Outreach and Extension Activities
The JTRP mandates include education, and literally hundreds of seminars
and programs have been conducted throughout the years to many thousands
of people on a variety of topics, thereby bringing successful research to
practical implementation and subsequently educating its users. Undergraduate
and graduate education initiatives are ongoing as well to promote research-oriented
training for tomorrow's transportation professionals.
Road School
One of the highlights of the JTRP research program is the
Purdue Road
School, which has been held annually at Purdue since 1914. Road School
consistently attracts well over 1,000 Indiana local and state officials,
consultants, and suppliers.
JTRP also cooperates with sister organizations, such as the ones described below, to facilitate the delivery of current technical information to those responsbible for the transportation infrastructure.
LTAP
Many of JTRP's technology transfer and extension services, including Purdue Road School,
are accomplished with the assistance of the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (INLTAP).
Originally established in 1958 as the Highway Extension and Research Project for Indiana Counties and Cities (HERPICC) to provide technical assistance to county officials,
it was eventually broadened to include cities in 1981. INLTAP provides assistance to all interested county, city, and town officials through topical training programs,
workshops, and seminars conducted both at Purdue University, and
throughout the state, as well as periodic newsletters and technical
bulletins.
North Central Region Superpave
The Superpave (SUperior PERforming Asphalt PAVEments) system was developed to give highway
engineers and contractors the tools they need to design asphalt pavements
that will perform better under extremes of temperature and heavy traffic
loads. To help with the implementation of the Superpave system, five
regional centers were established across the country. The centers evaluate
Superpave equipment and methodologies and work with highway agencies and
industry to put them into practice. The
North Central Superpave Center
serving the North Central Region is located in close proximity to Purdue
at INDOT. Founded in 1995, its operations are monitored by JTRP, and it
serves 10 states and two Canadian provinces.
Institute for Safe Quiet Durable Highways
In 1998 Purdue University, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania
Transportation Institute, was designated a U.S. Department of Transportation University
Transportation Center. This new center has been named the
Institute for Safe
Quiet Durable Highways (SQDH). SQDH combines the strong programs in
acoustics and noise control of the Purdue School of Mechanical
Engineering; the pavement, materials, and transportation research programs
of the Joint Transportation Research Program; and the test facility and
transportation research capability of the Pennsylvania Transportation
Institute. The theme of SQDH is to integrate education and research
activities in noise and vibration control, pavement construction, material
design, and traffic management focused on the development of quiet, safe,
durable and economical highway systems for automobiles, trucks, and
highway-based transit systems. The results of the programs of the
Institute are expected to directly affect the quality of the environment
near highways and to indirectly impact the economics of highway
construction and design by reducing constraints caused by environmental
considerations. The administrative activities of SQDH are located at
Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and operate under the
auspices of the Joint Transportation Research Program as well.