Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems

What Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems does

CREATES is the Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems, an internal research division of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University, established in 2016 and housed at the South Jersey Technology Park in Glassboro/Mullica Hill, New Jersey. The center operates two anchor facilities: the Rowan University Construction and Materials Laboratory (RUCOM), an AASHTO-accredited laboratory (since August 19, 2011) for asphalt, concrete, and aggregate testing inspected under ASTM C1077, and the Rowan University Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility (RUAPTF), a 5,000-square-foot structure housing a Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) — the only such academic-grade accelerated pavement testing capability in the Northeast United States — that can compress 20 years of traffic loading into one to two months.

The center's technical portfolio spans nine research divisions covering bituminous and sustainable construction materials, concrete materials, pavements, soils and geotechnical engineering, bridge engineering, intelligent transportation systems, environment remediation, sustainable additive construction, and structural reliability. Core technologies include full-scale pavement testing with synchronized multi-sensor data acquisition (pressure cells, strain gauges, Multi-Depth Deflection sensors, LVDTs, thermocouples), LiDAR-based bridge inspection, computer vision for distracted driving detection, V2I/V2P/V2V testing, adaptive signal control, and novel methods such as electrically heated and self-deicing pavements and 3D-printed ultra-high performance concrete. A granted patent (WO2016064826A1) covers high-reclaimed-asphalt-pavement hot mix asphalt.

CREATES' business model is grant-funded academic research. Primary revenue streams are federal government research grants (U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / CRREL), state transportation department contracts (NJDOT, RIDOT, FAA), industry testing services under its AASHTO accreditation, and technology transfer via certification workshops, conferences, and professional development. Customer segments are federal agencies (DOD, Army Corps, FAA, NHTSA, DOE, US DOT/UTC), state DOTs and regional authorities, municipal governments, and transportation industry contractors. Workforce development products (National Summer Transportation Institute, Cadet Program, undergraduate fellowships) and workforce training services (Soils and Aggregate Certification Workshops, Pavement Design Workshops) are delivered free or at cost and serve a pipeline-building rather than profit-generating role. The center is led by Director Yusuf Mehta (Ph.D., P.E.) and Manager Ayman Ali, under the oversight of Anthony Lowman, Dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering.

Name

Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems

Legal name

Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems

Website

https://rowancreates.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CREATES is a Rowan University research center that runs an AASHTO-accredited materials testing laboratory and the Northeast's only academic Heavy Vehicle Simulator for accelerated pavement testing, serving federal, state, and industry clients in transportation engineering and cold-region/Arctic infrastructure research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mullica Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Research Grants: Major funding from U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through grants and contracts for cold region research, Arctic infrastructure development, and military operations support.
2. State Transportation Department Partnerships: Retained by NJDOT as academic partner for innovative materials and technologies research. Includes projects from multiple state DOTs including Rhode Island DOT.
3. Industry Testing Services: Industry testing and AASHTO accreditation services for asphalt, concrete, and aggregate materials testing.
4. Technology Transfer and Professional Development: Technology transfer activities, certification workshops, and professional development programs for transportation industry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CREATES is a university transportation engineering research center that provides AASHTO-accredited materials testing (asphalt, concrete, soils, aggregates), accelerated pavement testing through its Heavy Vehicle Simulator facility, and applied research across nine divisions including pavements, bridges, geotechnical, ITS, and cold-region construction materials. It also runs workforce development and technology transfer programs for high school students, undergraduates, and transportation professionals. Revenue is generated through government grants and contracts, industry testing services, and academic partnerships.

Product overview

CREATES is a university research center offering a unified portfolio of transportation engineering testing, research, and education services. The core offerings include two main facilities: the Rowan University Construction and Materials Laboratory (RUCOM) providing AASHTO-accredited material testing (asphalt, concrete, soils), and the Rowan University Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility (RUAPTF) featuring a Heavy Vehicle Simulator capable of simulating decades of traffic loading in months. Supporting these facilities are nine specialized research divisions covering bituminous materials, concrete materials, pavement technology, soils/geotechnical engineering, bridge engineering, structural reliability, intelligent transportation systems, environment remediation, and sustainable additive construction. Education programs include the National Summer Transportation Institute for high school students, undergraduate fellowships, and technology transfer/workshop programs for professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rowan University Construction and Materials Laboratory (RUCOM): AASHTO-accredited award-winning laboratory for construction and materials testing
• Rowan University Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility (RUAPTF)
• National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI)
• Rowan CREATES Cadet Program

