Portland State University, University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, and Oregon State University were jointly designated a UTC under the SAFETEA-LU legislation in 2005. The center was named OTREC (Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium) and was the first UTC led by an Oregon university (PSU). This early origin story of NITC put Oregon on the map as a hub of multimodal transportation research for the nation.

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), enacted in 2005, provided the most significant expansion of the UTC program to date. SAFETEA-LU increased the number of UTCs from the 33 established in TEA-21 to 60, including the ten Regional UTCs plus a new group of ten competitive centers called Tier 1 Centers; the other 40 UTCs were located at institutions named in the Act. Annual authorized funding for the UTC program also increased from $32.5 million in TEA-21 to $85.9 million in SAFETEA-LU.

Jennifer Dill, PhD
Director
Professor, Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
503-725-5173 | jdill@pdx.edu
https://jenniferdill.net/
 TREC Researcher Profile

Dr. Jennifer Dill is a professor in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University (PSU) and Director of the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at PSU. Dr. Dill is also the editor-in-chief of the Transportation Research Record. 

Professor Dill is an internationally known scholar researching the relationships between transportation, land use, health and the environment, focusing on active transportation. Before entering academia, Professor Dill worked as an environmental and transportation planner in California. That experience motivates her teaching and research, which aims to inform practice and policy. She has published extensively in peer-review journals and has served as principal investigator or co-PI on over $4.3M in research projects and over $28M in federal center funding. Her research has been covered by Wired, Governing, USA Today, the PBS NewsHour, Here and Now, Marketplace and the Atlantic. She has served on and chaired Transportation Research Board committees and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Transportation and Health, Transportation Research Record and the Journal of Transportation and Land Use. 

Dr. Dill has a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley, an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA, and a BS in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from UC Davis. She is also an aluma of the Eno Future Leaders program.

Becca Bornstein
Events & Office Coordinator
503-725-2896 | brebecca@pdx.edu

Rebecca is the Events & Office Coordinator for TREC, providing administrative support and managing logistics for TREC's events. She has a background in creative writing, and holds an M.F.A. from North Carolina State University. When she's not working, she likes to spend time reading and writing poetry, riding her bicycle, and snuggling with her cat. 

Joseph Broach, Ph.D.
Research Associate
jbroach@pdx.edu
Website | Researcher Profile

Joseph Broach is a ​Research Associate with the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), an Instructor in the School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, and a Senior Researcher and Modeler at Metro (MPO). H​is work primarily ​focuses ​on transportation data​, behavior,​ and modeling, and ​he ​helped design the ​Portland region's ​next-generation bicycle model in conjunction with Metro. Joe's research projects include Incorporate Emerging Travel Modes in the Regional Strategic Planning Model (RSPM) Tool, Transferability & forecasting of the Pedestrian Index Environment (PIE) for modeling applications, and Travel Mode Choice Framework Incorporating Realistic Bike and Walk Routes.

Basem Elazzabi, PhD
Senior Research Associate
elazzabi@pdx.edu

Basem is the head of programming and development for the PORTAL and BikePed Portal projects at TREC. He is responsible for maintaining and developing the database and the infrastructure of both projects. He also does various data analysis and visualization tasks. Basem received a PhD in Computer Science from Portland State University with a focus in database and data analysis. He also received his BS in Computer Science also from Portland State University. He has almost 20 years of experience in system analysis and development. His main interests are database systems, data analysis, distributed systems, and big data. His main research topics focus on how to facilitate data analysis for typical and non-technical data analysts. One of the main research topics that he works on is how to build the next generation data-analysis ecosystem in which institutions (government and private) can easily store their massive data and have easy access to data analysis tools to support and improve data-driven decision making.

Lacey Friedly
Communications Coordinator
503-725-8545 | rlacey@pdx.edu

Lacey is the communications coordinator for TREC. She connects with researchers, writes articles, and documents (through pictures, videos, and model towns) the value of the transportation research being done at TREC and through the NITC program. Before TREC, Lacey was the acquisitions editor for Dark Discoveries magazine. She also managed the editing department at Ooligan Press, Portland State University's student-run publishing house. She graduated from PSU in 2013 with a master's in book publishing. In her spare time Lacey enjoys swimming, reading, and making stop-motion animation videos. she/her/hers

Kyuri Kim, PhD
Adjunct Research Associate
kyuri@pdx.edu

Kyuri Kim is an adjunct research associate for TREC, working on multiple projects related to active transportation and the safety of vulnerable road users, including literature review, data collection, analysis, and visualization. Her primary research interest is improving pedestrian safety, and her dissertation topic was to understand the relationship between pedestrian crash factors and perceived safety for her PhD. She loves to walk, bike, and try new micro-mobility modes and keeps studying vulnerable road users' safety to create walkable and bike-friendly cities. She received her PhD in urban studies at PSU and BS and MS in urban planning and engineering at Yonsei University in South Korea.

Tammy Lee, PhD
Transportation Data Program Administrator
503-725-2884 | leetam@pdx.edu

Tammy is working on a variety of projects for TREC, including documentation, data synthesis, analysis, and visualization supporting ongoing work with PORTAL and Bike-Ped Portal. Tammy received a BS in Genetics & Plant Biology from UC Berkeley before earning a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences from WSU. Prior to joining TREC she worked as a data scientist for a political digital media consulting firm. When not working she's either hiding in the forest or experimenting in the kitchen.

