Transportation
The University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Transportation Convergent Research Initiative (CRI) builds cross-disciplinary teams across UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to solve today’s complex transportation challenges. With focus areas spanning clean energy, connected and automated mobility, resilient freight networks and human-centered design, the CRI is advancing the future of secure, efficient and sustainable mobility systems.
The CRI strategically leverages premier infrastructure at UT and ORNL to accelerate innovation in mobility and energy systems. At ORNL, the National Transportation Research Center (NTRC) provides cutting-edge facilities and expertise in vehicle systems integration and emissions testing. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) offers a real-world smart city testbed for connected vehicle research, traffic sensing and infrastructure analytics. At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), the Platform for Automotive Cybersecurity Testing (PACT) enables advanced experimentation in secure vehicle communication, electrification and automated driving.
Together, these assets form an integrated, statewide research ecosystem that enables the rapid prototyping, testing and scaling of technologies that will define the future of transportation.
CRI Leadership Team
Kevin Heaslip, Director of the Center for Transportation Research and Professor
Contact: kheaslip@utk.edu
Michael Rodgers, Distinguished Member of the Research Staff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Contact: rodgersmo@ornl.gov
CRI Research staff
Usman Ahmed, Research Assistant Professor – Freight Modeling & Resilience
Katie Asmussen, Research Assistant Professor – Human Behavior & Technology
Spencer Cochran, ORNL R&D Associate
Samantha Haus, Research Assistant Professor – Human Factors in Tech Integration
Jin Wook Ro, ORNL R&D Associate – Climate Techno-Economic Analysis
Magad Shoman, Research Assistant Professor – AI and Transportation Data
Pengyuan Sun, Research Assistant Professor – Vehicle Control & Eco-Driving
Featured Projects & Successes
NSF Regional Innovation Engine – Award: $1M
Support for regional leadership in mobility and workforce development.
ARPA-E Freight Digital Twin – Award: $1M
Cognitive modeling of intermodal freight for resilience and emissions reduction.
TN-GO Cybersecurity Initiative – Award: $500K
Securing transportation infrastructure through UT-ORNL collaboration.
TN-GO Traffic Safety and Smart Streets – Award: $500K
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Research Institute’s (UTCRI) Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) has been awarded $500,000 through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s (TNECD) Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO). This funding will support the development and deployment of two systems that will continue to transform Chattanooga’s approaches to safety and smart mobility.
Open positions
THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO POSITIONS OPEN FOR THIS AREA.