Transportation Engineering
program overview
To solve the transportation problems of complex modern societies, Transportation
Engineering analysis needs to be integrated with other disciplines. To
meet this need, the graduate program in Transportation Engineering is organized
to enable students to supplement basic Civil Engineering studies with courses
and research in other departments of the University. In this
way, sound training at an advanced level in design, construction and operations
is combined with a wide range of elective courses related to the planning,
evaluation and management of transportation facilities.
The graduate program in Transportation Engineering provides advanced
training and research facilities for both graduate students in mid-career
and for those who wish to concentrate primarily on research. Graduate
students whose undergraduate degrees are outside of Civil Engineering,
or whose degrees are in other Engineering disciplines, may qualify for
admittance depending upon background.
MEng, MASc and PhD programs are available.
Research
Transportation Engineering research is a well-established component of
Civil Engineering research and plays an important role in the program.
Graduate students, who are the most vital part of this research program,
may find employment as research assistants while working towards their
degrees.
The Department's research program emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature
of Transportation Engineering research, and at the same time encourages
concentrated research in specific areas. The main research areas are: road
safety, transportation planning, and intelligent transportation systems.
Current projects are in road safety, truck impact, transportation system
simulation, traffic engineering, transportation demand and forecasting,
environmental impact of transportation, and intelligent transportation
systems.
The Transportation Group has an active research program with the British
Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Highways in highway engineering
and highway safety. There are also cooperative efforts with the Insurance
Corporation of British Columbia. The Group is a partner in a vehicle testing
facility operated by the Pacific Education Training Centre.
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Facilities
The 20 square metres UBC Drivers Simulation Laboratory houses a fixed-base,
high fidelity driving simulator with an iDrive mock-up of a Hyundai passenger
car cabin, and five, 32” LCD flat screen televisions providing a 200 degree
horizontal field of view. Using the suite of software provided by Oktal,
customized driving scenarios are created and real-time interactive simulations
are run. This driving simulator was designed specifically for studying
the impact of design elements and operational strategies on the behaviour
of drivers and the performance of transportation facilities.
The Bureau for Intelligent Transportation Systems and Freight Security
(BITSAFS) office space and lab occupies 68 square metres that supports
three functions: office
space for employees and graduate research assistants; a laboratory section
for the testing and analysis of ITS-related equipment and methods; and
a central area for meetings and lectures. There are 8 PC workstations
used by the members of BITSAFS, of which one is designated for the work
of the ITS lab. Supporting the workstation are a multi-function laser printer/copier/scanner
and a colour laser printer. An 2.5 m long conference table with seating
for 8, and an overhead data projector and screen provide a professional
environment for meetings with clients, staff, and students.
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Civil Engineering Transportation Faculty
| Tarek A. Sayed |
Traffic operations and safety, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), applications of advanced computer techniques (simulation models, neural nets, fuzzy pattern recognition, etc.), and statistics and Bayesian analysis |
| Jinhua Zhao |
Urban Development and Planning in China, Urban Transportation Systems in China, Transportation Economics, Public Transportation Management, Urban Information Systems |
Faculty in Related Areas
Active Emeritus Faculty
| Ricardo
O. Foschi |
Structural reliability, applied mechanics and statistics. |
| Francis P. D. Navin |
Road safety engineering, geometric design and transportation planning. |
| S. O. Denis Russell |
Decision analysis and optimization. |
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