CENTER FOR ADVANCED INFRASTRUCTURE & TRANSPORTATION
(CAIT)
strategic plan
Rutgers, the state
university
Submitted to
USDOT, UTC Program
Submission
Date December 20, 1999
(UTC Grant
Awarded October 1998)
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
I..... Program Overview
A.. Glossary
4
B.. Center Theme
...5
C. Center Directors Summary
.6
II... Program Activities
A.. Education
..7
B.. Human Resources
10
C.. Diversity
..
11
D. Research Selection
...11
E.. Research Performance
.16
F.
Technology
Transfer
... 17
III. Management Approach
A.. Institutional
Resources
. 19
B.. Center
Director
20
C. Center Faculty and Staff
.. 21
D. Multiparty Arrangements
23
IV.. Budget Details
(Omitted for web/pdf version)
Appendix A - Baseline Measures for CAIT
Appendix B - Center Directors Vitae
I. PROGRAM OVERVIEW
MISSION: The mission of the University Transportation Center (UTC) Program and the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (hereinafter called the Center or CAIT) is to advance United States technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through the mechanisms of education, research, and technology transfer at university-based centers for excellence.
I-A. Glossary
I-A. Glossary. A description of uncommon words and acronyms, used in the CAIT Strategic
Plan, are identified within the following section.
|
CAIT is the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and
Transportation. |
|
FHWA means Federal Highway
Administration, a component of the United States Department of
Transportation. |
|
ITS signifies Intelligent
Transportation Systems. |
|
LTAP represents Local Technical
Assistance Program that is funded through the Federal Highway Administration. |
|
NJDOT identifies the New Jersey
Department of Transportation. |
|
TEA-21 is Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century. |
|
TIS is the acronym for
Transportation Infrastructure Systems |
|
Technology
Transfer describes the process of implementing applied
technology into field practice. |
|
Education
Advisory Committee (EAC) shall oversee the
Center's undergraduate, graduate, and internship activities of the center and
shall coordinate all student research and educational activities within
CAIT. In general the EAC will oversee
all CAIT education activities. |
|
Research Advisory Board (RAB) will discuss, review, and
select problem statements relevant to the theme of the center. In general, the RAB will oversee all CAIT
research activities. |
|
Technology
Transfer Advisory Board (TTAB) will develop technology transfer programs and actions to
enhance the previously selected research. The
TTAB will be able to meet the goals of CAIT and deliver services to
the stakeholders most
affected by transportation infrastructure issues within a high
volume, heavily utilized transportation corridors. In general, the TTAB will oversee all CAIT
technology transfer activities. |
I-B.
Center Theme
I-B. Center Theme. Maintenance and Operation
of High Volume Transportation Infrastructure Systems.
Background. Transportation is the lifeline of the nations economy. Investments in Transportation Infrastructure Systems (TIS), made by public agencies and the private sector, constitute a significant portion of our nations wealth. The United States has an estimated $20 trillion investment in transportation systems, including all installations that house, transport, transmit, and distribute people, goods, energy, resources, services, and information. As a result of aging, overuse, exposure, misuse, mismanagement, and neglect, many of these systems are deteriorating and becoming more vulnerable to chronic and catastrophic failure. It would be costly and prohibitive to replace these expansive networks. Instead, they must be maintained, renewed, and managed in an intelligent manner through the effective use of economic, material, and human resources.
In congested urban and corridor areas, a higher demand is being placed on deteriorating
systems and therefore necessitating the investment in new TIS for inter-modal
connections. Often, TIS planning and investment decisions are made with deficient
and incomplete input from maintenance and operation sources, which adversely
affect the safety, mobility, environment, and economic growth. The problem is far more acute and critical
in congested areas, specifically the New York/New Jersey metropolitan
area. The region has one of the oldest
and most extensive multi-modal and intermodal TIS in the country with
more than 11,000 miles of highways, the heaviest transit ridership in the
nation, three major airports, and an extensive network of ports and marine
terminals. In many respects, the
economic lifeline of the region is the transportation infrastructure, which has
been recognized by regional planners as needing to be continually improved to
keep up with increasing demands and economic growth. Interestingly, the region is also a test bed for implementing
innovative solutions to many transportation problems, specifically those
related to maintenance and operation of the infrastructure.
Recent advances in technology and information
systems provide the opportunity to develop an innovative and comprehensive
framework to support infrastructure system management, and to create new
priorities for decision-making relative to TIS. Effective intelligent
knowledge-based approaches can play an increasing role in generating information
and, therefore, integrate collections of disparate information into an enhanced
understanding of how TIS maintenance and operation
function in a high volume and heavily utilized region. Consequently, there is a clear need to use
innovative technologies that are available from a broad spectrum of industrial,
academic, and governmental sources. The recent technological advances in
material science, smart materials, advanced condition monitoring systems, new
generation communication devices and advances in modeling techniques have led
to various facets of technological breakthroughs in the private sector. If applied effectively and implemented efficiently,
many of these state-of-the-art developments can significantly impact the
performance of our transportation infrastructure. The time has come for development of self-monitoring and
self-healing infrastructure systems, which in conjunction with advances in
intelligent transportation systems (ITS), can dramatically improve the
operation and performance of TIS.
Theme. The theme of the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), is 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.
