Illinois research takes center stage at TRB Annual Meeting

The 105th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, held Jan. 11-15 in Washington, D.C., drew transportation professionals from around the world to share research and discuss transportation policy and practice.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Illinois Center for Transportation faculty, staff and students delivered nearly 80 presentations during the meeting, contributing to workshops, lectern sessions and poster sessions throughout the week.

Presentations reflected the breadth of Illinois research, including work on electric vehicle charging resilience, freight and last-mile delivery, public health impacts, workforce readiness and artificial intelligence, advances in asphalt materials and pavement performance, and railroad track resiliency and inspection. 

Two ICT doctoral students, mentored by ICT Director Imad Al-Qadi, were recognized with 2026 Airport Cooperative Research Program Graduate Research Awards.

Johann Cardenas received an award for his research project, “Mechanistic Overload Permitting Approach for Flexible Airfield Pavements via Deterministic Damage Factors.”

Lara Diab was honored for her project, “Development of a Web-Based Decision Tool for Probabilistic Optimization of Flexible Airfield Pavement Performance and Life-Cycle Cost.”

The ACRP Graduate Research Awards support applied research aimed at improving the safety, reliability and performance of the nation’s airport system. Award recipients receive funding, mentoring and the opportunity to present their work at the TRB Annual Meeting.

In addition, Christopher Barkan, professor and director of Illinois' Rail Transportation and Engineering Center, received the Robert E. Skinner Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award, recognizing his long-standing leadership and contributions to rail transportation research and education.

Continuing a long-standing tradition, ICT hosted a luncheon for current and former students during the meeting and also served as host of Illinois' reception, providing opportunities to reconnect and discuss ongoing research and collaboration.

A full list of presentations by Illinois participants is available online.