Research

Smart Research for Large-Scale Improvement
From borders in the UA’s back yard to debris in space, systems and industrial engineering researchers are working to make the world safer and more secure.
Partnering with the Arizona Department of Transportation, renowned researchers are developing technology for connected vehicles and making emergency response quicker. Working closely with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Border Security and Immigration, they are creating an autonomous surveillance system to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border. And, cooperating with Air Force Research Laboratory and an international alliance, they are developing a cyberinfrastructure to monitor satellites and manage traffic in space.
Focus Areas
SIE is conducting research in the following primary areas:
- Smart transportation and manufacturing logistics
- Space, defense and security
- Data analytics, informatics and machine learning
- Human factors and social systems
- Energy, water, environment and sustainability
- Optimization
- Health care systems
Research Centers and Facilities
Much of SIE’s transportation engineering research takes place at the UA’s interdisciplinary Transportation Research Institute, which addresses the mobility, safety and environmental challenges of a rapidly evolving transportation ecosystem.
Further facilitating SIE discovery are a number of multidisciplinary labs, including the Space Systems Engineering Lab, which is supporting to the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission in the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory.
See UA College of Engineering-affiliated Research Centers and Institutes.