I-C. Center Directors Summary
Center Directors Summary. Recipients of UTC grants are encouraged to be innovative and creative as they develop their vision for the proposed Center. The planned activities include offering advanced degree programs, professional workshops, and serving as sponsor of a service network for members of the TIS community. The guiding vision must identify a component to build a self-sustaining network and establish new directions for research and education for the TIS community. An effective strategic plan, inclusive of timelines, identified outcomes, and deliverable products, is critical for the operational success of the newly established organization.
The vision of CAIT at the
end of the grant period will be that of a highly-utility center of excellence
in TIS maintenance and operation in heavily utilized intermodal corridors. CAIT
will be a dynamic, flexible program for partnerships, outreach, and
dissemination through networks, linkages, and leveraging with TIS
research centers in the United States and abroad.
The educational paradigm for CAIT will be accessible to a variety of learners, specifically the K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, educators, and transportation professionals of the TIS community. Also, the program will have a strong multidisciplinary component that reflects changes in organizational, intermodal, and global character of transportation; as well as the use of advanced materials and condition monitoring technologies relative to the transportation infrastructure.
The cohesive CAIT staff will
become active in attracting a diverse population of students to the
transportation program through the promotion of excellent research
opportunities for students in both the undergraduate and advanced
transportation-related degree programs. As a result of the relationship between
CAIT and transportation organizations in the metropolitan area, students will
also be able to gain practical experience by being placed as interns in
agencies that serve as successful employers for successful candidates.
The Technology Transfer
Division will also develop an aggressive training portfolio, unique
information, and training delivery systems.
In order to eliminate specific barriers to implementation, technical
review committees (Task Review Groups) will be developed to focus on specific
subjects, will evaluate training information and distribute the technically
reviewed and accepted new products, services or practices.
The Technology Transfer Division will establish Task Review Groups based on operational guidelines. At the onset, each Task Review Group will focus on a specific discipline with the transportation field, but not limited to new products, equipment, and processes that are developed relative to the infrastructure condition monitoring and testing, advanced transportation materials, and intelligent transportation systems.
It is the goal of the CAIT
Director to continue offering services to the TIS community once the
grant has been terminated. The
transportation-related degree programs shall continue to exist because a small
percentage of the faculty salaries will be funded through the grant. The
interdisciplinary major link between the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and other disciplines at Rutgers University, will strengthen the
continuation of the advanced transportation-related degree programs. Since CAIT will be a major service provider,
satisfied users will likely contribute additional research funding sources.
Additionally, the CAIT Technology Transfer Division will play a critical role
in generating income fees from clearinghouse services, conferences, training
workshops, distance learning, and technology support activities identified in
the Strategic Plan.
II. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
This section of the Strategic Plan explains the
direction of CAIT, specifically the activities that will lead to the successful
accomplishment of the UTC program goals, and the performance measures to assess
progress toward achieving the desired results.
II-A. Education Goal
Education
Goal: A multidisciplinary program
of course work and experimental learning that reinforces the transportation
theme of CAIT.
1. Baseline Measures. To establish the point from which the progress will be measured with
respect to the Centers education program, information about the transportation
curriculum at Rutgers University is provided in Appendix A. The information includes: lists of
undergraduate and graduate courses offered by the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering and other departments at Rutgers University, data on
student enrollment, and student involvement in transportation research
projects.
2. Education Program Outcome. The primary
educational objective of the Center is to develop an educational program that
will enable current and future transportation professionals and researchers to
be responsive to changes in the transportation field. Also, the program will have a strong multidisciplinary component
that reflects changes in organizational, intermodal, and global character of
transportation; as well as the use of advanced materials and technologies
relative to the transportation infrastructure.
The secondary objective of
CAITs educational component is to develop a recruitment program that informs
high school students about transportation studies, and encourages
undergraduates to advanced transportation studies. Finally, CAIT staff members will take active leadership roles in
the community for promoting public awareness of advanced transportation
solutions by participation in public outreach programs.
3. Planned Activities. An Education Advisory Committee (EAC) will be created to bring about the educational goals of CAIT. The EAC will develop a multidisciplinary program of course work and experiential learning that reinforces the transportation theme of CAIT.
Education Advisory Committee (EAC):
The
EAC consists of Center researchers who have the expertise to develop a
multidisciplinary program of course work and can develop an active learning process utilizing the Center's
transportation research.
Initial
Education Advisory Committee (EAC)
Members
CAIT Researcher - EAC Chair: Dr. Nenad. Gucunski
CAIT Assoc. Director: Dr. Kaan Ozbay
CAIT Assoc. Director: Patrick Szary
CAIT Researcher: Dr. Hani Nassif
The Education Advisory Committee (EAC) shall oversee the Center's undergraduate, graduate, and internship activities of the center and shall coordinate all student research and educational activities within CAIT. The most important educational objective will be to enhance undergraduate and graduate programs in transportation. In order to achieve this objective, CAIT will conduct a three-part effort: 1) Attracting new faculty, research associates, and outstanding graduate students to the program will develop a highly qualified staff. 2) CAIT staff will develop a comprehensive multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate transportation curriculum. 3) CAIT staff will develop networks with other departments at Rutgers University, other institutions, public and private sector transportation agencies, and professional organizations to enhance educational opportunities for students.