PURDUE UNIVERSITY
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS RESEARCH CAPABILITIES
Initial Points of Contact:
Dr. Suresh Garimella, Associate Vice President for Engagement
Office of Engagement
Phone: 765-494-9095
E-mail: sureshg@purdue.edu
Dr. John A. Schneider, Assistant Vice President for Industry Research
Office of the Vice President for Research
Phone: 765-494-0743
E-mail: jas@purdue.edu
Dr. Geanie Umberger, Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations
Office of the Vice President for Research
Phone: 765-496-3723
E-mail: gumberger@purdue.edu
Logistics is a vital part of the world’s manufacturing efforts and economic health. It is critical to Indiana
because of the state’s geographical location in the center of the country and its access to the major
north-south and east-west highways, railroads, water travel (Ohio River and Great Lakes) and air travel.
Purdue University is aware of this and has several programs to provide research, education and training
in the area. Over 130 Purdue individuals claim activity in TDL (Transportation, Distribution, Logistics).
They are located in almost every college/school and at several campuses.
The primary groups involved in logistics are:
School of Civil Engineering (Interim Head – Melba Crawford; mcrawford@purdue.edu)
Transportation Engineering
Transportation Engineering Faculty Members:
− Jon Fricker, Area Coordinator; Professor of Civil Engineering
− Darcy Bullock, Professor of Civil Engineering; Director of the Joint Transportation
Research Program
− Samuel Labi, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
− Fred Mannering, Charles Pankow Professor of Civil Engineering; Associate Director for
Research, Center for Road Safety
− Srninvas Peeta, Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the NEXTRANS Center
− Kumares Sinha, Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil
Engineering
− Andrew Tarko, Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of Center for Road Safety
− Satish Ukkusuri, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Transportation engineers design and operate highways, airports, railroads and public transit.
They aim to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Purdue’s research in
the field of transportation includes design and operation; traffic flow and control; demand
analysis and planning; and related work in economics, finance, and administration. Research in
the field of urban engineering provides opportunities for the study of land-use transportation
planning; infrastructure planning and management; and environmental aspects of
transportation. The Transportation Research Facilities provide hands-on research for
undergraduate and graduate students. This research includes the instrumented traffic van,
which provides the capability to measure traffic flows, and the traffic signal systems laboratory
which offers experience using NEMA, 170, and 2070-type traffic signal controllers and cabinets,
plus much more.
The Transportation computation laboratory contains facilities for analysis of data and the
development and testing of models for all aspects of traffic control and vehicular flow, utilizing
state-of-the-art software for demand forecasting, traffic simulation, geometric design, and
transit operation planning. Models are used to study Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
and to optimize traffic management and control strategies. There is airport simulation
capability that permits research and analysis on the design of airspace, airside, and landside
facilities. A traffic signal systems laboratory provides "hands-on" experience using NEMA, 170,
and 2070 type traffic signal controllers and cabinets. An instrumented traffic van provides the
capability to measure traffic flows, speeds, and related characteristics. Purdue's direct tie to the
State of Indiana's Geographic Information System (GIS) provides data for up-to-date specific
modeling and planning studies.
Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP)
The Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP) serves as a vehicle for INDOT collaboration
with higher education institutions and industry in Indiana to facilitate innovation that results in
continuous improvement in the planning, design, construction, operation, management and
economic efficiency of the Indiana transportation infrastructure.
JTRP has a diverse portfolio of research projects, which include: basic engineering properties of
pavements, bridge forensics, transportation of feedstock to ethanol plants , and automotive
supply chain logistics. This portfolio of research continues to expand as new transportation
challenges arise and there are opportunities to reach out to our peer institutions throughout the
state to leverage the unique skills of their faculty and students.
JTRP hosts the Purdue Road School, which attracts 2,000 Indiana local and state officials,
consultants, and suppliers each year...an all-time record of 2,145 attendees was set in 2011!
Important updates on pertinent transportation issues, as well as sessions on topics of general
interest, are provided in the two-day conference. Road School also hosts regional meetings of
several affiliated professional groups, such as the County Surveyors Association and the Indiana
Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Indiana LTAP
Indiana (LTAP) provides technical assistance and training to the highway, road and street
departments of all 92 counties, 117 cities, and over 456 towns in Indiana. These local agencies
are responsible for over 80,000 miles of roads and streets in Indiana. Technical assistance is
provided through training programs conducted both at Purdue University and throughout the
state; topical workshops and seminars on subjects pertaining to roads and streets; regular
newsletters; and periodic publications. We also provide assistance via the telephone and web
site. The intent of the Center is to provide the necessary information to help the local units of
government find the latest tools to analyze their highway and road problems and to help those
responsible for the local transportation network perform their responsibilities correctly and
efficiently.
