NJDOT Commissioner Priya Jain visits Rowan University's transportation research facilities

NJDOT Commissioner Priya Jain visits Rowan University's transportation research facilities

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July 29, 2026
A group of approximately 11 Rowan University researchers, administrators and visitors stand outdoors in front of a large blue heavy vehicle simulator at Rowan University's Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility. The group poses for a photo beside the transportation research equipment used to study pavement performance under simulated traffic conditions. One participant wears a Rowan University CREATES T-shirt, while others wear business attire. The vehicle simulator and research area are visible in the background, highlighting the facility's focus on transportation engineering and infrastructure research.
Pictured from center to right: New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Priya Jain stands with Rowan University Chancellor Tony Lowman, CREATES Director Yusuf Mehta, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Dean Giuseppe Palmese, CREATES Associate Director Ayman Ali and members of the CREATES research team.   
During a recent visit to South Jersey, New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Priya Jain toured testing facilities operated by Rowan University’s Center for Research & Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATES).
 
Her visit included stops at the center’s Construction & Materials Laboratory and Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility, where researchers study new pavements and technologies using a  Dynatest Heavy Vehicle Simulator. 
 
Rowan is the only academic institution in the Northeast with the capacity to mimic decades of heavy traffic conditions within just a few months, according to Yusuf Mehta, Ph.D., the center’s founding director. The simulator was first brought to Rowan in 2016 with $5 million in grants from the state, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 
 
Since then, the research facility has advanced research projects for federal, state and local transportation agencies, including nationally recognized work to boost the use of recycled asphalt pavement in new mixes.