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
April 7, 2023
A team of researchers at Purdue University's Joint Transportation Research Program, including Director and engineering professor Darcy Bullock, investigated which rural areas would be the best candidates for electric vehicle chargers.
March 23, 2023
Purdue University researchers, led by Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering Darcy Bullock, have developed techniques to harness big data from connected vehicles to monitor congestion caused by crashes, weather and construction.
March 16, 2023
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb was a featured guest at the 109th Purdue Road School Transportation Conference and Expo on March 14-15 at Purdue.
March 9, 2023
Governor Eric J. Holcomb will be a featured guest at the 109th Purdue Road School Transportation Conference and Expo March 14-15.
March 3, 2023
Graduate student Zainab Saka has been selected by the Indianapolis Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) Chapter as the winner of the Helene M. Overly Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to inspire and support women who aspire to pursue a career path in transportation.
February 27, 2023
Purdue University, led by Prof. Satish Ukkusuri, will partner with a consortium led by Clemson University funded by a $4 million/year grant with a focus on transportation cybersecurity and resilience. The center will develop foundational tools and methods to test and mitigate cybersecurity risks in infrastructure systems.
February 16, 2023
Professor Samuel Labi and a group of engineering/technology students represented Purdue University as AV racing Team Black & Gold at the international Autonomous Challenge @ CES held at the Las Vegas Speedway on January 7, 2023.
February 6, 2023
Kumares C. Sinha, the Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, has been honored by ASCE with the 2023 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) award for demonstrated excellence in furthering civil engineering education.
January 27, 2023
In the "Crossroads of America," Purdue University engineers — including Lyles School of Civil Engineering Professors John Haddock and Nadia Gkritza — and their Indiana-based partners are making it possible for electric cars to charge on roads while driving.
September 13, 2022
Satish V. Ukkusuri, Reilly Professor of Civil Engineering and director of the Urban Mobility Networks and Intelligence (UMNI) Lab at Purdue, has been named a fellow by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Board of Directors.
September 9, 2022
A joint project between the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Purdue University to develop one of the world's first dynamic wireless power transfer highway segments has earned a place in the 2022 Top 100 Strategic U.S. Infrastructure Project Report.
August 4, 2022
Congratulations to the Purdue University Student Chapter of Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) for being selected to receive the 2022 Student Chapter Award. The Student Chapter award recognizes a chapter that has provided an exemplary experience for its members with robust programming and outstanding administration.
August 4, 2022
Darcy Bullock, Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP), has been awarded the prestigious 2022 Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).
July 25, 2022
It is with great sorrow that we share the news of Prof. Jon Fricker's passing. Jon was an educator and researcher at Purdue University for more than 40 years. He inspired countless students and colleagues throughout his career — and he will be missed by many more.
July 22, 2022
The School of Civil Engineering has taken delivery of a new SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle that will serve as a research platform.
Yiheng Feng, assistant professor of civil engineering, will lead testing of the car, including developing and testing smart transportation applications such as autonomous driving, cooperative perception, smart intersection management and cybersecurity.
June 30, 2022
A goal for the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE) is to develop innovative dynamic (in-motion) wireless power transfer technology.
April 20, 2022
Purdue will partner in the Build America Center, a multi-university public-private collaboration led by the University of Maryland. Dr. Sam Labi, Professor of Civil Engineering at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, will serve as director of the Purdue Center.
April 7, 2022
Howell Li, Research Analyst at Purdue Civil Engineering, explains on Inside INdiana Business how a new high-tech tool designed by scientists at Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation can help drivers get through intersections more safely.
March 16, 2022
Professor of Civil Engineering Nadia Gkritza explores the development and feasibility of a magnetized concrete technology that charges electric vehicles as they drive over it.
March 2, 2022
JTRP senior software engineer Howell Li recently made headlines with his invention to improve traffic light safety. Find out how he got his start, his favorite hobby, and much more.
