Since 1888 the College of Engineering (COE) has been involved in Georgia communities helping build water and sewer systems, erect bridges and roads, advance healthcare, and assist local and statewide industries become more profitable. In a series of articles, we will showcase some of our faculty and their research groups who are committed to Engineering a Better Georgia.
Transportation is a cornerstone of economic development for the citizens of Georgia as well as a quality of life issue. Recognizing the importance of transportation, faculty in the College of Engineering are actively working with industries, state leaders, and government agencies to address the needs the state's transportation system; address and improve transportation congestion; balance environmental concerns with transportation; and address transportation economic development issues statewide.
Roads
Mike Meyer, a professor of civil engineering, specializes in transportation planning and policy. Meyer has worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the Georgia Municipal Association, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, and the Georgia Transit Association on assessing current and future transportation needs for the state. As the director of the Georgia Transportation Institute (GTI), Meyer leads a consortium of Georgia universities active in transportation research and education. GTI is headquartered at Georgia Tech and assists researchers at Georgia State University, the University of Georgia, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Southern University, Southern Polytechnic State University, and Albany State University. Researchers affiliated with GTI are active in a broad range of topics including policy and planning, environmental issues, transportation technology, transportation infrastructure, and traffic operations.
James Tsai, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to implement a pavement preservation and management system. He probably knows more about Georgia’s 18,000 miles of payment than anyone else. Since 1997, he has led a research team and worked with GDOT pavement engineers, successfully implementing a large-scale Oracle GIS-based pavement preservation and management system for GDOT to effectively preserve and manage its 18,000-centerline miles of highway. Tsai is also developing innovative license plate recognition technologies and vehicle motion detection technologies for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and real-time traffic flow monitoring to improve road safety and mobility.
Bridges
Highway agencies are struggling to cope with the increasing demands on their highways, and deteriorating bridges are becoming more severe choke points in the system. One of the keys to improving highways in the 21st century will be the use of advanced or enhanced materials. Dr. Abdul-Hamid Zureick, professor of civil engineering, is a world leading authority on the use of innovative materials in civil engineering applications. He is working on technology that permits repair of bridges so that they can be returned to service with minimal disruptions to safety and traffic flow. Some of his present activities include the development of a number of standardized test protocols for composites used in civil and marine engineering applications, the development of specifications for composite materials used for rehabilitation of bridge and building and other infrastructure applications.
Ports
Seaports and inland waterways play a crucial role in the economy of Georgia. The Ports of Savannah, Brunswick, Bainbridge and Columbus are vital gateways for the seamless flow of commerce between port and market. How to deal with the dredged materials that are accumulated at a rate of 8 million cubic yards of solids each year is part of the research that Kimberly Kurtis, an associate professor of civil engineering, is exploring. Kurtis is researching options for productive reuse of materials dredged from the Savannah River. Given the composition of the sediment, Kurtis has found that the sediment may be suitable as a major component for brick making.
Sidewalks
Walking can not only reduce air pollution but traffic congestion and the consumption of fossil fuels. Adjo Amekudzi, an associate professor of civil engineering, has developed a Georgia Guidebook for Pedestrian Planning, for the Georgia Department of Transportation to help assess the pedestrian environment and prioritize projects to improve it. Amekudzi identified four goals for in the guidebook: 1) enhance safety; 2) create seamless integration of pedestrian facilities into the transportation system; 3) integrate planning and design of pedestrian facilities planners into transportation planning; 4) encourage a pedestrian-friendly environment for everyone which can be used by local, county, and state planning officials as they put forward projects that will encourage pedestrian traffic.
Trucks
A number of researchers with the H. Milton Steward School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) are working to address distribution operations in order for businesses to save on fuel costs as well as limit time that trucks on are the road. Anton Kleywegt, an associate professor in ISyE, conducts research in optimization and stochastic modeling with applications in transportation, distribution, and logistics. He has worked with Georgia based companies such as Delta Air Lines and The Home Depot on projects addressing logistics research in vendor managed inventory, fleet sizing and allocation, revenue management, scheduling of order picking, and distribution planning.
ISyE associate professor Marc Goetschalckx is investigating global supply chains in the pulp and paper industry to identify opportunities for improving the efficiency, flexibility, and effectiveness of the global supply chain. Alan Erera, ISyE associate professor, is researching container pickup and delivery service (drayage) at marine ports using an appointment-based access control system in hopes of making ports such as the Port of Savannah more efficient.