Reginald R. Souleyrette, P.E.
Professor, Department of Civil and Construction Engineering (CCE)
Associate Director, Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE)
Introduction
Dr. Reginald R.
Souleyrette is a professor in the CCE Department at ISU, where he teaches
graduate and upper division courses and conducts research in the area of
transportation engineering. He also serves as Chair and Director of Graduate
Education (DOGE) of ISU’s Interdisciplinary M.S. Program in
Transportation. He leads the
transportation division within CCE. Dr. Souleyrette serves as an Associate Director
of CTRE, where he manages the center’s program in transportation planning and
information systems. Also through CTRE, he manages and conducts research in the
areas of highway safety systems, remote sensing, geographic information systems
(GIS) applications to transportation, and passenger and freight planning
models. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of
In the last 15
years, Dr. Souleyrette has conducted 90 sponsored projects totaling over six
million dollars as principal investigator (P.I.) or co-P.I. He has published a
total of over 130 journal papers, invited papers, book chapters, edited works,
conference papers, and research reports. Souleyrette has made over 90 technical
presentations while participating in more than 200 national and regional
workshops, conferences, and transportation forums. As major professor, he has
directed more than 30 graduate student programs of study and leads a team of
professional and scientific research staff who work with his students to
conduct sponsored research.
Pre-tenure Narrative
Dr. Souleyrette was born in
In addition to formal education, Dr.
Souleyrette worked as an intern at the Texas Department of Transportation in
the materials testing and transportation planning areas. He also worked for WHM
Transportation Consultants, G.D. Gosling Aviation Services, Peat Marwick
Airport Planning Consultants, and as a research and teaching assistant at both
the
The focus of Souleyrette’s M.S. thesis was
alternative highway finance and revenue modeling. The topic of his Ph.D.
dissertation was the study of the relations between transportation and
production, focusing on innovations enabled in the construction industry. Dr. Souleyrette published papers resulting
from both of his graduate research projects in subsequent years.
For the first four years after receiving his
Ph.D., Dr. Souleyrette was as an assistant professor of civil engineering at
the
Active in engineering education service
organizations, Souleyrette was elected to the position of Vice Chair for
Membership in the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Pacific
Southwest Section. He was also awarded the ASEE Centennial Medal, Dow
Outstanding New Faculty Award, and the UNLV Board of Regents Outstanding
Faculty Award. Recognition of his research in nuclear waste transportation led
to his appointment as secretary of ASCE’s National Committee on Hazardous
Materials Transportation. In four years at UNLV, Souleyrette averaged $210,000
in annual sponsored research expenditures, $100,000 per year as lead P.I.
In 1993, the Iowa Department of
Transportation (Iowa DOT) requested the
During his first two years at ISU, Dr.
Souleyrette taught one class per semester, developing a course in each of two
areas—transportation planning models and traffic engineering. During those
years, he devoted 75% of his time to CTRE, serving as Associate Director of
Research and Assistant Director of the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.
DOT)
In his first three years at ISU as an
assistant professor, Souleyrette averaged $190,000 in annual sponsored research
expenditures, $180,000 per year as lead P.I. During the probationary period at
UNLV and ISU, Souleyrette published twelve archival and refereed publications,
a pace of about two per year.
Post-tenure Narrative
In 1996, Souleyrette was promoted to
associate professor with tenure. During the review process, university
administration recognized the utility of the nontraditional funding arrangement
that allowed Dr. Souleyrette to come to ISU and build a successful research,
education, and outreach program. In following years, this model was used to
attract three additional CCE faculty.
Scholarship in Research and Outreach: Activities and Impact
Dr. Souleyrette’s scholarship is demonstrated
through refereed publications in books, journals, and full-paper reviewed
archived conference proceedings; use of his findings by other scholars and
agencies; public use of software and information systems he has developed; and
honors and awards. Since becoming tenured, Souleyrette has published 25
additional (38 total) archival and refereed publications, a pace of nearly four
per year, representing a doubling of productivity since the last
promotion. All of these publications
were single-blind peer-reviewed by a minimum of three referees. In all, he has made 90 international,
national or regional conference presentations, completed 59 major project
reports and documented software, and published 26 abstract-reviewed conference
proceedings in addition to the full papers and journals listed above.
