Background

The Transportation Research Unit (TRU) is housed within the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut. Transportation is a broad field that has wide implications and interactions along several dimensions including:

• its interactions with land use, the economy, the environment, and social processes
• its role at various spatial scales ranging from urban to international
• its importance at various temporal scales ranging from real-time control such as application of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to long term sustainability assessment
• its role in facilitating the movement of passengers and goods

Vision

It is our vision that this Transport Research Unit will become a regional Center of Excellence in transportation. Towards that vision, we plan to work both internally and externally. Internally, we intend to broaden the base for the Unit within AUB to encompass other Faculties, Departments and programs. We envision that the Unit or Center would bring together researchers and experts from several relevant disciplines including civil engineering, urban planning, economics, environmental engineering and sciences, computer science, sociology, business (logistics and supply chain management), statistics, electrical and computer engineering, and others. The vision is for this Center to become the focal point for a regional network of researchers and experts, and to be the leader in this domain in the region.

Support

TRU is pursuing support for the Unit from various other local, regional, and international sponsors or partners with specific problems to be researched and/or with an interest in raising the professional practice level in the transport domain to international standards. In that context, we foresee training for professionals at the regional level as another potentially important function of the center. We also plan to establish links with other regional and international centers of excellence in this domain.

First Sponsor

The first sponsor of TRU has been the Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC), providing an opportunity to contribute to the success of the Beirut Container Terminal. This success story started when the Beirut Port Authority, currently led by Mr. Hassan Koraytem, moved ahead with the construction of the new Container Terminal and furnished it with state-of-the art equipment. In operating the new terminal, and under the leadership of Mr. Ammar Kanaan, and with the support of its distinguished and young staff, BCTC has made significant progress in expanding the traffic volume at the terminal, and in introducing modern operating procedures. Under the research contract between AUB and BCTC, the TRU has been commissioned by BCTC to provide technical support, to conduct studies and research towards developing operational procedures at the container terminal, and to contribute to the development of software and information solutions for container terminals in general.

Opening Ceremony

AUB's Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (FEA) and the Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC) signed an agreement to start the Transport Research Unit (TRU) at the faculty. This agreement, which was signed on February 3 in College Hall, is the result of a joint effort made by civil engineering Professor Isam Kaysi, BCTC Chairman Ammar Kanaan, and other BCTC members. Through this agreement, BCTC will provide the needed support to create a Transport Research Unit, over a five-year period.

Under Dr Kaysi's leadership, the unit will provide technical support for the terminal consortium, conducting studies and research to help improve the operational procedures at the terminal and contributing in the development of computer programs that would support the work of the container terminal.

The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Public Works and Transportation Mohammed Safadi; Saleh El Helou, representing Hassan Qoreitem, president and director of the Beirut Port Authority; BCTC Chairman Ammar Kanaan; FEA Dean Ibrahim Hajj; and Provost Peter Heath.
Dean Hajj said that "the establishment of the Transport Research Unit is in line with the AUB mission. The research unit will first advance knowledge in transportation technology; secondly, it will provide excellent educational opportunities for students; and thirdly, it will serve Lebanon, the region, and beyond, by facilitating the exchange of goods with the international trading partners of Lebanon."

For his part, Professor Kaysi has long believed in this initiative, having discussed it with Dean Hajj when he was still at the University of Toronto more than two years ago. "We are quite excited about the support provided by our first sponsor, BCTC, and about the opportunity to contribute to the success of the Beirut Container Terminal," he said. "This success story started when the Beirut Port Authority, currently led by Hassan Koraytem, moved ahead with the construction of the new container terminal and furnished it with state-of-the-art equipment."

According to Professor Kaysi, BCTC has made remarkable progress in expanding the traffic volume at the terminal while operating it, and in introducing modern operating procedures. "Under the contract to be signed today, the Transport Research Unit has been commissioned by BCTC to provide technical support, to conduct studies and research towards developing operational procedures at the container terminal, and to contribute to the development of software and information solutions for container terminals in general," says Professor Kaysi who also expressed his gratitude to AUB's Office of Grants and Contracts for facilitating this agreement, to Professor Mounir Mabsout, chairman of the civil and environmental engineering department, Dean Ibrahim Hajj for "his continuous encouragement," and to all involved in making this project possible including Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, under whose patronage the signing ceremony took place.

Finally, Minister Safadi said that the Transport Research Unit is a symbol of the necessary union and collaboration of academia and the business world. "I hope it will be a source of smart solutions for marine transportation problems and crises, which will eventually positively influence numerous economic sectors in Lebanon," he said.

From left to right: Kaysi, Hajj, Heath, Safadi and Kanaan	Hajj (left) and Kanaan (right) shake hands on the Transport Research Unit agreement

Link to AUB Bulletin article in March 2006: http://staff.aub.edu.lb/~webbultn/v7n5/20.html

Staff

Dr. Isam Kaysi, Director, isam@aub.edu.lb
Farah Mneimneh, Research assistant, fm27@aub.edu.lb
Rayan Khraibani, Research assistant, Rayan.Khraibani@dargroup.com

Link to MainGate article

http://staff.aub.edu.lb/~webmgate/article4.htm