Building bridges: Spring visits connect campus, community

Illinois Center for Transportation welcomed a range of visitors this spring, with an April 10 stop on the University of Illinois’ I-Engage program serving as a focal point.

The day-long program, coordinated by the Office of the Provost, brings new faculty from across campus to learn about Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding area to create partnerships between the university and community stakeholders.

ICT hosted an afternoon panel, led by Experience CU’s Terri Reifsteck, titled “Revitalizing Rantoul — What Helps a Community Thrive Again?” Panel members included Scott Eisenhauer (Village of Rantoul), Jen Shelby (Flyover Film Studios), Brandon Denton (Rantoul Family Sports Complex) and Ramez Hajj (ICT).

Panel discussion centered on community revitalization, local partnership and the role university collaboration can play in regional growth.

Attendees also gained a closer look at how ICT is contributing to the broader story of Rantoul’s growth and renewal, with a welcome and presentation from Yanfeng Ouyang, ICT associate director.

After the panel, attendees toured Flyover Film Studios and ICT, learning about current research efforts related to sustainability, autonomous vehicles, accelerated pavement testing, energy harvesting, pavement modeling and asphalt materials.

ICT also welcomed students from Rantoul Township High School on March 2 to learn about computer science applications in engineering. ICT graduate students introduced the visitors to data acquisition, signal analysis, advanced computing, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle research.

The spring lineup also included a visit from Marsha Anderson Bomar, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, who came to ICT for the Spring 2026 Kent Seminar Distinguished Lecture on April 29.

Bomar met with students, toured ICT’s lab facilities and delivered “Infrastructure Assessments to Avoid Bumps in the Road,” a lecture focused on the 2025 U.S. Infrastructure Report Card, legislative advocacy and engagement with students and faculty.

ICT’s spring visits concluded May 5 with a visit from Administrative Information Technology Services, a U. of I. System unit that supports many of the university’s core administrative systems.

The visit included an overview of ICT, a tour of the center’s facilities and a discussion session, giving AITS staff a closer look at the center’s work and operations.