John MacArthur
Sustainable Transportation Program Manager
503-725-2866 | jhmacart@pdx.edu
TREC Researcher Profile

Mr. John MacArthur is the Sustainable Transportation Program Manager at TREC at Portland State University and an instructor in civil and environmental engineering, teaching on new & emerging technologies in transportation. He is active in research related to sustainable and equitable transportation, particularly in the areas of emerging tech such as e-bikes, bike share, transit, and the relationship between transportation and public health. Mr. MacArthur is the Section Chair for Transportation Research Board’s AME00 Transportation and Society and a member of Innovative Public Transportation Services and Technologies (AP020). He received his BS in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and a MS in Environmental Health Sciences from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.

Nathan McNeil
Research Associate
503-725-8581 | nmcneil@pdx.edu
Researcher Profile

Nathan McNeil is a Research Associate at Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center. His research focuses on active  transportation safety and travel behavior, emerging mobility and data sources, and how to make sustainable transportation accessible and easy for all people. Nathan received a master of urban and regional planning from Portland State University (PSU) and studied history at Columbia University as an undergraduate. Prior to PSU, Nathan worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City as a performance auditor where he evaluated capital programs and contractors.

Saurav Kumar Singh
Adjunct Researcher

Holding a Master's in Computer Science and 6 years of experience, Saurav brings a deep proficiency in Python, machine learning, LLM, and cloud computing. His expertise extends to AI application development, where he has successfully contributed to Generative AI Projects, AI chatbots, and scalable cloud solutions.

As soon as you are accepted into your program at PSU, students can begin developing their academic and professional lives through forging relationships between transportation students and professionals. Participate in events, apply for scholarships, and engage in mentorship programs through local chapters of professional development organizations.

• WTS Portland (Women in Transportation Seminar)
• YPT Portland (Young Professionals in Transportation)
• Oregon ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers)
• Oregon APA (American Planning Association)
• Oregon APWA (American Public Works Association)

Our Portland State University students conduct cutting-edge research under the guidance of the world’s foremost transportation research faculty in planning and engineering. With an emphasis on learning by doing, students work on real transportation system projects with partners in our community. These partnerships lead to internships and rewarding careers after graduation. Below you'll find a variety of scholarships, fellowships, and other awards offered through our programs, PSU, or partners. Meet all of PSU's past transportation scholars dating back to 2006!

The best way to learn about the new GRA positions, local internships, PSU scholarships, award opportunities, and more is to join the PSU listserv for our student group ITE-STEP (Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning).

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN TRANSPORTATION

Increasingly, transportation professionals need multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills to anticipate social, environmental, and technological trends and incorporate them into intelligently-integrated transportation systems. The Graduate Certificate in Transportation at Portland State will offer you advanced education at the intersection of urban planning and civil engineering for those seeking to build upon their knowledge and credentials to move people and goods safely.

Students in the program can choose among a wide range of relevant courses in transportation planning and engineering to develop their analytical, practical, and problem-solving skills. With your Certificate, you’ll leave prepared to guide progressive, forward-thinking initiatives in your urban setting. This certificate program is 21 credits and can be completed at your own pace. Learn more about the Transportation Graduate Certificate at PSU.

GRADUATE CERTIFICATES THAT COMPLEMENT THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY

Portland State also offers other certificates that can support transportation professionals in developing complementary skillsets to supplement their field, fill in knowledge gaps and make them more versatile, qualified professionals. Earning these certificates typically involve at 20 academic credits or more. See all of the PSU Graduate Certificates.

• ENGINEERING
  • Engineering Project Management
  • Computer Modeling and Simulation
  • See more lifelong learning opportunities with CEE– the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at PSU.
• URBAN STUDIES
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Urban Design
  • Applied Social Demography
  • Public Interest Design
• INTERDISCIPLINARY SKILLS
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Applied Conflict Resolution
  • Nonprofit and Public Management
  • Gender, Race, and Nations
  • Collaborative Governance
  • Sustainability
• DATA
  • Econometric and Data Analysis
  • Applied Statistics

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATES

PSU also offers a flexible option for professionals who aren't looking for a full graduate certificate program. These professional certificates are usually delivered in the form of a concentrated course lasting four to six weeks. They are skills-based, and do not require a university degree of any level. These certificates cover topics such as data analytics, design thinking and innovation, and emergency management and community resilience. Explore PSU's range of Professional Certificate Programs.

Transportation Research

The TURF fellows are given adjacent workspaces within TREC's offices so that they can get acquainted with each other, and with the rest of TREC's staff, even though they may be working on different projects. TURF projects cover a wide variety of topics, depending on what current projects PSU faculty are working on and what students' interests are.

Examples of past TURF projects:

• Studying multimodal trip generation (including ride hailing, scooters, bike share, and freight) at multifamily apartments.
• Adding data to BikePed Portal, the national online nonmotorized count archive housed at and maintained by TREC at Portland State University. 
• Collecting data on micromobility, including observation of interactions between pedestrians and e-scooter riders in congested areas in Portland
• Conducting field intercept surveys and collecting video data to determine how pedestrian safety improvements affect pedestrians' quality of service and comfort.
• Assisting with surveys and focus groups for study of the challenges transit riders face when transit agencies move to cashless fare payment systems.

Cohort Activities

We also organize programs to help introduce the group of students to Portland, the university, and the region's transportation community. Group activities have included:

• bike tours of the city,
• ice cream socials, and
• weekly professional development with faculty on topics like data visualization, data analysis, literature review 101, and the basics of survey development.

We also help TURF fellows to explore Portland through our local transportation network of e-bike share, e-scooter share, lightrail, TriMet bus system and more. 

Selected students will receive a $7,500 stipend and are expected to work 40 hours per week for eight weeks. Students are responsible for finding and funding their own lodging during their stay in Portland.