University of New Mexico

Courses Currently Offered and Planned

Transportation Engineering CE382 Fall 2018 (offered every fall)

This course covers the wide range of transportation system planning, design and operation activities that civil engineers engage in. Some activities, such as the physical layout of a roadway or the design of a bridge, are clearly civil engineering specialties. However, civil engineers also contribute to the planning, design and operation of the transportation system. The transportation system is more than just infrastructure. It includes the vehicles that operate on it, energy systems that provide fuel that powers vehicles, and the people, cities, and economies that interact with and depend on the system.  The transportation system also has a huge impact on safety, the environment, social justice, and public health that civil engineers must take into consideration.

 

The objective of this course is to introduce civil engineering students to the wide range of important activities that transportation engineers engage in. Since not every topic can be covered in depth, topics that currently present engineers and society with the largest challenges will receive the greatest focus. Please note that the Civil Engineering department offers two 400-level transportation courses that provide greater depth into transportation system planning and operations (CE 481) and highway and traffic engineering (CE 482).

 

Urban Transportation Planning, CE481/CE581,  Spring 2019 (offered every spring)

The objective of this course is learning how to apply knowledge of transportation planning history, contemporary transportation planning theory, modern data analysis methods, and forecasting models to create more sustainable and equitable urban transportation systems. The course is divided into five segments as shown below that address these objectives. The first segment explores the history of urban transportation planning and the planning challenges that transportation professionals face. The second segment introduces basic data collection and analysis methods. The third segment introduces quantitative methods for analyzing and forecasting travel demand and evaluating urban transportation plans. The fourth segment introduces environmental analysis methods. The final segment discusses other aspects of transportation planning that are important to professional practice and the development of successful plans.

After completing this course you should:

 

1. Understand the purpose and need for a comprehensive, continuous and cooperative urban transportation planning process.
2. Be familiar with the basic requirements and functions of the federally mandated regional transportation planning process.
3. Be familiar with common data sources and data collection methods used by transportation planning and engineering professionals.
4. Be able to perform common quantitative analysis of transportation data for aiding transportation planning and engineering decisions.
5. Have a basic understanding of travel behavior theory and its use in modern transportation planning and engineering methods, including travel demand forecasting.
6. Be familiar with common methods for evaluating the environmental impacts of transportation plans.
7. Understand the limitations of current planning methods and tools as well as the technical and ethical challenges faced by transportation planners and engineers.

 

Research Methods, CE598, Spring 2019

This course introduces graduate students in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department to contemporary research methods necessary for successful completion of thesis and dissertation based graduate programs. Topics include the scientific method, performing a literature review, developing a research proposal, common quantitative data analysis methods and tools, and science communication. Students will prepare a research proposal for their MS thesis or PhD dissertation during the course.