CAIT has been marked with great success in year two of its operation and has exceeded our objectives. All of the endeavors initiated in our first year have now come to fruition. It is with great enthusiasm that the Center has extended its interest, role, and responsibility as a transportation research, education, and technology transfer resource, by actively seeking out new ways to meet its objectives. Looking beyond the traditional activities of education and research, the Center has also become a nucleus for professional organizations, a provider of community service, and a symbol of partnership among industry, government, and university entities.

CAIT has truly begun to make its mark both within Rutgers University and within the transportation community, expanding the scope of transportation related research, university level education and professional training, and extensive technology transfer outreach.

As in the first year of operation, Rutgers University continued to provide real support in terms of facilities set-up, equipment upgrades, and graduate research student support and tuition waivers. Transportation related research and education is now an integral part of the university’s strategic focus and there is clear potential for further expansion of ongoing initiatives with the university’s assistance and involvement. As an example, the university’s Governors School program, which attracts the best and the brightest senior high school students in New Jersey, is using the Center’s research program in order to introduce the students to the elements of academic research and critical thinking. Such activities have significantly boosted the leveraging potential of the Center in securing more university support for transportation research programs.

In summary, the foundations of a solid and meaningful research Center were laid in year two. The second year of operation has also seen increasing support from the NJDOT, which has provided not only enough funding to match the UTC federal allocation but has also made available additional funding. The university and agencies have demonstrated their commitment and we look forward to continuing our activities in year three.

Dr. Ali Maher

Director

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Theme of CAIT:

The theme of the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) is maintenance and operation of high volume transportation infrastructure systems. It is the goal of CAIT to be a catalyst for creating a multi-modal transportation infrastructure research and education paradigm that incorporates input from members of the TIS community. The Center will be active in TIS education, research, and technology transfer in the critical areas of safety, mobility, economic growth, human and natural environment, and national security; (envisioned by USDOT in the recently published USDOT Research and Development Plan.) The unique feature of the Center will be its focus on implementation of advanced and cutting-edge technologies, from broad and interdisciplinary sources, used for efficient maintenance and operation of multi-modal transportation infrastructure systems in high volume and heavily utilized intermodal corridors.

The TIS maintenance and operation theme will guide all educational, research, and technology transfer activities of the Center. The main criteria for success will be the implementation of goals and objectives that have been identified and will be presented in detail in the following sections of this plan.

Management Structure:

The CAIT organizational structure consists of four groups: Center administration, education, research, and technology transfer. All personnel report to their designated group chairpersons, who then report to the Center Director (See Figure 1). The duties and responsibilities of the key faculty and staff are described in the following section.

Center Director: In compliance with the USDOT requirements, the CAIT Director, Dr. Ali Maher, manages the daily operations of CAIT, supervises the personnel, complies with the funding requirements, and oversees the progress of research activities. Dr. Maher is an experienced transportation professional and currently a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University. Additionally, he is responsible for conducting the programs, developing new research initiatives, and presenting seminars on CAIT’s research accomplishments.

Associate Director: The Associate Director for Academic Affairs, Dr. Kaan Ozbay, assists the Director in handling the research planning activities of CAIT. Dr. Ozbay has been designated as a CAIT representative and attends external meetings at the discretion of the Director. Additionally, Dr. Ozbay is an Assistant Professor of Transportation Engineering at Rutgers University with a research specialty in Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Associate Director (Business Manager): The Associate Director/Business Manager, Patrick Szary, coordinates the financial activities of CAIT, including handling the procedures for establishing grant projects, and contract management. Mr. Szary also serves as the liaison between CAIT and the Rutgers Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Additionally, he is responsible for maintaining the CAIT Baseline Measure database and meeting the UTRC report requirements. Mr. Szary is a transportation/geotechnical engineer with a research specialty in highway sensors and sensing.

Education Advisory Committee (EAC) Chairperson: The chair of the Education Advisory Committee (EAC), Dr. Nenad Gucunski, oversees the undergraduate, graduate, and internship activities of CAIT and coordinates all student research and educational activities within CAIT. Additionally, Dr. Gucunski is an Associate Professor of Transportation Engineering at Rutgers University with a research specialty in nondestructive evaluation of transportation infrastructure systems.
Research Focus Area Leaders: Professors Gucunski, Nassif, Maher, Ozbay, and Williams serve as research focus area leaders.

Research Focus Leader	CAIT Research Focus Area
Dr. Hani Nassif (picture on left)	Large Scale TIS Evaluation
Dr. Ali Maher (picture on previous page)	Advanced Pavement Materials (Superpave)
Dr. Nenad Gucunski (picture on previous page)	Advanced Infrastructure Condition Monitoring Nondestructive Testing
Dr. Kaan Ozbay (picture on previous page)	Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
Dr. Kaan Ozbay (picture on previous page)	Transit Infrastructure and Operation
Dr. Trefor Williams (picture on left)	TIS Management