Transportation is a critical factor for economic growth and provides social benefits, and UCF’s leading placement in this academic area signals the university is contributing to national and global advancements in this area. Smart and Safe Transportation Lab Director and Pegasus Professor Mohamed Abdel-Aty says the transportation science and technology ranking is a testament to the efforts of the students and faculty in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering (CECE), which is in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and relevant fields.
“This [ranking] highlights the sustained effort of our top faculty, postdoctoral scholars and students, and the impactful research and innovation led by our transportation team,” Abdel-Aty says.
Transportation systems directly impact the economic and social growth of our society, with 87% of public transportation trips connecting riders to work opportunities and local businesses, according to tech-based transportation service company Via. The Transportation Group at UCF has multiple interdisciplinary faculty who contribute to various domains including artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems, data analytics, intelligent systems, planning, resilience, traffic engineering and safety.
“Data-based or objective rankings like ShanghaiRanking help illustrate not only the recent contributions that CECE faculty have made to transportation science and technology, but the continuous evolution of UCF as a research institution and partner in Central Florida and the nation,” CECE Chair Kevin Mackie says.
UCF offers a master’s in civil engineering with a track in transportation systems engineering. The program offers a strong focus in transportation systems, traffic safety and traffic signal protection. Under the leadership of Abdel-Aty, CECE’s Future City Initiative, which explores technological advancements to better serve urban residents, has led to numerous interdisciplinary collaborations on and a master’s track in smart cities.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 39,345 people died in traffic crashes in 2024. These losses underscore the importance of improving transportation and roadways — and serve as reminders of why the Transportation Group at UCF is committed to their work.
Abdel-Aty’s recent work includes investigating roadway crash data using advanced modeling approaches and build tools that the DOT and other transportation agencies can employ to address road safety challenges.
The transportation group at UCF features numerous internationally and nationally recognized faculty members who have received funding for the work by entities such as the DOT, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Central Florida Expressway Authority, U.S. National Science Foundation. They’ve also received support from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) as part of the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NHCRP).
Among these distinguished faculty contributing to national developments is Professor Naveen Eluru, who is currently focused on transportation planning research that will be used in federally mandated long-range transportation forecasting procedures.