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
August 4, 2016
A team of researchers led by Satish Ukkusuri, Professor of Civil Engineering, has been selected to receive a $2.48 million National Science Foundation CRISP grant to address our nation's critical need for more resilient infrastructure and enhanced services.
July 9, 2016
Thomas Hall, a PhD candidate in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, has been selected to receive an Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship for the 2016-2017 academic year. The Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship is administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Universities and Grants Program and awards competitive fellowships to students in transportation-related disciplines.
June 30, 2016
CE students Michelle Mekker and Margaret McNamara placed first in the poster contest of the Midwestern + Great Lakes ITE conference held this week in Chicago.
June 28, 2016
Congratulations to the Purdue Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Traffic Bowl Team on winning the Great Lakes district competition! This annual competition among ITE student chapter teams uses transportation planning and engineering topics for the clues, questions and answers.
May 25, 2016
On May 9, nineteen students from Civil, Mechanical, Industrial and Construction Engineering embarked on a 12-day trip led by Professor Darcy Bullock to study 21st Century European multi-modal Transportation Infrastructure in London, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
May 13, 2016
Arif Mohaimin Sadri, a doctoral candidate in the transportation area advised by Prof. Satish Ukkusuri, is the recipient of the 2016 Excellence in Research Award from the Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs, Purdue University for his successful interdisciplinary project titled as "The Role of Social Capital, Personal Networks, & Early Responders in Post-disaster Recovery."
May 13, 2016
Darcy Bullock, Professor of Civil Engineering, has been given the Faculty Engagement Fellow Award from Purdue University's Office of Engagement. Prof. Bullock is recognized for his work with the Indiana Department of Transportation, specifically for his efforts to help engineers identify critical research problems and produce solutions.
April 25, 2016
Tariq U. Saeed, a graduate student of Transportation Engineering working in the research group of Professor Samuel Labi, has been chosen to receive a spring 2016 PCCRC graduate student travel grant.
April 20, 2016
On Wednesday, April 13th, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering hosted the German America Chamber of Commerce for a seminar on the innovation of energy efficiency in transportation systems. The event kick-off was a poster session in the Woods Commons to highlight some active research projects and give students an opportunity to engage with German transportation specialists.
April 12, 2016
Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas, an undergraduate student from Colombia who was hosted here at Purdue last year through the Purdue-Colombia Institute, has been recognized for having the best thesis in her field at the National University of Colombia.
April 12, 2016
Nadia Gkritza, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Agricultural and Biological Engineering, was presented with the Jane F. Garvey/UMass ITE Transportation Leadership Award for her demonstrated leadership and outstanding skill in the field of transportation.
March 21, 2016
The 102nd Purdue Road School Transportation Conference and Expo broke another record with over 2,600 attendees.
March 8, 2016
Tariq Usman Saeed, a Ph.D. student in transportation systems engineering, has been awarded a 3-month paid fellowship to carry out research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich.
February 23, 2016
On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, the Cedar Grove Bridge came strategically crashing down into Franklin County's Whitewater River.
February 16, 2016
On February 10, 2016, the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom was full of posters sharing innovative research ideas with Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Executive Staff and Directors.
February 1, 2016
The Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measure (SPM) Workshop, held on January 26-27, 2016, in Salt Lake City, Utah, provided a forum to share best practices, agency progress, and configuring and troubleshooting tips, as well as to discuss the potential future of SPMs.
January 18, 2016
Purdue faculty, staff and students attended the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 95th Annual Meeting on January 10–14, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
January 15, 2016
A paper co-authored by Steven Lavrenz, Christopher Day, and Darcy Bullock, from Purdue University, along with INDOT Engineer Rick Freije and Elkhart County Engineer Jay Grossman received the 2016 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Traffic Signal System Committee Best Paper Award at this year's TRB conference in Washington, DC.
January 12, 2016
CE Professor Satish Ukkusuri has been selected by the National Academy of Engineering to attend the Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering (JAFOE), along with 60 other engineers who have all been determined by the academy to be future leaders of the engineering field. The event will be June 16-18 in Irvine, California.
December 22, 2015
CE grad student V. Dimitra Pyrialakou has received the prestigious Leadership Legacy Graduate Scholarship through the Women's Transportation Seminar Greater Chicago Area chapter.
