information in real time to connected and automated vehicles (CAVs).
April 24, 2021
Konstantina (Nadia) Gkritza, Professor of Civil Engineering and Agricultural and Biological Engineering, has been recognized as a Purdue University Faculty Scholar. The University Faculty Scholars Program recognizes outstanding mid-career faculty who are on an accelerated path for academic distinction.
April 24, 2021
Congratulations to CE graduate students Abdullah Nafakh and Isaiah Mwamba for receiving an honorable mention in the Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC) video competition. Their entry in the contest is titled, "Infrastructure and the Environment: A Love-Hate Relationship."
April 23, 2021
Wejo, the leader in connected vehicle data, will host a panel discussion during National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) 2021 exploring how DOTs around the U.S. can tap into connected vehicle data to create safer work zones and save lives. The session, titled, "Connecting the DOTs: How Connected Vehicle Data Enables Work Zone Safety," will feature experts from Purdue University, Google, and the Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT), and will take place virtually on April 28, 2021 at 2pm ET.
April 13, 2021
Since launching in September 2020, the Center for Innovation in Control, Optimization and Networks (ICON) hasn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic hamper its goals.
April 13, 2021
Data engineers at Purdue University are using a wealth of connected vehicle data to help improve highway safety and efficiency while laying the groundwork for the ultimate edge device, the autonomous vehicle.
April 9, 2021
The Third Annual Next-Generation Transport Systems (NGTS–3) 2021 Conference will be held virtually May 24–28, 2021. It is organized and run by engineering students within the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) at Purdue.
April 9, 2021
The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Apr. 9) ratified the appointment of Satish Ukkusuri as the Reilly Professor of Civil Engineering.
April 7, 2021
A new graduate-level course that addresses the applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) in connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) operations has taken shape in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering.
April 7, 2021
Big data from connected vehicles can provide powerful insights to help government agencies improve the safety and efficiency of their surface transportation systems. CE’s Darcy Bullock is making big strides in using this connected vehicle data.
