Center for Infrastructure, Transportation and the Environment

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Director: Jose Holguin-Veras

CITE Home Page: CITE.rpi.edu

The Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment (CITE) is a national and international leader in research, education, outreach, and technology transfer in the areas of infrastructure, transportation, and their links to the environment. CITE was formerly the Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Studies, originally established in 1993 as a collaborative environment in which interdisciplinary transportation research could be conducted. A member of the Council for University Transportation Centers, CITE is known for research in freight transportation, humanitarian logistics, intelligent transportation systems, transportation systems planning, network modeling, traffic simulation, advanced econometrics, and traffic operations. 

CITE’s mission is to investigate complex transportation and infrastructure problems and to assist in developing solutions or approaches for dealing with these problems. The Center either directly provides solutions to the owners, operators, or users of civil infrastructure systems or delivers educational technologies that allow the owners, operators, or users to develop and implement their own solutions. CITE focuses on:

• providing a forum for complex transportation issues, identifying the parameters of the issues and cooperatively develop solutions or approaches for dealing with the issues.
• conducting studies in systems operation and facilities management.
• developing policies and methodologies to increase the sustainability of transportation activity.
• developing analytical techniques that help identify and prioritize investments in transportation infrastructure.

CITE is the host of the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems (CoE-SUFS) funded by the Volvo Research and Education Foundations (VREF). This important international consortium is intended to lead a transformation of urban freight systems throughout the world so that they are more sustainable, contribute to the economy, and to increase quality of life of the local communities.

Some of the agencies that CITE collaborates with include the United States Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Science. This reflects the national stature and leadership role played by the faculty associated with the Center. Work on pavement management systems, bridge management systems, hazardous materials logistics, and traffic signal systems has given way to projects focused on freight transportation modeling, economics, sustainable systems, and urban traffic systems. Current research funding stands at between $1.5-$2 million/year.

Civil and environmental engineers (CEE) have a crucial role to play in the solution of mankind’s challenges, both current and future. CITE also cuts across other disciplines including the computer sciences and industrial engineering. The nature of this role is being shaped by a conjunction of emerging challenges and societal/technological trends. Among them:

• the important role played by CEE towards achieving energy and environmental goals.
• the CEE research needs associated with unmanaged urbanization and the rise of megacities.
• the increase in natural and man-made disasters and the need to develop new paradigms of resilient and sustainable CEE systems.
• the pervasive role of information technology, sensors, and wireless technologies that can enhance CEE decision making.
• the deplorable state of the nation’s infrastructure and the need to create new paradigms of design and operation that lead to sustainable and resilient CEE systems.
• climate change and its impacts on coastal areas where the share of the world population is increasing.

Projects recently completed or presently underway include:

• sustainable Urban Freight Systems (VREF, UTRC, NCFRP, NCHRP)
• humanitarian logistics (NSF)
• implementation of off-hour deliveries (USDOT, NYSERDA, NYSDOT)
• traffic modeling and dynamic transportation network modeling (NSF)
• advanced econometrics (NSF, UTRC)

Affiliated Faculty: F. Duchin, R. Dobry, K. Fortun, J. Holguin-Veras (Director), M. Kalsher,  M. O’Rourke, W. Wallace, C. Wang 

Participating Faculty: F. Duchin, K. Fortun, M. Goldberg, J. Holguin-Veras (Director),  M. Magdon-Ismail, J. Mitchell, W. Wallace,  C. Wang

Research Engineering Staff: C. Gonzalez, J. Wojtowicz

Administrative Staff: J. Pertierra

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