Center for Road Safety (CRS)
The Center for Road Safety (CRS) conducts research and develops engineering tools in the area
of road safety, including driver, vehicle, and roadway-related characteristics.
CRS has extensive expertise in identification of factors that affect safety, development and
design of safety databases, and development and implementation of computer-based tools to
assist in all aspects of safety management and planning. Utilizing the latest methodological
techniques, CRS can deliver user-friendly computer tools customized to end-user conditions and
needs.
CRS new and current projects include: RoadHAT (Road Hazard Analysis Tool); TACT (Ticketing
Aggressive Cars and Trucks); Indiana Roads with Most Severe Safety Needs; Rational Speed Limit
Project; Indiana CODES (Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System); Indiana Observational
Seatbelt Survey; Linking Crash Database and GIS Road Network Records.
North Central Superpave Center
The NCSC is a research center administered by the Joint Transportation Research Program at
Purdue University and supported by the state departments of transportation in the region, the
Federal Highway Administration and the asphalt industry. The center is located in the Indiana
Department of Transportation's Office of Research and Development in the Purdue Research
Park.
The Center works in partnership with the State Departments of Transportation and industry in
nine other states and two Canadian provinces in the North Central region as well as with states
and industry outside the region. The NCSC's main efforts involve research, communication,
technology transfer and training. They also assist with testing, participate in
equipment/protocol evaluations, and contribute to standards development.
NEXTRANS
The NEXTRANS Center is a Regional University Transportation Center funded by the U.S.
Department of Transporation to implement a multi-disciplinary program of transportation
research.
NEXTRANS research projects are innovative in that they seek to leverage technology, share data
sources, create public-private partnerships, and utilize novel financing strategies. Projects
focused on economic development include:
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Regional intermodal freight logistics – One project studying disruptions to the
movement of goods has the potential to strengthen transportation systems by
identifying methods to mitigate negative effects.
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On-demand air service– This service could open access to rural areas, prompting
development of new industry.
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Collaborative logistics – Decreased demand, rising fuel costs, increased competition,
and operational inefficiencies threaten the viability of many small- to medium-sized
less-than-truckload trucking firms. Development of a collaborative network is one
solution to strengthen the LTL industry.
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Travel-time reliability – Travel-time is a key performance measure in any
transportation system, affecting the routes commuters chose and impacting the ontime reliability of freight shipments.
In delivery of research, the NEXTRANS Center relies on innovative partnerships that optimize the
utilization of available resources and maximize outcome value. These partnerships can be at the
local, regional, national, or gloval level; with other universiteis , the public sector, the private
sector, or non-profit organizations.
Krannert School of Management (P. Christopher Earley, Dean; pcearley@purdue.edu)
Global Supply Chain Management Initiative
(J. George Shantikumar, Director)
The Global Supply Chain Management Center’s home is in the Krannert School of Management.
The Global Supply Chain Management Initiative gives current and future managers the
opportunity to be on the forefront of emerging ideas and technologies that promise to provide a
differentiating advantage to business in the future. This initiative offers a broad-based, global
approach to taking business skills global through a variety of programs.
This Center has a rich history of forging relationships with local business as well as economic
development entities across the state, promoting their unique supply chain capabilities, and
optimizing their existing operations.
Supply Chain Management is the process of ensuring that products are produced and delivered
quickly and efficiently.
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Drives coordination of processes and activities with and across marketing, sales,
product design, manufacturing, finance and information technology.
Encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and
procurement, conversion, and all Logistics Management activities.
Includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be
suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers.
Integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.
Responsible for linking major business functions and business processes within and
across companies into a cohesive and high-performing business model.
College of Technology (Gary Bertoline, Dean; bertonline@purdue.edu)
Department of Aviation Technology
(Brent Bowen, Department Head)
The College of Technology’s Department of Aviation Technology has been an established model
for practical operational and applied financial risk research in the aviation industry. This
research has been accomplished through numerous federal funded projects, but most
importantly the research success can be contributed to the Aviation Technology Department’s
ability in forming industry partnership and providing applied results. A major focus area for the
Department of Aviation Technology and the Department of Aviation Technology and has been
process improvement, operational risk, management and resource management for air cargo
and airline companies. In additional to Purdue’s main campus aviation program, the College of
Technology has a satellite Aviation Technology facility and education program at the
Indianapolis airport, providing the capability for local designed research and education
programs for strengthening Indiana’s attraction of industry.
