CREATES to triple capacity after a decade of partnership with the Army laboratory

Less than a decade since its launch, the Center for Research & Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATES), part of Rowan University’s Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, is making its biggest purchase yet: a second Dynatest Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) to supplement the existing machine already in use. 

At its March meeting, Rowan’s Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a brand-new, $7.5 million Dynatest HVS Mark VI. Designed to accelerate pavement failure, the simulator allows researchers to quickly evaluate new materials, pavement designs and construction techniques. 

Rowan is the only academic institution in the Northeast with the capacity to mimic decades of heavy traffic conditions within just a few months, noted Yusuf Mehta, Ph.D., the center’s founding director. 

With twice the length and improved data collection, the new 50-ton machine will more than triple the center’s research capacity. Along with the purchase, CREATES is designing a new seasonal frost facility. The additional site will allow for testing under cold weather conditions. 

“We’ve grown at a steady pace over the past decade and we’re always looking to expand,” Mehta said. “Our partners have entrusted us with critical research tasks and the support necessary to fulfill them. In return, we’re producing top-notch graduates who are entering industry and government roles while already making an impact on the field of transportation engineering.”   

The additional simulator enables CREATES to increase work with its primary supporter, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC).  

“Over the past decade, our partnerships with government agencies and private industry have consistently driven the fast-paced growth of transportation engineering research at Rowan,” said Giuseppe Palmese, Ph.D., dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. “From research in intelligent transportation systems to materials, soils and bridge engineering, CREATES has maintained its focus on expanding its capacity for research and education. The additional facility and new simulator are investments that will return dividends for decades to come.”      

Since its inception in 2015, CREATES has worked closely with CRREL’s research engineers to advance transportation solutions for the U.S. Army. The HVS was first brought to Rowan with $5 million in grants from the state, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and USACE. 

Moved from CRREL to the South Jersey Technology Park in 2015, CREATES’ original, retrofitted simulator has plowed its wheels over thousands of test miles at Rowan’s Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility. The center has since produced dozens of publications on new technologies to deice runways, increase the use of recycled asphalt and highly elastic binder in pavements, and develop resilient pavements for cold regions.

Over the past decade, the partnership has produced nearly 25 master’s and doctoral graduates, while providing hands-on experience to approximately 80 bachelor’s graduates, leading to more than 70 scientific publications, Mehta noted. In addition to dozens of conferences, Rowan students and researchers have traveled to USACE facilities in Fairbanks, Alaska, as well as CRREL’s laboratory in New Hampshire.

“The partnership between CRREL and Rowan University has been a win-win for both organizations," said Dr. Ivan Beckman, CRREL's director. "For CRREL, it has increased capabilities, creativity and expertise in meaningful ways that would have been very hard for us to accomplish on our own."  

In 2024, ERDC and Rowan University formally established an education partnership, significantly expanding their collaboration by increasing the University’s access to federal equipment, personnel and training opportunities.

CREATES has also partnered with University of Alaska Anchorage, a Department of Homeland Security Center in the Arctic. Mehta’s team also conducts research for private industry, the state Department of Transportation and other government agencies.

Ultimately, the partnership with CRREL is all about supporting military personnel, said CRREL project manager Danielle Mokris, during a Feb. 10 research meeting held at the Samuel H. Jones Innovation Center in Mullica Hill.

“We want to be ready to go, whether it’s in the air, on the ground, in the water, under the water—wherever we need to be, especially in the Arctic,” Mokris said. She encouraged the center to continue its collaboration with other universities, partners and government agencies.

“We love to see the collaboration,” Mokris said, “because that’s how we advance the science forward.”