Centers

Centers

Dr. Peeta was the Director of the NEXTRANS Center, the USDOT Region 5 UTC located at Purdue University. In that role, he had Center administration duties related to research, education, outreach and administrative activities consistent with the mission of the Center. Among others, these activities entail Dr. Peeta seeking and building collaborative interdisciplinary research teams.

Dr. Peeta was the Associate Director of the USDOT Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT), awarded as the Region 5 UTC in 2016. As part of the Center, he had duties related to research, education, outreach and administrative activities consistent with the mission of the Center.

Dr. Peeta was one of the six leadership team members of Purdue’s Center for Resilient Infrastructures, Systems and Processes (CRISP) formed in 2016, that seek to analyze failure modes of physical and cyber infrastructures, develop tools to systematically build in resilience, and develop the scientific foundations of resilient socio-technical systems.

Dr. Peeta had participated in a lead role in the following collaborative Centers:

  • He was the Purdue PI and the Associate Director of the University of Michigan-led USDOT Region 5 UTC, USDOT Center for Connected and Automated Transportation, awarded in 2016.
  • He successfully led two interdisciplinary Center proposals for USDOT Region 5 university transportation centers, in 2006 and 2011.
  • He was a co-PI for a joint Indo-US Center on Intelligent Transportation Systems Technologies funded from 2011-2013.

Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT)

Dr. Srinivas Peeta was the Associate Director of the USDOT Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT), a multi-university consortium selected by the USDOT as the new Federal Region 5 University Transportation Center in December 2016. CCAT has received about $2.75 million from the USDOT per year and $2.75 million cost-share from non-federal partners. Dr. Peeta was the Purdue Principal Investigator for CCAT which has the University of Michigan (lead institution) and Purdue as the major partners, along with 4 other Midwest institutions. CCAT seeks to provide national and regional leadership for connected and automated transportation research, science, education, training, and deployment. Dr. Peeta’s connected and autonomous transportation research focused on modeling and implementation, human factors and simulation environments, enabling technologies, policy and planning, infrastructure design and management, and control and operations. Further information on CCAT can be found at: http://ccat.umtri.umich.edu/

NEXTRANS Center

Dr. Peeta served as the Director of two currently overlapping Centers, the NEXTRANS Center on “Integrated Solutions for Mobility, Safety, and Infrastructure Renewal” from 2006-2014, and the NEXTRANS Center on “Integrated and Sustainable Transportation Solutions: From Concepts to Deployment” from 2012-2016. They conduct a multidisciplinary program of transportation research, education, and technology transfer, involving over 100 affiliated faculty at the consortium partner institutions. Dr. Peeta had the following administrative roles:

  • Center Staff Management: He oversaw a full-time Managing Director, administrative staff, and research associates.
  • Center Executive Committee: He chaired the Center’s Executive Committee, consisting of members from partner universities, which sets strategy, approves budgets and made final decisions on Center funding related to research, education and outreach activities. The associated projects were selected through an externally peer-reviewed merit process.
  • Center Multiparty Coordination: He implemented the Center’s vision/theme through the Center research, education, and outreach programs, and ensured Center deliverables in coordination with university partners and the Center’s Executive Committee.
  • Center Council/Committee Meetings: He reported progress toward Center goals at the Advisory Council meeting and the Executive Committee meetings. He generated implementable actions based on their recommendations.
  • Center External Representative: He served as point of contact for the UTC program administrators and other UTCs, was a key channel of communication for Center partners, and represented NEXTRANS at USDOT and UTC-related meetings and conferences.
  • Management of Center Funds: In conjunction with the Managing Director, he monitored Center expenditures based on monthly financial reports/projections provided by Purdue’s Discovery Park and Purdue’s Sponsored Programs, including the complex multiparty arrangements and the mandatory cost-share requirements.
  • Center Programs Administration: In coordination with the Managing Director, he monitored progress of NEXTRANS programs as well as adherence to timeline and documentation requirements of the UTC program requirements.
  • Center Sustainability: He developed and executed strategies for long-term NEXTRANS sustainability. In coordination with the Managing Director, he seeked opportunities for raising matching funds and/or expanding the current base of financial and programmatic partners. He developed strategies for interactions with multiple stakeholder groups and potential new partners to further the Center vision and goals.

NEXTRANS: Integrated Solutions for Mobility, Safety, and Infrastructure Renewal (2006-2014)

  • Led by Purdue University, it was a consortium of eight universities representing five of the U.S. Federal Region 5 states, and partners from the public and private sectors. The university partners are the Ohio State University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Martin University, University of Wisconsin at Platteville, and Wayne State University.

NEXTRANS: Integrated and Sustainable Transportation Solutions: From Concepts to Deployment (2012-2016)

  • Led by Purdue University, it is a consortium of nine universities representing five of the U.S. Federal Region 5 states, and partners from the public and private sectors. The university partners are Ohio State University, Central State University, Chicago State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Martin University, Trine University, University of Michigan, and University of Wisconsin – Madison.
  • The interdisciplinary nature of the Center’s research activities entails collaboration spanning many disciplines including engineering, social sciences, humanities, technology, economics, management, policy, basic sciences, health sciences, agriculture, education, etc. This is also reflected in the lead departments of the partner universities in the consortium which include urban and regional planning, geography, environmental and water resources, engineering and technology, and mathematics and science.

Joint Indo-US Center on Intelligent Transportation Systems Technologies

Dr. Peeta was a co-PI of this collaborative international center involving partner universities from the U.S. and India. It was awarded by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum and is currently funded for the duration 2011-2013.

  • The Center focused on the evaluation of automated traffic data collection techniques (sensors, loops, video, cell phones, etc.) that will work for traffic conditions with heterogeneity and lack of lane discipline, data monitoring and archiving and traffic modeling using these data for various Intelligent Transportation Systems applications.
  • Led by the Indian University of Technology (IIT), Madras, the consortium included IIT Bombay, Purdue University, and University of Nebraska, Lincoln.