As an associate professor, Souleyrette has averaged
over $600,000 in annual sponsored research expenditures ($400,000 per year as
lead P.I.) On an annual basis, his funding has doubled since becoming tenured.
In total, Dr. Souleyrette has conducted 90 research projects as P.I. or Co-P.I.
valued at nearly $6 million. The following figure illustrates an increasing
trend of funding in the post-tenure period:
Dr. Souleyrette’s research agenda is to work
with the transportation industry and government to identify problems and
opportunities in planning, operations, and design, especially those where
advanced information technologies can be brought to bear. The agenda directs
him to assemble, motivate, and challenge a highly talented and energetic group
of transportation faculty, professional, scientific, and support staff and
graduate and undergraduate students dedicated to researching and developing
transportation information technologies. Dr. Souleyrette and his team of
researchers have developed regionally and nationally recognized expertise in
their areas. Key to accomplishment of Souleyrette’s research agenda is feedback
from state highway safety officials who use his spatial and statistical methods
and tools to develop and implement policy that save life and property.
Souleyrette hopes to continue to explore ways in which advanced GIS and
information technologies can be used to improve highway safety and reduce
lead-time and costs requirements for highway planning and design.
Dr. Souleyrette’s
research has been sponsored by the following agencies:
- Iowa Department of Health
- cities of
- US
- Iowa Department of Economic Development
- Cray Research
- US National Park Service
- Regional Transportation Commission of
Dr. Souleyrette has written several proposals
for new work, complementing his ongoing work in highway safety and remote
sensing. These include a proposal to the National Cooperative Highway Research
Program (NCHRP) to develop a freight planning guidebook for small to
medium-sized metropolitan areas, a proposal to NCHRP for a GIS in pavement
management synthesis of practice, and a proposal to the Kellogg Foundation to
further develop his emergency response information system. Annually, Dr. Souleyrette submits proposals
for extending several of his ongoing research programs in highway safety,
information systems, and remote sensing.
Dr. Souleyrette’s scholarship and research
activities of the last seven years fall chiefly into six categories as follows:
(1) GIS in transportation; (2) remote sensing in transportation; (3) highway
safety and information systems; (4) transportation planning and network
modeling; (5) GIS for routing and hazardous materials transportation; and (6)
traffic operations and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The scholarship and impact in these
categories is described below.
(1) GIS in Transportation ($2 million in sponsored funding, $1 million as lead PI; 19 graduate students and 24 undergraduate students supported)
Dr. Souleyrette
developed a program of research in GIS applied to transportation, starting with
two projects funded by the Iowa Department of Transportation and the USDOT
Midwest Transportation Consortium beginning in 1993. One of these projects, the multi-year
development of a GIS strategic plan and implementation process became the nexus
for other research projects and enabled Dr. Souleyrette to begin hiring a cadre
of professional and scientific staff and student researchers. This led to his development of the
Transportation Planning and Information Systems division of CTRE. Since then, GIS has become a core competency
of CTRE, and the personnel, data, and procedures Dr. Souleyrette developed have
been applied in many research projects at the center.
