CTRE's Mission

CTRE’s mission is to develop and implement innovative methods, materials, and technologies for improving transportation efficiency, safety, and reliability, while improving the learning environment of students, faculty, and staff in transportation-related fields.

CTRE performs

• research. We focus on applied research in the wide variety of disciplines that affect transportation.
• educational activities. We sponsor undergraduate and graduate students from many transportation-related disciplines, providing them with a rigorous academic program and with significant research opportunities and professional experiences. CTRE’s educational programs help build a human infrastructure prepared to address current and future transportation challenges.
• outreach. We act as a conduit between the academic community and transportation practitioners, adapting technology and research results to practitioners’ needs and giving practitioners a voice in setting research agendas. These outreach activities are a natural function of Iowa State University’s mission as a land-grant institution.

CTRE serves

• local and regional transportation agencies (counties, cities, metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning affiliations, etc.).
• departments of transportation at the federal and state level and other federal and state agencies with transportation-related missions.
• private sector transportation interests including shippers, carriers, manufacturers of transportation vehicles and equipment, and transportation consultants.
• Iowa State University’s academic transportation community in all colleges and departments.

CTRE values

• service. We respond to the needs of the transportation community and its development.
• quality products. We provide tangible products—workshops, reports, computer programs, new processes and designs, etc.—that fulfill our clients’ needs.
• teamwork. We consider all relevant perspectives regarding transportation issues, building teams consisting of academic resources from all disciplines and partners from the private and public sectors.
• objectivity. We perform impartial academic research, employing rigorous methods and standards.
• ethics. We provide honest advice and recommendations and strive to meet or exceed our commitments.

CTRE's mission statement in pdf format (requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view; download it for free).