Emphasis and Research Areas

Sustainability and Resilience in Transportation Engineering

In light of the challenges posed by climate change, sustainability and resilience emerge as fundamental concepts for infrastructure and transportation systems. This line of research proposes innovative approaches that reconcile the mitigation of environmental impacts with the strengthening of the adaptive capacity of infrastructure and the operation of highways, railways, airports, and transportation in cities. The focus includes the development of advanced materials, the implementation of sustainable construction techniques, and the assessment of climate effects on urban and interurban mobility. The proposed strategies aim to make transportation more efficient, durable, resilient, and environmentally responsible, based on rigorous scientific principles and robust assessment methodologies.

Decarbonization and circularity in the selection of materials and transport infrastructure projects.
Use of waste and environmentally sustainable solutions in pavements. (NTT/CCR funding – Responsible Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini)
Rheology and chemistry of asphalt binders and bio-binders – tools for understanding the mechanical behavior, aging, and deterioration of pavement coatings. (FAPESP funding – Responsible Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini)
Study of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of permeable concrete pavements.
Performance of pavements under flood events and their impacts on the transport infrastructure system. (CNPq funding – Responsible Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini / Cassiano Augusto Isler)
Study of the reduction of pollutant emissions in asphalt mixtures for paving.
Roadmapping to resilient urban public transport systems in small and mid-sized cities. (FAPESP funding – Responsible Cassiano Augusto Isler)
Carbon Neutral Cities Data Science Center. (FAPESP funding – Responsible Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci, Main Researcher Cassiano Augusto Isler)

Cities, Transportation Systems, and Equity.

The transportation system plays a key role in cities in ensuring that all people can access their daily activities such as work, education, and leisure. This line of research encompasses topics such as modeling transportation demand and supply in cities; the interaction of transportation with land use; transportation planning; evaluation of public transportation policies; values and attitudes that determine behavior; urban transportation economics; public transportation systems; accessibility and equity.

Analysis and modeling of mobility and accessibility.
Models for behavioral analysis.
Evaluation of public policies.
Contribution of the built environment to sustainable cities: the role of transportation (Funding: PQ CNPq grant – Main Researcher: Orlando Strambi).
Urban public transportation networks.
Inequalities in urban transportation. (Funding: FAPESP – Main Researcher: Mariana Giannotti)
Mapping access to food to support public policies on food and nutritional security and combating hunger in Brazilian cities. (FAPESP funding – Responsible Mariana Giannotti)
Impact assessment of the implementation of dedicated motorcycle lanes (blue lanes) in the city of São Paulo, through the incorporation of big data, drone images, and the application of causal inference methods. (FUSP/Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety funding – Responsible Mateus Humberto)
Data Science Center for Public Statistics – CCDEP. (FAPESP funding – PPGET Main Researcher Mateus Humberto, Researchers Mariana Giannotti)

Logistics, Transportation Systems, and Cargo Distribution.

Logistics systems planning; fleet planning and scheduling; development and application of models for optimization, simulation, and analysis of transportation systems; planning, design, and operation of transportation terminals.

Location and sizing of terminals and distribution centers.
Modeling of railway problems.
Modeling and analysis of logistics and transportation systems.
Modeling and analysis of air transport.
Routing and scheduling of vehicles and crews.
Transport 4.0: Impacts on Urban Logistics and Mobility. (CNPq Funding – Responsible Claudio Barbieri da Cunha)
CT&I with Optimized Cloud Planning for Management and Support of Solid Waste Collection and Street Sweeping Operations. (CNPq funding – Claudio Barbieri da Cunha)
Modeling in Transportation Planning and Urban Cargo Distribution. (PQ CNPq scholarship funding – Claudio Barbieri da Cunha)
Solving Real Problems in Transportation and Logistics and Operations Planning through Heuristic Optimization Methods. (Funded by CNPq – Main Researcher Claudio Barbieri da Cunha)

Rail Transport.

This line of research deals with aspects related to both permanent way and railways more broadly, such as the analysis of materials and components used in railway pavements, the assessment of the structural behavior of permanent way, the planning of railway systems with a focus on sustainability, and the analysis of individual behavior in the choice of railway services.

Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of Permanent Railway Tracks.
Railway Infrastructure Chair. (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci)
Determination of the Dynamic Module of the Vitória-Minas Railway Track Considering Steel and Concrete Sleepers with a Focus on Geometric Correction and Ballast Cleaning. (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci)
Big Data Analytics Applied to Instrumented Railcar and Control Car Parameters in Support of Permanent Track Maintenance Management. (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci)
Evaluation of Procedures and Efficiency of the EFC Ballast Dynamic Stabilization Method. (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci)
Study of Recycling of Uncovered Ballast: Material Alternatives for Sub-ballast Recapacitation Using EGP at EFC to Increase Load Capacity. (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Rosângela dos Santos Motta)
Evaluation of the Use of Mining Co-products for Application as a Railway Subgrade Layer – Study on the Vitória-Minas Railway (EFVM). (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Rosângela dos Santos Motta)
Evaluation of the Carajás Railway (EFC) Track: Correlation of Structural Parameters and Permanent Track Geometry to Support Maintenance Management. (Funding: Vale S.A. – Responsible: Rosângela dos Santos Motta)
Modeling of Railway Problems.
MODERN – MOdelling DEmand for Railway Networks. (Funding: FAPESP – Main Researcher: Cassiano Augusto Isler)

Materials, Mechanics, and Pavement Assessment.

This line of research aims to investigate pavement behavior, contributing to innovative and sustainable solutions that extend pavement life. The use of tropical soils in paving, asphalt mixtures and their applications; soil stabilization; cement and concrete in paving; natural and artificial aggregates; pavement evaluation applied to structural design and structural reinforcement; rationalization and development of pavement design criteria.

Analysis of the performance of concrete pavements with continuous reinforcement. (Funding: Votorantim Cimentos – Responsible: José Tadeu Balbo)
Study of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of permeable concrete pavements. (Funding: FAPESP – Responsible: José Tadeu Balbo)
Non-destructive evaluation of pavement structures using low-frequency ultrasonic tomography. (Funding: Inter-American Development Bank – Responsible: José Tadeu Balbo)
Use of self-leveling concrete in urban paving. (Funding: CNPq – Responsible: José Tadeu Balbo)
Performance evaluation of binders and asphalt mixtures. (Funding: ANTT/ARTERIS – Main Researcher: Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini)
Evaluation of pavements and study of performance indicators for road and urban pavements.
Dimensioning and rehabilitation of road and urban pavement structures.
Access 4 Future – Evaluation of Asphalt Concrete for Future Use on Highways and Railways. (USP COFECUB Funding – Responsible Rosângela dos Santos Motta)

Road safety, Transportation Route Projects and Operation, and ITS.

Research related to road safety from the perspectives of infrastructure and transportation planning. Application of computer and telecommunications technologies in the transportation sector, aiming to demonstrate – through computer simulation – new functionalities in the operation of public transportation and traffic in general.

Road safety and the use of shared bicycles in Latin America: pilot study using embedded smart sensors.
Physical, operational, and maintenance characteristics of road systems.
Geometric characteristics of highways and urban roads.
Technical and durability assessment of horizontal highway signage. (Funding: ANTT/ARTERIS – Responsible: Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci)
Relationship between geometric characteristics and pavement surface and road safety. (Funding: ANTT/ARTERIS – Responsible: Liedi Légi Bariani Bernucci)
ITS in the operation of urban transport systems in smart cities.
ITS in interurban transport infrastructure concession models.

Geodesy, Topography, and Cartography.

Satellite positioning (GNSS) and other sensors; active and passive networks; study of the ionosphere through GNSS; monitoring of engineering structures; reference surfaces, geoid models, and monitoring of mean sea level. Establishment of the altimetric and gravimetric reference frame (IHRF-International Height Reference Frame and ITGRF-International Terrestrial Gravity Reference Frame) in Latin America; production and quality control of cartographic bases; drone aerial photogrammetry; remote sensing and digital cartography applied to transportation.

Technologies for estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using GNSS and other sensors.
Monitoring of transportation system structures using GNSS and other sensors.
Determination of geoid models: regional, national, and continental.
Reference frames (gravimetric, altimetric, and planimetric).
Digital terrain modeling and its applications in transportation.
Cartographic production and its quality control applied to transportation.