Interested in CR2C2 activities and engagement opportunities?
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Zoom Link: https://ncat.zoom.us/j/99761566442?pwd=dKf98GfXUFLBX6mgrKvKwj6RBIYjQF.1 (Registration not required)
In-person (For NCA&T attendees): Room 343, MERIC Building
Part 1: Designing Tools for Assessing Readiness of Rural Communities for New Technologies
Speaker: Dr. Asad J Khattak
Abstract: This presentation introduces a new methodology for modernizing transportation planning in rural areas of the Southeastern United States, where low population density and small towns present unique challenges to mobility and connectivity. The framework guides a comprehensive planning process, which involves identifying problems, generating innovative solutions, analyzing alternatives, and supporting collaborative prioritization and decision-making. A key feature is the Automated Vehicle Readiness Framework, which integrates data on infrastructure, digital connectivity, and social vulnerability. To support rural transportation planning, the team developed the Techniques for Assessing Community Technology Readiness (TACT-R) website. It provides professionals with access to a repository of emerging technology resources, analytical tools, and readiness models specifically tailored to meet the needs of rural areas. It leverages advances in vehicle automation, machine learning, e.g., case-based reasoning, text mining, spatial analytics, and modern computational capabilities. This approach moves beyond traditional incremental planning by combining innovative solutions with advanced data-driven techniques and a deep understanding of rural challenges. The goal is to enhance safe mobility and efficiency of both digital and physical transportation systems, helping rural communities better prepare for future transportation challenges.
Part 2: Optimizing Rural Freight Systems: Case Studies from North Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky
Speaker: Dr. Venktesh Pandey
Abstract: Freight transportation in rural areas faces significant and growing challenges. Aging infrastructure, dispersed delivery points, limited parking, and safety risks disproportionately affect rural freight corridors. Yet these regions play a vital role in national supply chains. In states such as Florida, Kentucky, and North Carolina, rural roadways support the movement of billions of dollars in goods annually but often lack the routing tools and infrastructure planning needed to support this role safely and efficiently. This talk will primarily focus on the truck parking analysis in North Carolina and the evaluation of demand-supply interactions for rural freight parking needs. As part of a completed project under the CR2C2 Center, the study developed a spatial optimization model that integrated crash risk, truck volume, and accessibility data. It ranked over 160 candidate parcels to support targeted investment in rural truck parking, prioritizing locations with the highest potential safety and efficiency benefits. Briefly, the talk will also touch upon two complementary studies. In Florida, a bi-objective multi-period inventory pickup and delivery model with multi-attribute alternative routing was applied to a Walmart distribution network, achieving a 7% reduction in transportation costs and a 14% reduction in crash risk. In Kentucky, a logit-based K-shortest path assignment model used FAF data to identify critical rural freight links, informing resilience planning in a network that supports a $605B freight economy. Together, these case studies offer innovative, data-driven tools for rural freight planning and provide agencies with practical guidance to prioritize investments, enhance safety, and improve freight mobility in underserved but essential rural corridors.
Dr. Asad J. Khattak is the Alvin and Sally Beaman Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Khattak received his Master’s and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Associate Editor for the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. His areas of research include innovations and emerging technologies in mobility, safety, and sustainability. He has published over 200 refereed journal articles and secured $25+ million in research and education funding from various sources. His Google Scholar H-index is 67. He has graduated 23 Ph.D. students & 40 Master's students. He has worked internationally at the University of Oxford in England, the French National Institute for Transport & Safety Research, known as INRETS, Ajou University in South Korea, Chang‘an University in China, & the University of Aveiro in Portugal.
Dr. Venktesh Pandey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. His research integrates intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and emerging mobility services in traffic operations, congestion pricing, and transportation planning models. He is actively involved with various professional organizations such as the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS). Dr. Pandey has broad interests in improving Engineering Education systems of the future. He is the recipient of the 2022-23 Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award at NCA&T and holds certifications for Effective Teaching Practice and Fostering a Culture of Belonging through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Prior to joining N.C. A&T, he completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) at The University of Texas at Austin and worked as a Project Associate at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.