Transportation

Civil and Construction Engineering
Faculty Research Area

The Transportation Engineering program at Oregon State University considers the entirety of the transportation infrastructure delivery process, i.e., planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance. The program focuses on transportation safety, sustainability, livability, and economics throughout the infrastructure delivery process.

The program is home to renowned facilities, faculty, staff and students, who are conducting impactful research with implications on local, national, and international practice. Examples of funding agencies include the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Idaho Transportation Department, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, National Science Foundation, Oregon Department of Transportation, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Toyota Motor North America’s Collaborative Safety Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington County, and industry collaborators.

Key Focus Areas

  • Arterial Operations
  • Automated and Connected Vehicles
  • Commercial Motor Vehicles
  • Driver, Pedestrian, and Bicycle Behavior and Crash Injury Severity Modeling
  • Freight Transportation and Supply Chain Resilience
  • Intelligent Transportation Systems and Digital Infrastructure
  • Isolated and Coordinated Intersection Control
  • Multimodal Freight Network Modeling and Resilience Analysis
  • Non-motorized transportation infrastructure
  • Telematic-Based Safety and Performance Analytics
  • Transportation Human Factors
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Civil engineering professor David Hurwitz having a conversation next to the Driving and Bicycling Simulator.

Facilities and Centers

A man riding a bicycle on a simulator.

Driving and Bicycling Simulator Laboratory

Home to four human-in-the-loop simulators that allow participants to operate a passenger car, heavy truck, or bicycle in virtual roadway environments. These tools help uncover explanatory mechanisms for road user behaviors to improve traffic operations and safety.

An aerial view of a roundabout.

Transportation Operations Laboratory

The Traffic Operations Laboratory hosts a wide variety of high-performance computers, microsimulation software, crash data archives, and temporary traffic data collection and analysis tools.

A group of people watching a man present.

Traffic Safety Workshop & Technical Assistance Program

The Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Research has been delivering a continuing education program in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation since 1979.

A truck on a narrow road.

Center for Freight Transportation for Efficient and Resilient Supply Chain (FERSC)

The FERSC University Transportation Center is a national consortium led by the University of Tennessee with Oregon State University as a key partner. OSU researchers advance data-driven freight network modeling, telematics-based analytics, and supply chain resilience to enhance the performance, efficiency, and sustainability of multimodal freight systems.

Faculty

Chris Bell.

Christopher Bell

Emeritus Appointment

Email

chris.a.bell@oregonstate.edu

Shane Brown.

Shane Brown

Professor

Email

shane.brown@oregonstate.edu

Research Groups

Transportation Research | Engineering Education

Salvador Hernandez.

Salvador Hernandez

Associate Professor

Email

sal.hernandez@oregonstate.edu

Research Groups

Transportation Research

Katharine Hunter Zaworski.

Katharine M. Hunter-Zaworski, P.E. (OR)

Associate Professor Emerita

Email

katharine.hunter-zaworski@oregonstate.edu

Research Groups

Transportation Research

David Hurwitz.

David Hurwitz

Professor

Additional Positions

Kiewit Center Director

Email

david.hurwitz@oregonstate.edu

Research Groups

Transportation Research

Hisham Jashami.

Hisham Jashami

Assistant Professor, Senior Research

Email

hisham.jashami@oregonstate.edu

Research Groups

Transportation Research

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Aobo Wang

Assistant Professor

Email

aobo.wang@oregonstate.edu