A new program in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences aims to change the future of transportation.
This semester, the Department of Engineering will commence a new graduate program that focuses on transportation engineering. The university's first two transportation engineers, Adel W. Sadek and Qian Wang of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, will run the preliminary program.
"[Transportation engineering] involves taking advantage of the advances of communication by involving sensing and control to try to improve the safety and environmental compatibility of transportation," Sadek said.
Researching transportation systems couldl lead to technologies that can enable people to adapt their driving to existing road conditions, he explained. The program examines vehicle-to-vehicle communication, which entails cars sending wireless signals to other cars
This innovative research will be especially important to apply to upstate New York, according to Sadek, because of rising fuel costs and the weakening of transportation infrastructure in the region.
The research, led by the two experts and the program's first students, will focus on improving traffic flow, utilizing technology to benefit drivers and promoting safer driving conditions.
The graduate students will be working with Sadek and Wang to create new methods of transporting people and goods in a more efficient and environmental-friendly manner.
With the development of new vehicular technology, drivers may soon be able to talk to others on the road to inform them of accidents and traffic problems, enabling drivers to take alternative routes to their destinations.
"We're hoping this spring to add more courses to the curriculum; we may even add a transportation class [for] undergraduates in the future," Sadek said.
The current graduate students in the program are working on a project to improve on-campus transportation. They are working with consulting firms to determine whether a roundabout, a road junction in which traffic follows a one-way stream around a landmass, would be beneficial at the intersection of I-190 and the J.J. Audubon Parkway.
The organizers of the program, which is still in development, are reaching out to organizations such as the New York State Department of Transportation and the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Transportation Research Council. With these types of organizations, Sadek hopes to connect between UB and the surrounding areas and create a safer and more efficient way of traveling.
Sadek also hopes to build a synthetic model of North Campus's roads, buildings and student population.
"We will be able to see the impact that transportation at UB has by using this model," Sadek said. "In the future, we will be able to view this model to see the carbon footprint of the campus and the consumption of energy we put out here at UB."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
