RESEARCH
Capacity for Interdisciplinary Transportation Research at Arizona State University
ASU has accepted the challenge to conduct the research necessary to increase transportation capacity and enhance mobility by making more efficient and effective use of current transportation infrastructure and exploring safe, innovative, environmentally sound, yet cost-effective, ways of addressing future transportation needs.
Faculty at ASU explore a wide range of problems and issues including transportation and economic development, traveler behavior, transportation safety, congestion management, airport management and technology, logistics, financing, human factors, driver safety, public policy analysis, mobility enhancement, air quality enhancement, environmental impact analysis, hazardous waste movement, pavement and materials research, and transportation-land use interface. Strong capabilities in geographic information systems, geographic modeling, remote sensing, mathematical programming, and advanced technologies offer capabilities to perform state of the art transportation systems analysis and assessment.
The ongoing research efforts of faculty related to ASU’s interdisciplinary transportation certificate indicate the multiple dimensions related to assessing complex transportation problems and developing innovative solutions to complex issues.
Core faculty members and their colleagues from across the campus are engaged in transportation research related to improving infrastructure; financing infrastructure development; international markets and supply chain management; enhancing security at major and reliever airports; examining air pollution attributed to transportation systems; accessing transportation services; analyzing links between land use, land development, and transportation systems; advancing alternative transportation modes; and improving driver safety. Ongoing research projects also explore the transportation impacts of impact of NAFTA and and global transportation issues. Some faculty are exploring the mitigating the efforts of hazardous waste shipments, while others are exploring means of enhancing walkability and public health. Alternative modes of transportation, transit operations, and older drivers and transportation options for special populations are other active research areas.
Transportation research at ASU is broadly based, yet the dynamic population growth in the Phoenix area gives transportation research its primary focus. Concerns for growth management in the hot, arid climate of Arizona focuses research on sustainability of the environment, alternative transportation modes, and sustainable transportation materials. The presence of the Polytechnic Campus at the site of the former Williams Air Force Base offers faculty researchers direct exposure to an operating airport. The following clusters are representative of current faculty research areas.
Safety and the environment for transport
Infrastructure management to enhance public safety
Safe routes to school
Electronic speed enforcement
Minimizing accidents associated with red-light running
Pedestrian safety and safety for older persons
Driver training to enhance public safety
Older drivers and safety
Public health and pedestrian environments
Assessing impacts of walking on health
Walking and the health of older persons
Transportation infrastructure analysis and materials testing
Pavement design, maintenance, and evaluation for highways and airfields
Effects of extreme climate on road and rail infrastructure
Development and testing of alternative pavement materials
The relative benefits of rubberized asphalt
Assessment of impacts of levels of moisture on durability
Assessment of the impacts of arid soils on durability of infrastructure
Rehabilitation of aging transportation infrastructure and airport design
Air quality and transportation
Chemical transformations and emission inventory development
Impacts of climate on air quality
Fluid dynamic modeling of pollutant dispersion
Impacts of particulates on travel and transport
Long-term vs. short-term impacts of deterioration of air quality
Impacts of travel demand management on air quality
Public perceptions and indicators of air quality
Public policy, management, and legal issues
Impacts of public policy on transportation decision making
Monitoring public opinion regarding transportation
Air safety: law and the public interest
Privatization of public infrastructure
Transport and economic geography
Passenger and freight transport demand
Cost-distance analysis related to rail transport
Network modeling
Logistics and cost analysis
Analysis of impacts of NAFTA on transportation facilities and infrastructure
Economic analysis of public/private investment
Strategies in transport investments
Analytic framework for the logistics of outsourcing
Airport operations and logistics
Mobility and alternatives to the automobile
Spatial imbalance of jobs and work
Sustainable transportation
Trip reduction and travel demand management
Transportation alternatives for special
Analysis bicycle routes and pedestrian safety
Environment, land use, and economic development
Land use-transportation interface
Economic development and transportation systems
Environmental and social impacts of transporting hazardous materials
Environmental consequences of transportation decision making
Smart technologies and intelligent information systems
Adaptive vehicle control systems
Advanced public transportation systems
Linking location and scheduling in demand responsive transit
Assessment of public information system
Light Rail Transit
LRT and potential impacts on land development
Safety and LRT
Intermodal links to LRT
Park and Ride and LRT