The NextGen Transportation Lab is a research group housed within the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama, and is affiliated with the Alabama Transportation Institute.

The NextGen Transportation Lab focuses on solving pressing transportation challenges with an eye toward the next generation of mobility systems. Our work anticipates and addresses the evolving needs of society by integrating current trends and future transportation innovations.

While the NextGen Transportation Lab engages in a wide range of transportation research topics, our current efforts are concentrated on two major areas.

Enhancing Traffic Incident Responder Safety and Enforcement Efficiency

Traffic incident responders—including law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and tow truck operators—are the road heroes who put their lives at risk to keep others safe. Our lab uses a multidisciplinary approach, combining methods such as focus groups, surveys, and agent-based simulations to better understand the challenges and risks these responders face in the field. We design and evaluate data-driven strategies to enhance their safety, while also improving the efficiency of traffic enforcement and incident response operations. Our goal is to support safer working environments and more effective roadway safety management through the integration of advanced technologies and human-centered solutions.

Advancing Multimodal Mobility in Small Communities

While mobility research—including travel behavior, service design, and simulation—has been widely explored in urban contexts, rural and small/medium-sized urban communities remain underrepresented in the development of next-generation transportation solutions. At the NextGen Transportation Lab, we focus on designing and evaluating innovative mobility services—such as bike-sharing, car-sharing, ride-sharing, shared autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and urban air mobility—to enhance connectivity in these areas. Our goal is to ensure that the benefits of emerging transportation technologies are adaptable and scalable across all community types, regardless of size or geography.