For his expertise in
GIS, Dr. Souleyrette was elected to the position of secretary of TRB’s Spatial
Data and Information Sciences Committee and was invited to write a chapter on GIS
in a recent book by ASCE and a paper sponsored by several ASCE committees
published in the Journal of
Transportation Engineering.[1]
(2) Remote Sensing in Transportation ($560K, $300K as lead PI; 11 graduate students supported)
In 2000, Dr. Souleyrette successfully
competed for a part of the
Most recently, Dr. Souleyrette met with key
national and regional transportation officials when he traveled to
Dr. Souleyrette’s remote sensing work has
resulted in several recent publications and invitations to speak at several
conferences and to present at a forum to Senators and staff in the U.S. Senate
Office Building. He has also been invited to present his approach to UAV remote
sensing at the
Dr. Souleyrette’s recent remote sensing
papers are referenced in the footnote below.[2]
Helikite, sensor platform and imagery
(3) Highway Safety and Information Systems ($1.5 million as lead PI; 18 graduate students and 25 undergraduate students supported)
Dr. Souleyrette has worked extensively in the
development of a GIS Accident Location and Analysis System (GIS-ALAS) for the
Iowa Department of Transportation. He developed tools for spatial and statistical identification, assessment, and
prioritization of dangerous roadway locations throughout
Dr. Souleyrette’s Systematic Location of High Crash Locations methodology and report generated lists of target areas that the Iowa DOT has begun to mitigate. His high-crash location work has been discussed in “Technology Talks,” FHWA, U.S. DOT; by Tom Alex, “State Targets Problem Roads,” Des Moines Register, September 1, 2002; and by Tom Welch, Director, Iowa DOT Office of Traffic and Safety: “[Dr. Souleyrette’s high-crash location work is] applied research that actually benefits society immediately.”
Dr. Souleyrette developed and leads the Iowa Traffic Safety
Data Service (ITSDS), a team of
graduate students and safety engineers conducting timely and responsive
research projects in support of enforcement, engineering, legislative, and
education efforts. The ITSDS is sponsored by the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety
Bureau and Iowa DOT. In 2001,
Dr. Souleyrette received the Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner’s
Special Award for Traffic Safety for his development of the service.
In addition, Dr. Souleyrette has directed the development of two websites that provide weather and construction information to travelers and maintenance personnel. “Weatherview” provides real-time maps of road weather conditions collected from in pavement and airport weather observation stations, and “Roadwork” provides statewide roadway construction status maps using a cost-effective combination of Internet-based desktop mapping and fax/phone data input. These websites were produced for the Iowa DOT and have become very popular, winning acclaim from other states in the region.
Dr. Souleyrette has also directed the
development of the database management system for
Dr. Souleyrette has also been instrumental in the
development of in-vehicle crash data collection software for law enforcement
personnel. The Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS) Location Tool saves
agency resources and reduces risk to field personnel. These software tools are
now being deployed in
Dr. Souleyrette was a committee member and co-author of one
chapter of the multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional Iowa Safety Management
System (Iowa SMS) Toolbox of Highway Safety Strategies (www.IowaSMS.org).
Iowa Governor Vilsack, Lt. Governor Pederson, and six of
In addition to these systems that are
validated by the public and safety professionals that use them, Dr. Souleyrette
has published several recent papers on the subjects.[3]
(4) Transportation Planning and Network Modeling ($1.0 million as lead PI; 16 graduate students and 17 undergraduate students supported)
In 1993, Dr. Souleyrette received a grant
from Cray Research to explore the potential for high-speed computing in
transportation planning. Large one-dimensional network problems coupled with
two-dimensional spatial modeling posed challenges beyond the capabilities of
most agency computers of the time. However, trends in cost per computing cycle
and memory indicated these barriers would be surmounted in coming years. Dr.
Souleyrette developed linkages between GIS systems and network assignment
models first on the high-speed platforms and later on desktop systems available
to planning agencies. The work was published and later Dr. Souleyrette began to
focus on the human computer interface, enabling planners to visualize the
impacts of their choices (model inputs) and to conduct sensitivity analyses.
