Civil & Environmental Engineering Research
Transportation engineering
The transportation engineering group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering educates, conducts research, and disseminates knowledge for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Preeminence in seminal and cutting-edge scholarly research and technology-based teaching drives the discovery, planning, design, development, operation, maintenance, and safety of intelligent transportation systems. Additionally, advanced and applied research and education drive the development of efficient and reliable multimodal freight systems that support economic growth and provide the foundation for success of every other industry.
The mission of transportation engineering is conducted through a nationally and internationally recognized transportation program for the benefit of industrial productivity and quality of life.
The transportation engineering group is focused on multimodal mobility and the safety of people and goods. Because of energy constraints, population growth, capacity constraints, and environmental awareness, there are special needs to advance knowledge and educate engineers and planners about more robust and efficient systems for transportation planning, transportation system design, traffic operations, traffic safety, human factors, freight efficiency, rail expansion, and transportation-based economic growth.
Rapid growth in digital communication and automotive design requires new thinking in engineering education to take advantage of new opportunities in remote controls and the use of interactive signals from vehicles, satellites, mobile phones and stationary traffic operations devices. Scholarly strengths include traffic operations, transportation safety, human factors, multimodal freight, asset management, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS).
Core faculty
Centers, consortia and institutes
Research News
Ask an expert: Li explains autonomous vehicle advances
Xiaopeng Li is a leader in connected and autonomous vehicle research. Li, the Harvey D. Spangler Professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies how emerging technologies will influence the development…
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Building public trust in self-driving cars: Keke Long wins award for research communication
Autonomous and connected vehicle technology can improve road safety, increase mobility, reduce emissions, and ease congestion, but are you ready to let go of the wheel? Would you be comfortable…
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