Products and services

• Rowan University Construction and Materials Laboratory (RUCOM) AASHTO-accredited, award-winning laboratory housed in the South Jersey Technology Park providing comprehensive testing for asphalt, concrete, and construction materials.
• Rowan University Accelerated Pavement Testing Facility (RUAPTF) State-of-the-art 5,000 sq ft facility housing four full-scale pavement testing strips (with capacity for up to 16 total) and a Heavy Vehicle Simulator that compresses decades of traffic into months.
• Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) Full-scale pavement testing equipment that can replicate 20 years of traffic or aircraft loading in 1-2 months, with up to 180 kN load capacity and bi-directional loading up to 20,000 passes per day.
• Asphalt Testing Services Comprehensive asphalt testing including mixture testing, binder testing, rejuvenator evaluation, and additive testing with AASHTO accreditation for binder and mixture methods.
• Concrete Testing Services Concrete and mortar testing covering fresh concrete properties, mechanical testing, durability testing, non-destructive testing, and structural testing under ASTM C1077 inspection.
• Aggregate and Soil Testing Services Testing services for soil and aggregate materials used in construction and pavement applications.
• Pavement Testing Services Comprehensive pavement evaluation and testing services including performance testing, asset management tools, preservation strategies, and Pavement ME Design integration.
• Intelligent Transportation System Services Traffic operations, evaluations, safety analysis, connected and automated vehicle technology testing (V2I, V2V, V2P), adaptive signal control, and transportation data analytics.
• National Summer Transportation Institute Free two-/three-and-a-half-week residential transportation program for high school students entering grades 10-12, including meals and transportation for field trips, to increase awareness of transportation career opportunities.
• Technology Transfer Program Professional development workshops, seminars, and certification programs such as the annual Heavy Vehicle Simulator conferences, pavement design workshops, and soils and aggregate certification.
• Undergraduate Fellowships Fellowship opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in transportation engineering research at CREATES.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced pavement evaluation time from 20 years to 1-2 months
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• New Jersey Department of TransportationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2022CREATES is retained by NJDOT as an academic partner to perform research for innovative materials and technologies to assist in making longer-lasting, cost-effective, and sustainable pavements. Includes ongoing Bridge Resource Program providing engineering evaluation and research support to NJDOT's Division of Bridge Engineering.
• Cooper's Ferry PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Joint effort with Rowan University CREATES and South Jersey Transportation Authority for 'The Last Mile Solution' project improving health and access to transportation for Camden's vulnerable populations.
• U.S. Department of Defense / Army Corps of EngineerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2021$5.2 million grant for cold region research supporting development of innovative construction materials for Arctic infrastructure and rapid deployment of military operations. Multiple ongoing DOD-funded projects including self-deicing pavements, insulated flexible pavements, and frost heave monitoring.
• South Jersey Transportation AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on Last Mile Solution project and transportation research initiatives for South Jersey region.
• US Army Corps of Engineers / CRRELcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory providing technology and collaboration for cold weather concrete, permafrost characterization, and pavement insulation research for Arctic applications.
• US Department of EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding agency for Bridge Support Assessment Through Deflection Analysis Captured via LiDAR research project.
• US DOT / ABC-UTCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding for machine learning in bridge design and monitoring research for structural health predictions during seismic events.
• New Jersey Board of Public UtilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for New Jersey Underserved Communities Electric Vehicle Affordability Program evaluating shared mobility models for underserved communities.
• NHTSA through NJDHTSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding agency for distracted driving research study using video cameras and AI to identify distracted driving events on NJ highways.
• Federal Aviation AdministrationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding for airport pavement research including joint load transfer studies and fatigue model refinement for airfield flexible pavements.
• Army Corps of Engineers through Florida International UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding agency for 3D-printing (Additive Construction) of Ultra-High Performance Concrete project.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI): The largest university-based transportation research center in the US. TTI operates similar AASHTO-accredited materials labs, accelerated pavement testing facilities, and competes with CREATES for federal and state DOT research funding across pavement, materials, and safety domains.
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI): University transportation research center with a comparable federally-funded research model, strong presence in intelligent transportation systems, pavement research, and safety. Directly competes for USDOT, FHWA, and state DOT research awards.
• University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI): University-affiliated transportation research organization conducting federally funded research on connected/automated vehicles, safety, and infrastructure. Comparable in mission, academic structure, and mix of government/industry research funding.
• Center for Transportation Research (UT Austin): University transportation research center with overlapping focus on pavement materials, accelerated pavement testing, and infrastructure durability. Competes directly with CREATES for TxDOT, USDOT, and pooled-fund research dollars.
• National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University: Academic asphalt and pavement research center with its own accelerated pavement testing facility (the NCAT Test Track). Closest direct analog to CREATES' pavement testing and asphalt materials mission.
• Applied Research Associates (ARA): Private-sector engineering R&D firm with a strong federal/defense research book (including pavement and cold regions work for the Army Corps). Closest for-profit analog — similar applied research, DOD contracting model, and pavement/materials expertise.
• S&ME Inc. Engineering testing services firm with AASHTO-accredited materials testing capabilities in asphalt, concrete, and aggregates. Directly competes with RUCOM for industry materials testing and certification work.

Broad incumbents

• Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE): Established engineering consulting and testing firm with broad capabilities in materials evaluation, pavement and structural investigations. Overlaps with CREATES' testing services and pavement/bridge engineering work but operates at national scale with private-sector delivery.
• US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC): DOD research lab that houses CREATES' partner CRREL. Provides in-house cold regions, pavement, and infrastructure research that overlaps with and partly competes against CREATES' federally funded Arctic/cold regions research portfolio.
• Burns & McDonnell: Large diversified engineering services firm with significant transportation infrastructure and materials testing practice. Competes with CREATES for state DOT and industry contracts at greater scale and broader geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/RowanUniversity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/rowanuniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/RowanUniversity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rowancreates
• Instagraminstagram.com/rowanuniversity
• TikToktiktok.com/@rowanu?lang=en

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems