Peter Savolainen
Interim Chairperson - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), College of Engineering
MSU Foundation Professor - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) in the College of Engineering
Engineering Bldg, 428 S Shaw Ln Rm 3546
Biography
Dr. Peter Savolainen is an MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. During the course of his academic career, Dr. Savolainen has served as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than $14 million of externally funded research through competitive grant awards from agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway
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Administration, and various state departments of transportation.
Dr. Savolainen's research examines the fundamental nature of road user behavior, particularly how traffic safety and operations are influenced by behavior in consideration of roadway and traffic characteristics. His work in this area has provided important information as to how road user behavior changes in response to such roadway features as maximum speed limits, centerline/shoulder rumble strips, and red-light-running cameras at signalized intersections. His research has also advanced fundamental knowledge as to how roadway design, environmental factors, and in-vehicle distractions affect the risk of traffic crashes.
This research has led to the publication of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and research, highlighted by a series of contributions in the areas of naturalistic driving research, countermeasure evaluation, and crash-injury severity analysis. Dr. Savolainen currently serves on the editorial advisory boards of Accident Analysis and Prevention and Analytic Methods in Accident Research, as well as on the Transportation Research Board Standing Committees on Statistical Methods and Motorcycles and Mopeds. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Michigan.
Academic Interests
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles; Statistical and Econometric Methods; Transportation Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation; Traffic Operations
Education
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2006
M.S., Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2004
B.S., Civil Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 2002
Awards
Best Paper Award, Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Operational Effects of Geometrics, 2017
Best Paper Award, Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Pedestrians, 2017
Charles W. Schaefer Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service, Iowa State University Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, 2016
Award for Transportation Excellence Through Research, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Research Advisory Council, 2015
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Hamzeie R, PT Savolainen, and TJ Gates, “Driver speed selection and crash risk: Insights from the naturalistic driving study”, Journal of Safety Research, 63, 187-194 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2017.10.007
Wang B, S Hallmark, PT Savolainen, and J Dong, “Crashes and near-crashes on horizontal curves along rural two-lane highways: Analysis of naturalistic driving data”, Journal of Safety Research, 63, 163-169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2017.10.001
Karabulut-Ilgu A, S. Yao, PT Savolainen, and C. Jahren, “Student perspective on the flipped-classroom approach and collaborative problem-solving process”, Journal of Educational Computing Research, (2017). https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633117715033
Hamzeie R, I Thompson, S Roy, and PT Savolainen, “State-level comparison of traffic fatality data in consideration of marijuana laws”, Transportation Research Record, 2660, 78-85 (2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2660-11
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