Aviation is all about logistics either in cargo or passenger movement. The Aviation Department
at Purdue ahs provided practical and functional research results in improving operational
efficiency gains in both productivity and quality, with an emphasis on interfacing new
technology with human factors. A major area of research at the Aviation Department has been
the air Force’s supported national Test Facility for Fuels and Propulsion for advancing aviation
alternative fuel and propulsion technology. In addition, Purdue’s Air Transport Institute for
Environmental Sustainability (Air TIES), Centered in the Aviation Department, has taken on a
systems approach to aviation fuel sustainability approach; from fuel feed stock to testing, to
production and distribution.
Purdue’s Aviation Technology program has a long tradition of providing the next generation of
leadership in aviation flight, maintenance, and management. This has been built on establishing
certification base knowledge of students in the areas of professional pilots, airframe and
powerplant maintenance, air traffic control, and airport operations. With a strong practical base
of technology, the Aviation Technology Department offers students the ability for extending
their education into advance research through aviation MS and PhD programs.
Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation
(Ragu Athinarayanan, Head; rathinar@purdue.edu)
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Supply Chain Management Technology Laboratory
The Supply Chain Management Technology Laboratory is dedicated to support teaching,
evaluation, and research in multiple areas including warehousing, supply chain
management, inventory management, financial planning for distribution, logistics,
technical sales and sales management and safety. The unique niche for this laboratory is
the focus on simulating an industrial warehouse environment with flexible
demonstration modules and simulation capabilities for multiple activities within
industrial supply chains.
The lab contains demonstration and simulation activities that allow students to
manipulate equipment and products in the warehouse space and to identify and utilize
supporting technology required for the management of multiple production and
distribution strategies. Additionally the lab allows students to simulate the supply chain
activities and information that flow between manufacturers, suppliers, and various end
users. Graduate students are currently working with bar code, hand geometry and RFID
technologies.
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Distribution Management and Inventory Control with Supply Chain Management
( Dr. Kathryne A. Newton, Dr. E. K. Schmidt )
School of Industrial Engineering (Abhijit Deshmukh, Head; abhi@purdue.edu)
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Laboratory for Extended Enterprises at Purdue (LEEAP)
The Laboratory for Extended Enterprises at Purdue (LEEAP) is an interdisciplinary
research group focusing on the design and management of extended enterprises and
the associated supply chain networks. Much of the Laboratory's research is driven by
the need to understand the effects of the recent developments in information
technology, especially those related to the Internet, in designing better supply chains
and managing them more effectively. This involves novel mechanisms of collaboration
and competition between firms and groups of firms, as well as a wholistic view of the
entire supply chain from raw materials to the delivery of goods to the final consumer.
The faculty and students involved in LEEAP are currently working on a number of
projects aimed at developing a better understanding of the potential value of
collaboration and information sharing in these systems, as well as different ways in
which to exploit the information sharing capabilities of the new information technology
to improve the effectiveness of the extended enterprise. The group is also active in
research into fundamental aspects of distribution systems such as crossdocking,
warehouse management and freight transport.
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Production, Robotics, and Integration Software for Manufacturing and Management
(PRISM)
The purpose of the PRISM Center is to understand and solve problems of applying
computer intelligence and IT to most effectively improve the performance and quality of
industrial systems. The three-facet prism shape inspired our name through the vision of
integrating/interfacing humans, machines, and computers; and by incorporating human
factors, management sciences, computer science, and industrial enterprise processes.
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Smart Systems and Operations (SSO)
The Smart Systems and Operations Laboratory supports the research activities in design,
modeling, monitoring, and control of complex systems (systems of systems) and their
operations. The dynamic nature of such system and its complexity make the design,
integration, monitor, and control of the system extremely challenging. The
methodologies developed in this lab, incorporating simulation, optimization, machine
learning, decision making, heuristics, artificial intelligence, and statistical analysis, are
designed to enable the system to respond to environmental changes, uncertainties,
changes in objectives/goals, and unexpected events in real-time, while maintaining its
performance and service level. The application areas ranges from traditional
manufacturing and assembly facilities, tissue engineering facility, e-tailing fulfillment
centers, warehouses, logistics and transportation, and equipment maintenance and
diagnosis, to non-traditional areas, such as advanced life support system for 15-year
Mars mission, healthcare delivery systems, government programs, food distribution for
AIDS patients in Kenya, remote diagnosis of print quality, etc.