Since
then, Dr. Souleyrette has developed a nationally recognized program in the
application of GIS to transportation modeling. He has developed automated
mapping visualization methods for relating complex and data intensive
information sources to decision makers and the general public. Specifically, he
has designed GIS interfaces to travel demand models and pavement and crash
information systems. The development of
interactive visualization software and procedures that integrate travel demand
models and GIS has resulted in the calibration and validation of network
systems planning models used by several planning agencies around the
Dr. Souleyrette’s publications
in various areas of transportation planning using GIS have been widely cited
and reviewed. For example, his FHWA
Priority Technology Program Final Report on Transportation Planning GIS was
cited by B. Jobes and V. Papayannoulis in “An Integrated Traffic Simulation/GIS
Platform,” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of TRB, January 1998. “Geographic Information System-based
Transportation Forecast Model for Small Urbanized Areas,” TRR Journal of the
Transportation Research Board, 1996 has been cited and discussed by
Jonathan C. Comer, G. Allen Finchum, and Amanda K. Coleman, “Methodology Using
Geographic Information Systems to Evaluate Socioeconomic Data Concerning
Impacts of Highway Bypasses in Oklahoma,” Proceedings of the Oklahoma
Academy of Science. The authors
state “This approach will be particularly useful to ODOT in meeting its goal of
obtaining a rigorous methodology to weigh benefits and costs associated with
potential bypasses and for producing statistics and maps to support such
analyses.”
Dr. Souleyrette’s “Use of an Internet-Based Delphi Technique
and Geographic Information System for Bicycle Facility Planning,” Geographic
Information Systems for Transportation Symposium, 1996 was reviewed in Guidebook
on Methods to Estimate Non-Motorized Travel: Overview of Methods, FHWA and
is cited by the Pedestr
(5) GIS for Routing and Hazardous Materials Transportation ($580K, $130K as lead PI; 6 graduate students and 3 undergraduate students supported)
Dr. Souleyrette’s research and scholarship in
GIS has direct applications to network routing and analysis of hazardous
material flows. Most recently, he has worked with the Iowa DOT to provide
assistance in the deployment of a comprehensive linear referencing system. Dr.
Souleyrette has also worked with an officer in the U.S. Navy to investigate GIS
potential in
Dr. Souleyrette’s hazardous materials GIS
publications have had impact as described in the following citations: His
“Applications of GIS for Radioactive Materials Transportation,” Microcomputers
in Civil Engineering Journal, 1994, was cited in “The Unique Analytic
Capabilities Geographic Information Systems Can Offer the Traffic Safety
Community,” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of TRB, January 2000; in
“Value of GIS in Crash Countermeasures,” Virginia Transportation Research
Council, April 1999; by Bibliography on Risk Assessment Using GIS,
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (http://wwwgis.env.uea.ac.uk/
Research_Projects/ riskassref.html ); and by Kompetenzverbund Kovers Risko-und
Sicherheitswissenchaften (Swiss Hazmat Transport Consultant), in “Hot Spots, An
Application to Transportation of Dangerous Goods” (http://www.kovers.ethz.ch/
hot_spots.htm). His Preliminary
Nevada High-Level Nuclear Waste Transportation Route Characterization and Risk
Analysis Study, 1991 was reviewed by Nuclear Waste Technical Review
Committee and cited by Ballard in, A Preliminary Study of Sabotage and
Terrorism as Transportation Risk Factors Associated with the Proposed Yucca
Mountain High-Level Nuclear Facility, Grand Valley State University (http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/trans/jballard.htm).
(6) Traffic Operations and Intelligent Transportation Systems ($130K, $100K as lead PI 2 graduate students supported)
Dr. Souleyrette
has also published in the area of traffic engineering, focusing on the use of
ITS.[6] His work on the early deployment study
of ITS for the city of Des Moines as well as work on modeling traffic flows
related to the reconstruction of I-235 has been used by state and local
agencies in the metro area to stage construction activities and mitigate
traffic impacts due to construction.
One of his most widely cited papers discussed
innovative advanced technologies for sign management practices and was
summarized in Road Management Journal (http://www.usroads.com/journals/
rmj/9708/rm970801.htm), cited in “Choosing an Inventory Data Collection
System,” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of TRB, January 1999 and
cited in Collection and Presentation of
Roadway Inventory Data, NCHRP Report 437, 2000.[7]
Other
Research and Impact
Beginning with graduate work, Dr. Souleyrette
has made explorations of the societal impact of transportation, chiefly as
related to the reorganization of production. Souleyrette’s 1989 Ph.D.
dissertation, Transportation Services and Residential Housing Construction:
A Study of the Relations between Transportation and Production, has been
cited in “Networks, Reminiscence and Lessons,” Flux, Spring 1990. As time
allows, Dr. Souleyrette continues to work with William L. Garrison at the
Student Support
Dr. Souleyrette’s projects have supported an
increasing number of graduate and undergraduate assistants:
Note: The accompanying CD contains complete texts
of journal and reviewed conference papers, as well as Dr. Souleyrette’s book
chapter. The CD also contains non-refereed publications and selected
presentation and poster materials. For
convenience, the CD material has also been posted to http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/transdiv/reg
Teaching Activities
Courses
As an assistant
professor, Dr. Souleyrette developed and taught courses in transportation
engineering, network analysis and planning, computer applications, planning
models, GIS applications, traffic engineering, and urban transportation
planning. Since receiving tenure, Dr. Souleyrette has expanded his teaching
repertoire to include airports, geometric design of highways, and one of the few courses in railroad
engineering being taught in the
Teaching Philosophy
Dr. Souleyrette’s teaching philosophy is
first and foremost to motivate students to do their best through a combination
of providing positive, dynamic, responsive, and well-informed lectures and
labs; and communicating personal interest in the professional and personal
development of the student engineers.
Second, Dr. Souleyrette introduces
state-of-the-art technology (e.g., GIS, computer-aided design [CAD] road design
software, travel demand model software) and techniques developed in his
research program (e.g., GIS travel model methodologies, terrain modeling) into
the transportation curriculum. In
his modeling class, Dr. Souleyrette has effectively used the travel demand
model GIS interface software he wrote for the FHWA and Iowa DOT. Several of his
students have gone on to work at metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and
consulting firms, extending the applications of Dr. Souleyrette’s modeling
methodology. These automated
methods supplement but do not take the place of the solid theoretical and
empirical underpinnings that are also covered in his courses.
Dr. Souleyrette also develops comprehensive
web-based lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, and laboratory assignments
with interesting and relevant multimedia materials that clearly explain
difficult or confusing topics. The
first ISU CCE professor to develop comprehensive web materials for class in
1994, he continues to use the Internet extensively in his design class (for
example, see http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/educweb/ ce453/453.htm).
These materials are easily
updated as required by changes in codes, standards, technology, and feedback
from students. These materials are examined by practitioners who hire our
students (e.g., Iowa DOT, FHWA, consulting community). This ensures that the coursework provides
students with applicable analytical methods and tools, making them highly
competitive and ready to contribute to engineering practice or graduate
study. His students are encouraged and
prepared to approach engineering education as a lifelong learning experience.
The accompanying CD contains instructional
materials including the class website for Dr. Souleyrette’s CE 453 Geometric
Design of Highways course. For
convenience, the CD material has also been posted to http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/transdiv/reg
Student Advising
The market for civil engineering graduates is
predominantly the government and private consulting sectors. Consequently,
there is relatively little demand for civil engineering Ph.D.s outside of
academia. Dr. Souleyrette has produced two Ph.D. students: one is an assistant
professor at the
Teaching Awards and Honors
For his teaching, Dr. Souleyrette has
consistently received very high evaluations from his students. His overall ratings average 4.3/5.0, and compare
favorably to 3.9, the average of all CCE professors. He has won two teaching awards: the Charles W. Schaefer Award for Excellence
in Teaching, Research, and Service in CCE in 1998 and the Joseph and Elizabeth
Anderlik Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2001.
Several of Dr. Souleyrette’s graduate
students have won major national awards, including Jerry Shadewald, U.S. DOT
Regional Student of the Year (2001), and five awards for highly competitive
U.S. DOT Eisenhower Fellowships between 1994 and 2001.
Extension/Outreach and Professional Activities
Much of Dr.
Souleyrette’s accomplishments in the outreach and professional service area
have been summarized in the scholarship section. He has also conducted thirteen workshops related
to his research areas. Dr. Souleyrette also serves as a consultant to industry
and government, for such organizations as Beak Consulting,
Committees and Boards
Dr. Souleyrette
serves as chair of ASCE’s Transportation Planning and Economics Committee and
secretary of TRB’s Committee on Spatial Data and Information Sciences. He is
former vice chair for membership of ASEE Pacific Southwest Section. He is a
newly appointed member of ASCE’s Committee on Transportation Security.
Dr. Souleyrette also
serves or has served
- on the advisory committee of the Midwest
Transportation Consortium
- on the board of directors of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration–Iowa Crash Outcomes Data
Evaluation System
- as technical program chair of several
ASCE, ITE (
- by editing The Role of New
Faculty in the 21st Century, Computers in Engineering Education
- on the editorial board of the Journal
of Advanced Transportation
- as technical advisor to several public
transportation authorities and agencies, and
- on conference planning committees and as
technical program chair for ASCE, the Iowa Geographic Information Council,
and ITE
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Souleyrette has served
as faculty advisor for the student chapters of the ISU Transportation Students
Association, ITE, ITS
Reviewer
Dr. Souleyrette has served as a reviewer of tenure cases and as a
proposal reviewer for the following organizatioms:
- the ISU
Agriculture Experiment Station
- Kansas State University Special Group
Incentive Research Awards Program
- Hong Kong Research Grants Council
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
transportation center, and
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
transportation center
He regularly reviews
scholarly papers for the following journals:
- TRR
Journal of the Transportation Research Board
- Environmental Modeling and Software
- Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote
Sensing
- ASCE Journal of Transportation
Engineering
- ASCE Journal of Urban Planning and
Development
- Transportation Research Journal Part C
- Journal of the Transportation Research
Forum, and
- Microcomputers in Civil Engineering.
Institutional Service
Dr.
Souleyrette is very active in university service. He holds three important
administrative positions at ISU.
Division Leader, Transportation Engineering
He
serves as division leader for transportation engineering division of CCE, a
position that covers instructional assignment, management of adjunct faculty
and temporary instructors, leadership of the graduate program in
transportation, and budget administration.
Chair and DOGE, Transportation Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
He
also serves as chair of ISU’s Graduate Program in Transportation, an
interdisciplinary M.S. program reporting to the vice provost for research and
advanced studies. The program is unique in the Midwest and one of only about
six such programs in the
Associate Director, CTRE
Dr.
Souleyrette is also associate director of CTRE, managing its transportation
planning and information systems division, which consists of two part-time
faculty, four professional and scientific staff members, and seventeen student
researchers. Three of the P&S staff
engineers and scientists were Dr. Souleyrette’s students or student
researchers. Today, they manage their
own research programs under the general guidance of Dr. Souleyrette,
successfully writing proposals, managing students, and publishing results.
Committees
Dr.
Souleyrette is also active on ISU standing and ad-hoc committees, currently
serving on the CCE Administrative Council, Curriculum Committee, and University
GIS Steering Committee. He has chaired the CCE Advising Committee and Workloads
Task Force and was a key member of the three-year CCE Task Force to redesign
the CCE curriculum to be more learning based, integrated, and outcomes
oriented. He served three years on the
Professional Development
Dr. Souleyrette has
attended over 200 professional meetings and conferences and has completed
fourteen workshops on teaching and technology, including ASCE’s EXCEED Teaching
Workshop in 1999. In 1998, Dr. Souleyrette studied and took his professional
practice exam and became registered as a professional engineer in the state of