Profile: Meet Professor Robert Bertini

Robert L. Bertini, Ph.D., P.E., is a Professor in PSU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, and is Director of the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC).

Like many faculty in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Urban and Public Affairs, Bertini has a strong background in research. He received his Ph.D degree from the University of California at Berkeley in transportation engineering. Before returning to academic research Bertini spent seven years working for government and industry. His experience includes stints with San Mateo County Department of Public Works; DeLeuw, Cather & Company; Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.; and DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology, Inc. Bertini received the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award entitled Mining Archived Intelligent Transportation Systems Data: A Validation Framework for Improved Performance Assessment and Modeling (see http://portal.its.pdx.edu).

Since joining the PSU faculty in 2000, Bertini has developed an Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory, unique in the Northwest, where he and his students are developing ways of archiving and mining transportation data to improve the operation of our transportation system, reduce congestion and fuel consumption, and improve quality of life. In one project, transit and highway operations are being studied at a very detailed level, using sensors in the roadways and in vehicles, aimed at improving transit operations and traveler information in the corridor. The project is designed as a prototype for other cities across the nation.

Bertini works to bring a community-based learning component into the classroom. "As part of our undergraduate urban transportation systems course, my students and I are helping to redesign a signalized intersection in Beaverton, OR; and in Portland, OR are helping to design permeable streetscape/curbs, analyze the impact of street width on speeding, and develop a pedestrian rating system for intersections."

Bertini devotes time to students outside the classroom and lab. He is the advisor for the PSU student chapter of the Engineers Without Borders and also works with student chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and Tau Beta Pi.

Bertini led the effort to develop OTREC, a $16 million partnership between Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and the Oregon Institute of Technology. OTREC is dedicated to stimulating and conducting collaborative multi-disciplinary research on multi-modal surface transportation issues; educating a diverse array of current practitioners and future leaders in the transportation field; and encouraging implementation of relevant research results. Through collaboration and partnerships with transportation agencies, industry, and other universities in the Northwest, OTREC's theme is advanced technologies, integration of land use and transportation and healthy communities.

"The best part of the PSU experience for students is our diversity and urban setting" says Bertini. "These advantages give students the satisfaction of making real contributions to their community. This is something most university students can only dream about."

Contact Information

Professor Robert L. Bertini
website: web.pdx.edu/~bertini
phone: (503) 725-4249
email: bertini@pdx.edu

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
website: www.cee.pdx.edu
phone: (503) 725-4282
email: ceedept@cecs.pdx.edu

Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
website: www.pdx.edu/usp/
phone: (503) 725-4045
email: susp@pdx.edu

Office:
Engineering Building 301A
Portland State University

Mailing Address:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
P.O. Box 751
Portland, OR 97207-0751