Research Highlights

Over the next five years, the U.S. government will invest approximately $7.5 billion to expand access to electric vehicle chargers across the country to support climate resilience and improve air quality. But have you ever wondered where electric vehicle chargers are needed most?

Purdue University researchers have developed techniques to harness big data from connected vehicles to monitor congestion caused by crashes, weather and construction. As part of their work, they analyzed over 503 billion records in December 2022 to monitor the national impact of a large winter storm.

Interstates across the country boast an innovative concrete technology that promises to save American travelers time and money. This “smart concrete” can communicate with engineers about its strength, weakness and need for repair – making road repair more efficient and preventing unnecessary shutdowns. Developed at Purdue University, the innovation is earning attention and has now been named one of the Next Big Things in Tech by Fast Company magazine.

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. The multimillion-dollar project also will test the performance of an innovative type of magnetizable concrete, developed by German startup Magment GmbH.

Purdue University civil engineers have developed a fully automated, portable system to estimate the volume of stockpiles of bulk supplies like salt and other materials used in industrial, highway and agricultural applications.

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). The purpose of this award is to recognize an educator (typically a professor) who has made an outstanding contribution to the transportation profession by relating academic studies to the actual practice of transportation. The award seeks to recognize transportation educators that help their students advance their professional development, enhance their opportunities to network with practicing transportation professionals, and become active participants in the profession.

On this month's "On the DOT" podcast, Purdue University Civil Engineering Professor and Director of JTRP, Darcy Bullock joins us to talk about how connected and autonomous vehicles are providing valuable data to help INDOT make Work Zones Safer.