Department of

Civil and Environmental Engineering


Dr. Martin T. Pietrucha
Professor
Director; Transportation Operations Program (PTI)

 

Martin Pietrucha  

Penn State University
221 Sackett Building
University Park, PA 16802

814) 863-7306 (phone)
(814) 863-7304 (fax)
mtp5@psu.edu
    Research | Courses | Vitae

Primary Research Interests
Highway safety, ergonomics (human factors), traffic operations and control.

Specific Research Topics
Highway Safety
Ergonomics (Human Factors)
Highway Traffic Operations
Traffic Impact Analysis
Highway Design
Older Drivers
Pedestrians

Courses Taught at Penn State University
C E 321, Highway Engineering
C E 423, Traffic Operations
C E 597, Safety and Human Factors in Highway Transportation
C E 597, Alternative Transportation Approaches
S T S 101, Science, Technology, and Human Values

Professional Service
American Society of Civil Engineers Chair, Traffic and Highway Safety Committee (1996-1998)

Institute of Transportation Engineers Chair, Executive Committee, Transportation Education Council (1999-2001)
Vice-Chair, Executive Committee, Transportation Education Council (1995-1998)
Secretary, Executive Committee, Transportation Education Council (1995-1996)

National Research Council, Transportation Research Board Chair, Committee on Traffic Control Devices (1995-2001)
Chair, Planning Committee for Annual Human Factors Workshop (1988)

Vitae

Education
1990 Ph.D., University of Maryland, Civil Engineering
1978 M.S., University of California at Berkeley, Civil Engineering
1977 B.S., New Jersey Institute of Technology, Civil Engineering (magna cum laude)

Experience
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University (July 1996 - date)
Research Associate, The Pennsylvania Transportation Institute (August 1990 - date)
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University (August 1990 - June 1996)
Principal Engineer, Center for Applied Research, Inc. (December 1985 - February 1989)
Program Engineer, BioTechnology, Inc. (February 1984 - December 1985)
Senior Engineer, Edwards and Kelcey, Inc. (August 1983 - February 1984)
Faculty Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Maryland
(December 1980 - August 1983)
Principal Engineer, State of New Jersey, Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (August 1978 - December 1980)
Teaching Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, University of California at Berkeley
(September 1977 - March 1978)
Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology
(Summer 1977)
Traffic Data Technician, Richard P. Brown and Associates (June 1976 - May 1977)

Professional Memberships
American Society of Civil Engineers
Institute of Transportation Engineers
National Research Council, Transportation Research Board
Intelligent Transportation Society of America

Honors and Awards
Penn State Engineering Society Outstanding Teaching Award 2001

Recent Publications
Pecheux, K. K., M. T. Pietrucha, and P. P. Jovanis. User Perception of Level of Service at Signalized Intersections: Methodological Issues. Proceedings, Fourth International Symposium on Highway Capacity. Published in Transportation Research Circular 2000/06, pp322-335. (July 2000).

Pietrucha, M. T., T. R. Pieples, and P. M. Garvey. An Evaluation of The Pennsylvania Road Safety Audit Pilot Program, Transportation Research Record 1734, pp. 12-20, National Research Council, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C. (2000).

Garvey, P. M., A. Z. Zineddin, and M.T. Pietrucha. Letter Legibility for Signs and Other Large Format Applications. Proceedings, The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 45th Annual Meeting, pp. 1443-1447. (September 2001).

Donnell, E. T., D. W. Harwood, K. M. Bauer, J. M. Mason, and M. T. Pietrucha. Cross Median Collisions on Pennsylvania Interstates and Expressways, Transportation Research Record 1784, pp. 91-99, National Research Council, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C. (2002).

Zineddin, A.Z., P. M. Garvey, R. A. Carlson, and M. T. Pietrucha. Effects of Practice on Font Legibility. Proceedings, The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society's 47th Annual Meeting (October, 2003).

Fang, F.C., L. Elefteriadou, K. K. Pecheux, M. T. Pietrucha. Using Fuzzy Clustering of User Perception to Define Levels of Service at Signalized Intersections, Journal of Transportation Engineering. Volume 129, Number 6, pp. 657-663. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA (2003).

Garvey, P.M., K.N. Chirwa, D.T. Meeker, M.T. Pietrucha, A.Z. Zineddin, R.S. Ghebrial, and J. Montalbano. New Font and Arrow for National Park Service Guide Signs, Transportation Research Record 1862, pp. 1-9, National Research Council, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C. (2004).

Zineddin, AZ, P.M. Garvey, and M.T. Pietrucha. Impact of Sign Orientation on On-Premise Commercial Signs, Journal of Transportation Engineering. Volume 131, Number 1, pp. 11-17. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA (2005).