CEE faculty receive PITA grants supporting infrastructure and mobility research
May 20, 2026
Six faculty members from the Carnegie Mellon University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have received grants from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) to support innovative research addressing transportation systems, urban livability, infrastructure resilience, and data-driven technologies.
The funded projects reflect the department’s interdisciplinary strengths and commitment to developing practical solutions to complex challenges facing communities across Pennsylvania and beyond.
The awarded projects include:
Kaushik Dayal &
Matteo Pozzi
Physics-Based Models and Digital Twin Approaches for Materials Reliability in New and Aging Reactors
Katherine Flanigan
Real-Time Conflict Detection at Unsignalized Crossings: Advancing Safety and Community Acceptance of Rapid-to-Deploy Passenger Rail
Corey Harper
Improving our Understanding of how Nearby Socioeconomic, Built Environment, and Economic Activity Characteristics Affect Station-level Bikeshare Ridership
Sean Qian
Advancing Mobility Social Digital Twins through Fully Differentiable and Data-driven Simulations: A Case Study in the Pittsburgh Region
Costa Samaras
Modeling Municipal Sewers as Community Energy Networks: Energy Resilience and Adaptations in the Age of AI
Collectively, the projects span a wide range of emerging infrastructure and mobility priorities, including transportation safety, sustainable urban systems, energy resilience, advanced manufacturing, and the integration of artificial intelligence and digital twin technologies into infrastructure planning and operations.
PITA is a collaboration among the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, and Lehigh University. The program supports research and educational initiatives that help Pennsylvania communities and industries improve operational efficiency, advance technological innovation, and strengthen economic growth throughout the Commonwealth.
By fostering partnerships among universities, industry, and government, PITA helps seed high-impact research collaborations, support workforce development, and create opportunities for students, researchers, and industry partners alike.