About

NEXTRANS Overview

The NEXTRANS Center is the USDOT Region V Regional University Transportation Center, and covers the states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Center was established in 2007 based on an award from USDOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) to conduct a multidisciplinary program of transportation research, education, and technology transfer through a Regional University Transportation Center headquartered at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

NEXTRANS is led by Purdue University. Its major university partners are University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the Ohio State University (OSU). The Center’s strategic partners are Martin University (MU), Wayne State University (WSU) and University of Wisconsin – Platteville (UWP). Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) are the NEXTRANS Center's institutional resource partners.

Non-university partners of the Center include the Indiana DOT (INDOT), Illinois DOT (IDOT), Ohio DOT (ODOT), Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Chicago DOT, Regional Planning Boards, FHWA state offices, state LTAPs, Ports of Indiana, NASA, and GCM Coalition within the public sector. The Association of American Railroads, Transportation Technology Center Inc., Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), Navteq, Delphi, Motorola, SemMaterials are among NEXTRANS’ current private sector partners. These partners, along with other academic institutions, professional societies, professional associations and laboratories, provide a combination of financial, technical, logistical, and strategic collaborations for the Center’s research, education, outreach and technology transfer programs and activities.

The NEXTRANS Center is administered by Purdue University’s Discovery Park on behalf of the University. The Center is located off-campus within the Purdue Research Park.

Dr. Srinivas Peeta, Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, is the Director of the NEXTRANS Center. He oversees its programs and overall administration comprising of the Managing Director, Research Associates and Administrative Assistant.

NEXTRANS Theme

The theme of the NEXTRANS Center is to develop integrated solutions to transportation problems by explicitly capturing the interactions between the vehicle, driver/traveler, and the infrastructure. It seeks to foster a new generation of paradigms and a highly qualified workforce that can develop innovative and integrated solutions for mobility, safety, and infrastructure renewal with some emphasis on intermodal freight transportation to address regional needs and economic opportunities.