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Production Systems
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Operations Research
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Human Factors
Purdue University Faculty Involved in TDL
College of Agriculture
Department of Agricultural and Biological
Engineering
Klein Ileleji
Monika Ivantysynova
John Lumkes
Department of Agricultural Economics
Frank Dooley
Raymond Florax
Paul Preckel
Wallace Tyner
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Bryan Pijanowski
Maria Sepulveda
College of Health and Human Sciences
Department of Consumer Sciences and
Retailing
Richard Feinberg
Department of Psychological Sciences
Robert Proctor
College of Engineering
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics
William Crossley
Daniel DeLaurentis
Alten Grandt
Inseok Hwang
Tasos Lyrintzis
Karen Marais
John Sullivan
C.T. Sun
Dengfeng Sun
School of Chemical Engineering
Jim Caruthers
Nick Delgass
Fabio Ribeiro
School of Civil Engineering
Mark Bowman
Darcy Bullock
Robert Connor
Jon Fricker
Robert Frosch
School of Civil Engineering (continued)
John Haddock
Michael E. Kreger
Samuel Labi
Judy Liu
Fred Mannering
Samuel Labi
Srinivas Peeta
Santiago Pujol
Julio Ramirez
Joseph Sinfield
Kumares Sinha
Andrew Tarko
Satish Ukkusuri
Amit Varma
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Ragu Balakrishnan
Mark Bell
Jianghai Hu
James Krogmeier
Steve Pekarek
Maryam Saeedifard
Scott Sudhoff
Hong Tan
Oleg Wasynczuk
School of Industrial Engineering
Barrett Caldwell
Steven Landry
Seokcheon Lee
Mark Lehto
Thomas Morin
Shimon Nof
Nagabhushana Prabhu
Jose Tanchoco
Nelson Uhan
Hong Wan
Yuehwern Yih
School of Mechanical Engineering
John Abraham
Doug Adams
Anil Bajaj
Stuart Bolton
Jun Chen
George Chiu
Ray Cipra
Patricia Davies
Jay Gore
Monika Ivantysynova
School of Mechanical Engineering (continued)
Charles Krousgrill
Kai Ming Li
Peter Meckl
Tahira Reid
Jeff Rhoads
Farshid Sadeghi
Greg Shaver
John Starkey
Department of Aviation Technology (continued)
Michael Nolan
Donald Petrin
John Young
Thomas Carney
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Computer and Information
Technology
Eric Dietz
Eric Matson
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Richard Hogan
School of Management
Department of Economics
David Hummels
Department of Operations Management
Suresh Chand
Vinayak Deshpande
Joice Hu
Ananth Iyer
Leroy Schwarz
J. George Shantihikumar
James Ward
College of Science
Department of Computer Science
Chris Clifton
Ahmed Elmagarmid
Department of Computer Graphics Technology
Nate Hartman
Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering Technology
Athula Kulatunga
Jeff Richardson
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Technology
Vahid Motevalli
Haiyan (Henry) Zhang
Department of Technology Leadership and
Innovation
Chad Laux
Kathy Newton
Edie K. Schmidt
Matt Sutton
Calumet
College of Technology
Department of Aviation Technology
Brent Bowen
Brian Dillman
Sergey Dubikovsky
Mary Johnson
Denver Lopp
Chien-tsung Lu
John Mott
Timothy Ropp
Stewart Schreckengast
David Stanley
Ronald Sterkenburg
Michael Suckow
J. Mark Thom
Richard Fanjoy
Amlan Mitra, Department of Finance and
Economics
David Pick, Department of Behavioral Sciences
Ruijian Zhang, Department of Mathematics,
Computer Science and Statistics
Fort Wayne
Suleiman Ashur, Department of Civil
Engineering
Rob Palevich, Department of Management and
Marketing
Staff
Rick Evans, Nextrans
Debbie Horton, Joint Transportation Research
Program
Mary Pilotte, Center for Manufacturing
Management Enterprises (CMME)
Steve Shade, Center for Advanced
Manufacturing
Steve Shelby, Discovery Park
John Schneider, Office of the Vice President for
Research