2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Integrating Industry-Based Case Studies into Graduate Transportation Engineering Education

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

In today’s graduate career landscape, it is important that graduate students are prepared for a variety of career paths.This paper is a continuation of an NSF-funded Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) project, which seeks to tailor a graduate transportation engineering program for industry and/or government careers. To enhance the industry-relevant competencies of transportation graduate engineering students this program has partnered with industry and government professionals to build out industry-based case studies that can expose transportation graduate students to the complexities of real-world problems that they would face in a non-academic setting.

Case studies provide the opportunity for the application of domain knowledge learned from courses to real-world problems, they employ cooperation by having students work in groups or pairs, and offer a situated learning environment. Incorporating real-world, non-academic case studies into the graduate transportation program courses offer students a chance to apply their technical knowledge and engineering skills to challenges commonly faced in industry or government contexts. Case studies were categorized into five major areas within transportation engineering: 1) Construction Materials, Pavements, & Asset Management, 2) Transportation Safety & Intelligent Transportation Systems, 3) Concrete Materials, 4) Geotechnical Engineering, and 5) Bridge Design and Maintenance. Case studies were then implemented into graduate courses by faculty members based on their level of expertise with the case study topic. Each case study was designed to span multiple class sessions or the entire semester as a project. Students in the courses were grouped to work on the case studies together, and presented their findings at the end of the course module or semester.

This paper shares insights gained on designing and implementing industry based case studies based upon implementations done during the 2024-2025 academic year and Fall 2025 semester. The quality of the case studies will be evaluated according to the cognitive apprenticeship framework, and how it may prepare students for industry jobs following graduation. The completed projects from students and any other student work that has been scored will also be analyzed to determine student learning outcomes from the project. Findings from this study aim to inform the development of more effective case studies that better align with the needs of industry and government employers.

Authors

Dr. Brittany Lynn Butler-Morton Rowan University [biography]

Brittany Butler is recently received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education in the Experiential Engineering Education department at Rowan University. Her research explores the differences in how chemical engineering students and industry practitioners approach process safety judgments, and focuses on implementing instructional methods in the process safety classroom that prepare students for the complex judgments they will face in practice.
Dr. Cheryl A Bodnar http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8665-9839 The Ohio State University [biography]

Dr. Bodnar is a Professor in the Engineering Education Department at The Ohio State University. Her research interests relate to the incorporation of active learning techniques such as game-based learning in undergraduate classes as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Yusuf Mehta Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Mehta is a Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University and Director of the Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation engineering Systems (CREATES). Dr. Mehta has extensive experience in teaching in Pavement Technology, Construction Materials, and Asset Management.
Dr. Elise Barrella P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0020-2035 Wake Forest University [biography]

Dr. Elise Barrella, P.E., enjoys working with diverse teams on multi-disciplinary projects related to infrastructure systems, spatial justice, entrepreneurial mindset, and sustainability. She has nearly 20 years of professional and research experience in engineering education, which started while she was earning a BS in Civil Engineering at Bucknell University. Elise also holds a Master of City & Regional Planning and PhD in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech. Her current research collaborations focus on understanding how engineering students’ develop cognitive flexibility and using concept maps as direct assessments. As an engineering faculty member at James Madison University and a founding faculty member of Wake Forest University’s Engineering Department, she infused sustainability concepts and community engagement in interdisciplinary design courses from first year to capstone. As the founder of DfX Consulting LLC, Elise currently provides research and consulting services for the education and transportation sectors and teaches design thinking. She also uses her expertise to support local non-profit organizations including Community Design Studio of NC, Creative Corridors Coalition, and Boston-Thurmond Community Engagement Roundtable.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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