Introduction to the Discipline of Traffic and Transportation Engineering

Traffic and transportation engineering, a first-level discipline in Northeast Forestry University, includes four second-level disciplines: Road and railway engineering, Traffic information engineering and control, Transportation planning and management, and Vehicle operation engineering. The discipline has one key laboratory and three provincial level teaching and scientific research centers.

1. Academic Leader of Traffic and Transportation Engineering Discipline

Pei Yulong, was born in October 1961, is a second-grade professor, doctoral supervisor, famous teaching master in Northeast Forestry University, excellent teacher in Heilongjiang Province and was awarded a special government allowance of the State Council. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Transportation of Southeast University in 2002. Since graduation in 1982, he stayed to work in Harbin Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture (1982-1993), Harbin University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (1993-1999) and then Harbin Institute of Technology (2000-2012), where he successively held the posts of deputy director of the department, deputy secretary, dean, etc. Now, he is the dean of the Transportation College, academic leader of Traffic and Transportation Engineering discipline and director of the Transportation Research Center in Northeast Forestry University.

Prof. Pei works mainly in the fields of road traffic safety, transportation planning, transportation management and control, etc. He has presided 21 vertical scientific research projects and many horizontal scientific research projects, including projects of national “863 plans”, sub-tasks of national “973 plans” and NSFC projects. He has published 452 academic papers, among which 91 have been indexed by EI and SCI, and 5 monographs. Additionally, he has gained 6 national invention patents and software copyrights, 5 Science and Technology Progress Awards of provincial and ministerial level. He has trained 152 master’s students and 32 doctoral students. In addition, he has edited 12 textbooks which were brought into higher education or recommended by the steering committee for education and instruction, including nationally planned textbooks and has twice been awarded the second prize of excellent teaching achievements of provincial and ministerial level.

Prof. Pei is a long-standing member of the national traffic engineering teaching guidance committee. Meanwhile, he also serves as the vice chairman of the association for the study of logistics and transport of China Communications and Transportation Association, deputy director of the urban road and traffic engineering committee of China Civil Engineering Society and senior member of academic committee of urban transportation planning of UPSC (Urban Planning Society of China), and a member of the expert consultation committee of Harbin. He also works as an editor for several authoritative academic journals such as China Journal of Highway and Transport, Urban Transport of China, Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development.

2. Orientation and objectives

The discipline is based on the academic research of traffic & transportation and expands the potential competence to solve the key subjects and engineering technologies of transportation fields in northern cold regions and service issues of regional economic development. In order to satisfy the sustainable development of the integrated, secure, ecological, and intelligent road-transportation industry, the discipline intends to cultivate innovative personnel possessing the high quality and powerful capability in research and engineering fields. This discipline tries to have a distinct advantage in the local region, to reach the domestic first-level position and attain an international reputation in its main characteristic research aspects, and to be at the forefront of the domestic similar disciplines.

3. Superiorities and characteristics

Superiorities

(1) Road and railway engineering. Focusing on the theory and engineering practice of low temperature characteristics of road structures, combining theoretical and practical experiences in highway design, construction, supervision, etc. for many years, many research results have been achieved in disaster prevention and diseases treatment of subgrade and pavement engineering in low temperatures. The discipline concentrates on soil erosion, noise, and exhaust influence on the environment during highway construction, high alignment design, landslide prevention and control, slope protection, highway service area and landscape pattern construction, etc.

(2) Traffic information engineering and control. Focusing on the traffic system information characteristics and the analysis of traffic accidents in low temperature and forestry regions, this discipline tends to analyze the interrelationship between traffic environment and traffic systems, traffic information characteristics, traffic control, traffic facilities design, traffic accident reconstruction, traffic facility reliability, traffic impacts, etc. The research results may meet the needs of social development and provide the theoretical and technical support for the performance of traffic safety.

