CTRE's partnerships
The essence of CTRE's success is partnerships. For example:
- The center draws faculty and students from three departments at Iowa State University-Civil and Construction Engineering, Community and Regional Planning, and Logistics, Operations, and Management Information Systems.
- CTRE works closely with the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT), identifying research needs and conducting research projects.
- In 2003 CTRE signed a collaboration agreement (24 kb pdf) with the Iowa DOT and the Iowa Regents' universities: Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa that will facilitate transportation research to benefit Iowa.
- CTRE partners with private industry, conducting research and initiating jointly sponsored programs such as the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center.
- Through the Midwest Transportation Consortium, CTRE has joined forces with five other universities in the region to focus on asset management research.
- Not least of all, CTRE regularly provides service for, and receives input from, county and municipal transportation agencies.
CTRE and the Iowa DOT: a unique partnership for research
In 1997, because of the complementary nature of CTRE's and the Iowa Department of Transportation's core businesses, the organizations entered into two long-term agreements.
- The Iowa DOT provides ongoing support of CTRE activities that benefit the Iowa DOT, including developing new initiatives, quick-response information gathering, and providing technical advice.
- Research contracting arrangements are streamlined between CTRE and the Iowa DOT. One of the most innovative arrangements under this agreement is the joint hiring of faculty with shared appointments between an Iowa State University academic department and CTRE/Iowa DOT.
See our key programs for more information.
The creation of new "centers" at CTRE is due, in part, to the maturation of research into conventional practice. For example, CTRE's research in linking traffic crash databases to geographic information systems (GIS) led to the Traffic Safety Data Service. Research on automated techniques to detect pavement distress combined with GIS technology led to the pavement management program.
The greatest success for a researcher is to see new technologies become an integral part of doing business. Hard work and a partnership approach have led to many successes, and we look forward to more.
Organizational partnerships
The center actively partners with public and private, academic and professional organizations, including
- the Iowa Department of Transportation and several other state DOTs
- Federal Highway Administration
- city and county governments in Iowa and surrounding states
- state and federal departments of energy, natural resources, and other agencies
- industry associations
- transit authorities
- airports
- regional and national transportation coalitions
- private sector manufacturers and consultants
