The Alabama Transportation Institute at The University of Alabama will build on its successes in transportation research, policy and economic development with the selection of Dr. Steven Jones as its new executive director. ATI has established itself as a nationally recognized transportation center and has built a footprint of research and economic development in the state of Alabama.
ATI supports faculty-led efforts to forge innovative, data-driven and cost-effective solutions that advance Alabama’s economy, safety and quality of life through transportation. Additionally, ATI is working to ensure that UA is recognized as a national leader in transportation research. Some recent projects involving ATI include collaborations with Birmingham and York, Alabama; funding to develop autonomous safety features for large transit; and a federal grant to improve public transit in West Alabama.
Steven Jones is the former James R. Cudworth Professor of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering at The University of Alabama. As deputy director of the Alabama Transportation Institute from 2022 to 2023 he oversaw the ATI research portfolio and directed its Transportation Policy Research Center.
Collaboration and Impact
Under Jones’s leadership, ATI will remain a hub for transportation research in partnership with a variety of academic disciplines at UA.
“I want to reinforce that ATI is universitywide and truly interdisciplinary,” he said. “We already have engineers working with researchers in nursing, psychology and social work, for example. I would love for ATI to collaborate with every academic unit on campus.”
His long-term vision includes widening the scope of ATI’s work to cover the full breadth of transportation — from bicycles and buses to water transportation and flight — through the lens of economic development and quality of life.
“We want ATI to be nationally and even internationally recognized,” Jones said. “But we are the Alabama Transportation Institute. We’re doing transportation work intended to improve the lives of people in Alabama.”
“We are pleased to have Dr. Jones in this vital role in the Alabama Transportation Institute,” said Dr. Bryan Boudouris, vice president for research and economic development. “His expertise and strategic vision will help accelerate transportation research and innovation at UA, allowing the University to make an even greater impact on the communities and transportation systems in our state, across the region, and the nation.”
Three Decades of Transportation Experience
Jones brings 30-plus years of transportation engineering and planning experience spanning both academic and private sector consulting appointments. He has served as principal investigator on more than $21 million in externally sponsored projects from a range of funding sources. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and conference papers, as well as numerous design manuals and project reports on a range of transportation topics. His personal research interests focus on the intersection of transportation and human development.
Active internationally, Jones has participated in transportation projects in the United States, Europe, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 2019, conducting road safety research at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, and served a two-year stint as a Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador.
Jones is currently the technology transfer director for the Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities, a USDOT-funded Region IV University Transportation Center. He also serves as an associate director of The National Center for Transportation Cybersecurity and Resiliency. Additionally, he leads the Alabama team under the National Center for Rural Road Safety and the FHWA New Mobility Center of Excellence, in which Alabama brings a rural perspective to the center.
He is a charter member of the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation and Development Institute and former chair of its Public Transportation committee. He is also an active member of the Transportation Research Board and currently serves on its Committee on Rural, Intercity Bus, and Specialized Transportation. Additionally, he serves on the Institute of Transportation Engineers Standing Committee on Transit. Jones serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Transportation Safety and Security and the African Geographical Review.
