Reginald R. Souleyrette, Ph.D., P.E.

 

Reg Souleyrette is the Gerald and Audrey Olson Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE), Iowa State University, where he teaches graduate and upper division courses and conducts research in the area of transportation engineering.  He also serves as Director of Graduate Education for CCEE and as its Transportation Faculty Division Leader.  Formerly, he served as Chair of ISU’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Transportation and Chair of the CCEE Administrative Council. 

 

As Associate Director, Center for Transportation Research and Education, he manages the Center’s program in Transportation Planning and Information Systems.  Also through the Center, he manages and conducts research in the areas of highway safety systems, remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems applications to Transportation (GIS‑T), and passenger and freight planning models.  Prior to joining Iowa State, he co-developed a transportation engineering program at UNLV where, for four years, he served as assistant professor and assistant director of the Transportation Research Center.  He received his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Transportation) from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.  He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Iowa.

 

In the last 17 years, Dr. Souleyrette has completed over 120 sponsored projects totaling over eight million dollars as principal or co-principal investigator.  He has published over than 150 peer reviewed journal papers, invited papers, book chapters, edited works, conference papers, and research reports. He has made over 120 technical presentations at national and regional workshops, conferences and transportation forums.  Dr. Souleyrette has directed more than 35 graduate student programs as major professor.

 

Scholarship

 

Dr. Souleyrette has developed a nationally recognized program in the application of geographic information systems to transportation at ISU, which is demonstrated by consistent sponsored research, nomination to leadership positions in spatial science service organizations, invited scholarship and development of CTRE's GIS lab and support facility.  He also developed and directs the Iowa Traffic Safety Data Service, a team of graduate students and safety engineers conducting small, timely and responsive research projects in support of enforcement, engineering, legislative and education efforts.  Now in its fourth year, the ITSDS is sponsored by the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and Iowa DOT.  He also co-developed the Iowa Emergency Response Information System (ERIS), a timely addition to Iowa’s efforts in homeland security. 

 

Dr. Souleyrette 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.  He has successfully completed projects assessing the value and costs of in-vehicle traveler information systems – developing an integrated travel forecasting and traffic simulation framework for use as a test bed. 

 

He has directed the development of two popular web sites for the Iowa DOT that have won acclaim from other states in the region.  These include Weatherview – real time map based road weather conditions collected from in pavement and airport weather observations stations, and Roadwork – statewide roadway construction using a cost-effective combination of internet based desktop mapping and fax/phone data input.  He has also participated in the development of the Iowa DOT’s GIS (CTAMS), linear referencing system project and FHWA/Iowa DOT travel demand and traffic engineering GIS.

 

Dr. Souleyrette’s research has been sponsored by: the Research and Special Programs Administration of the USDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (in partnership with Midwest Research Institute), the Iowa Department of Transportation Offices of Transportation Data, Transportation Safety, Systems Planning, and its Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Divisions, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Health, USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Highway Administration, Cities of Cedar Falls, Ames, Dubuque, and Bullhead City, Iowa Highway Research Board, Midwest Transportation Center, Iowa Geographic Information Council, Iowa Dept. of Economic Development, Iowa Rural Development Commission, Cray Research, Nevada DOT, National Park Service, Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County, and the Department of Energy through the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.

 

Examples of the impact of Dr. Souleyrette’s research and sponsored projects include:

 

  • transportation enterprise applications and strategies for deployment of spatial data systems (GIS for state and local governments)
  • in-vehicle crash data collection software and procedures that save agency resources and reduce risk to field personnel (TraCS Location Tool, now being deployed in Iowa, New York and Georgia, and likely extension to 18 other states and provinces)
  • highway safety systems GIS-based analysis tools (GIS-ALAS, Access-ALAS and SAVER), resulting in the spatial and statistical identification, assessment, and prioritization of dangerous roadway locations throughout Iowa, and extensible methods for identification of roadside safety problems and older driver issues
  • studies of the relations between transportation and productivity
  • the development of interactive visualization software and procedures that integrate travel demand models and GIS, resulting in the calibration and validation of network systems planning models used by several planning agencies around the US and in Australia
  • small area and statewide passenger and freight models
  • remote sensing applications to support development of transportation infrastructure and security systems, as part of RSPA and NASA’s National Consortia for Remote Sensing in Transportation, including evaluation of remote sensing (LIDAR) for highway location and design, and recent developing relationship with GIS interests in government and academia in India (a tremendous growth market with a very advanced remote sensing industry)
  • several national awards for research impact (please see below)

 

Service

 

Dr. Souleyrette serves as Chair of the Transportation Planning and Economics Committee of ASCE’s Transportation and Development Institute, and Co-chair of the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board Committee on Geographic Information Sciences and Applications, ABJ60.  He is former Vice Chair for Membership of ASEE’s PSW section.  Dr. Souleyrette has served as faculty advisor for the student chapters of the Transportation Students Association, ITE, ITS America, and Tau Beta Pi.  IN 1994, he was co-founder of the Iowa Geographic Information Council (IGIC, now 500 members) and started the Midwest Travel Model User’s Group in 1993. 

 

Dr. Souleyrette also serves, or has served on the advisory committee of the Midwest Transportation Consortium, Board of Directors, NHTSA - Iowa Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System, Technical Program Chair of several ASCE, ITE, IGIC and ASEE conferences and meetings, editorial board of the Journal of Advanced Transportation, and as technical advisor to several public transportation authorities and agencies.

Teaching

 

Dr. Souleyrette uses advanced technology in the classroom.  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 (please see http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/educweb/ce453/453.htm)  He also makes extensive use of geographic information systems and current statewide data systems in his classes.  He has taught a variety of classes ranging from highway design to transportation planning to one of the few courses in railroad engineering being taught in the US.   In his modeling class, he has effectively used the travel demand model-GIS interface software he wrote for the FHWA/Iowa DOT.  Several of his students have gone on to work at MPOs and consulting firms extending the applications of Dr. Souleyrette’s modeling methodology.  For his teaching, Dr. Souleyrette has consistently received very high evaluations from his students (averaging 4.3/5.0) and has won two teaching awards.

 

Awards

 

Dr. Souleyrette was named the first recipient of the Gerald and Audrey Olson Professorship in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering in 2004.  In 2003, he received the Engineering Student Council Leadership Award.  He also received National Safety Council’s Honorable Mention for Best Practices for his work on the Iowa Emergency Response Information System in 2002.  From the Iowa Department of Public Safety, he received the Commissioner’s Special Award for Traffic Safety in 2001.  In 2000 and 2001, he received Vice President Gore’s Award for National Partnership for Reinventing Government for his role in development of the NHTSA/FHWA National Model for Highway Safety Systems, the Joseph and Elizabeth Anderlik Award for undergraduate teaching, and the National Safety Council Best Practices Award for work on the Iowa National Model (TraCS Location Tool).  He has also been awarded the Charles W. Schaefer Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research in 1998.  He also received the Iowa Governor's Volunteer Award for Outstanding Service to the State of Iowa, American Society of Engineering Education Centennial Award, Dow Chemical Corporation Outstanding Young Faculty Award, and Regents of the University of Nevada System Outstanding Faculty Award.