(3) Transportation planning and management. Taking traffic planning, traffic management, traffic safety and traffic simulation as the main research orientations, the researchers continually develop models, theories and approaches of the comprehensive traffic and transportation hub planning, design parking facility, predict public transit, ease traffic congestion, optimize city structure, and analyze driving behavior. The multi-interdisciplinary research team was established based on the advantages of the personnel importing policy and a large amount of research results have been achieved. The independently developed driving platform simulation can contribute to analyze the driving behavior and driving fatigue, which proves to be the province’s leading and domestic first-level experimental instrument in traffic simulating and traffic safety fields.

(4) Vehicle operation engineering. Taking operating quality control, equipment design and functional innovation of vehicles as research orientations, the researchers are focusing on fuel economy, safety, exhaust, reliability and operational monitoring, etc. The research results have provided fundamental theories and practical technologies for energy saving and emissions reductions, safety guarantees, high-efficiency operations, and green applications to develop a sustainable transportation system. In the research fields of emission control, recycling and reuse of end-of-life vehicles, electric power steering theories, safety detecting technologies, snow and ice removing vehicles, the achievements have attained provincial leading and domestic advanced levels.

Characteristics

(1) To conduct the academic research in general transportation fields and develop key traffic technologies. Meanwhile, the research teams have carried out relevant research in transportation fields with the ecological construction and environmental protection engineering.

(2) To focus on the scientific issues and crucial technologies in transportation related to the special climatic and geographical conditions such as low temperatures, cold and freezing.

(3) To conduct scientific issues and technologies development related to transportation engineering by cooperating with forestry, ecology, biomass materials and other disciplines.

4. Training objectives

To possess solid basic theory and systematic professional knowledge in the traffic and transportation engineering discipline; to have the ability to independently research and attain creative achievements and to comprehensively understand the developing trend and academic frontiers of this discipline; to have the ability to creatively and independently research in road and railway engineering, traffic information engineering and control, transportation planning and management and vehicle operation engineering; to have a rigorous and realistic scientific attitude and style, and to be of similar quality to academic leaders; to master a foreign language, be able to read the professional documents in a foreign language, possess writing skills, and be able to exchange ideas in international academic conferences; to be qualified for teaching and research in a university or a science research institute, or managing and development in a production department.

5. Research fields of discipline

(1) Research fields of the Ph.D. program

Including: The subgrade pavement structure and material, Road geological hazards and protection, Damage identification and reinforcement of road and bridge structure, Transportation planning, Traffic management, Transportation safety, Safety analysis of road and vehicle, Quality control theory & method of automotive operation, Design & innovation of vehicle equipment

(2) Research fields of the master’s program

Including: Subgrade pavement structure and road engineering material, Road route planning and design, Disaster prevention and reduction of road engineering, Road environment and safety, Technology of traffic system management and control in cold regions, Theory and technology of synthetically utilizing traffic information, Traffic safety ensuring engineering, Transportation planning and safety, Transportation management, Transportation economy and logistics management, Condition monitoring & performance simulation of automotive operation, Innovation of vehicle equipment, Energy saving & emission reduction of automotive operation, NVH & safety technology of automotive operation

(3) Research fields of the professional master program

Including: Road engineering, Engineering management, Transportation planning and design, Road transport and vehicle energy conservation and emission reduction technology, Road transport and vehicle safety technology, Running quality control and performance optimization of vehicle, Intelligent transportation system

6. Influence at home and abroad

The discipline recruits foreign students and has signed an agreement of jointly training postgraduates with the University of Colorado in civil engineering.

The discipline actively carries out international cooperation and exchanges and cooperates with many domestic and foreign universities and research institutions, including the University of Glamorgan (UK), Chonnam National University (KOR), the University of Khartoum (SD), URS Corporation (USA), etc. More than 30 people have participated in international academic conferences, seminars and meetings abroad, and 9 foreign experts have been invited to give lectures here. Prof. Shan Wei was invited to act as executive chairman of the branch of World Landslide Forum. He won the IPL award for success for IPL projects issued by UNESCO and IPL/GPC. Additionally, Prof. Pei Yulong, He Dongpo, Chu Jiangwei, etc. act as directors of CHTS, CSAE, and other organizations.

Dr. Chen Meng serves as editorial board member of Global Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, a source journal of SCI indexing.