TREC research addresses complex transportation problems by drawing on multiple disciplines, including engineering, planning, economics and design, from across the Portland State University campus. Use the search box at right to search for a specific project.
Research Highlights
Human Centricity through AI - Innovating Public Engagement for Transportation Projects with Large Language Models
Antonie Jetter Ameeta Agrawal
Researchers created a qualitative dataset of public planning documents, community comments, forum conversations, newspaper articles, etc., about the SW Corridor Lightrail project in Portland, OR. The team will use this dataset to set up a series of experiments enabled by the ChatGPT4 LLM from Open.AI. This will provide preliminary insights into the potential of LLMs as data interpretation aids.
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The Use of Mt. Mazama Volcanic Ash as Natural Pozzolans for Sustainable Soil and Unpaved Road Improvement
Matthew Sleep
This Small Starts study offers sustainable road building materials for rural infrastructure, from an unlikely source. Approximately 7,000 years ago, the eruption of Oregon's Mt. Mazama blanketed the Klamath Basin region with a thick layer of volcanic ash. Matthew Sleep, an associate professor of civil engineering at Oregon Tech, investigated the use of this ash as a natural pozzolan for soil stabilization and unpaved roadway improvement. He found that the ash, prevalent in Southern Oregon, has…
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