CTRE's resources
At CTRE itself, Iowa State University, and the nearby Iowa Department of Transportation, CTRE staff have access to a variety of resources, physical and intellectual, that are critical to fulfilling its mission.
Physical resources
CTRE
Mobile Concrete Lab The PCC Center had a mobile lab built inside a Featherlite trailer for conducting on-site materials testing. Iowa State University researchers will use the mobile lab to test samples of plastic concrete during the most critical phase of a pavement’s life—the first hour—and after the concrete has hardened.
Geotechnical Mobile Lab The Partnership for Geotechnical Advancement built a similar lab in 2005 to study earthwork construction and engineering properties of soils.
Stanley Ring Memorial Library Supported primarily by Iowa's Local Technical Assistance Program, and named after the center's first director and subsequent librarian, CTRE's in-house library enhances training and technology transfer for Iowa professionals. The library carries over 1000 publications, 600 videotapes and DVDs, and several training programs for individualized, interactive training. The library catalog is online and searchable.
Geographic information systems laboratory for transportation CTRE's GIS-T lab includes eight computers plus peripherals (digitizing table, flatbed scanner) used for application of geographic information systems (GIS) for transportation. The facility also offers software solutions from leading industry vendors.
Videoconference room / Computer training lab A resource for CTRE and its partners, the videoconference room harnesses video broadcasting technology to involve people at distance locations in "face to face" meetings and workshops, saving time and money and increasing convenience. The room can also be used as a computer training lab for up to 40 students with hands-on training on state-of-the-art laptop computers that can be configured for specific training needs.
Iowa State University
Materials Analysis Research Laboratory At MARL, researchers conduct elemental materials analyses by x-ray fluorescence to determine the chemical makeup of cements, fly ashes, limestones, and other pavement materials.
Structural Engineering Laboratory Consisting of five rooms, including a 6,900-square-foot facility, the lab provides an 80-by-50-foot main testing area and 80-by-25-foot tie-down floor, a 20-ton overhead crane, and electronic and computer equipment for controlling experiments and data logging.
Asphalt Research and Teaching Laboratory Equipped through a match gift from the Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa, this lab includes state-of-the-industry equipment for conducting Superpave research.
Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory This facility includes equipment for index tests and classification of soils and aggregates, as well as permeability, strength, and stress-strain characteristics.
Hydraulics Laboratory Scale models of transportation-related structures can be tested to determine their hydraulic performance before full-scale structures are built.
Photogrammetry, Geodesy, and Surveying Laboratories These surveying facilities include lab and field research and instruction capabilities.
Synthetic Environments Laboratory ("C6") One of the world's most advanced computer virtual reality rooms, C6's three-dimensional, full-immersion, synthetic environment enables researchers to study, for example, the response of humans to vehicle and roadway design and vehicle features without placing subjects in physical peril.
Computer and communications facilities Iowa State's high-speed computing network supports services for instruction and research and access to off-campus sites, including those offering supercomputers.
Iowa Department of Transportation
Located minutes from CTRE and Iowa State University, the Iowa DOT is one of CTRE's primary partners.
Transportation library The Iowa DOT manages an excellent transportation library and keeps copies of many specialty publications, which CTRE students and staff may access.
Materials laboratory This lab provides equipment and expertise for performing materials quality verification and specification compliance testing, as well as pavement performance testing.
Intellectual resources
CTRE/ISU faculty, staff, and students
In addition to CTRE's staff of nationally recognized faculty and researchers, Iowa State University has nearly 40 faculty members whose principal research activities focus on some aspect of transportation, many of whom are active research affiliates of CTRE. Many of these faculty have transportation-related specialties within the departments of civil and construction engineering (College of Engineering), community and regional planning (College of Design), and logistics, operations, and management information systems (College of Business).
Since 1993, about 350 undergraduate and graduate students have learned from and contributed to CTRE's research and outreach programs.
Iowa State University Extension
When it began in 1983 as Iowa's Rural Technical Assistance Program, the center that evolved into CTRE was an arm of Iowa State's Engineering Extension unit. Although that relationship is no longer institutional, CTRE continues to partner with and share many of the outreach programming resources of Iowa State University's Extension, particularly Engineering Extension and Extension to Communities.
Partnerships
Learn more about CTRE's partnerships.
