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Professional headshot of Timothy Gates

Timothy Gates

Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies

Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), College of Engineering

Professor - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) in the College of Engineering

1460 Middlevale Rd Ste 180B

Biography

Dr. Timothy Gates is a Professor and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has more than 20 years of research experience in the following subject areas: innovative traffic control devices, motorist behavior, speed limits, road safety, statistical methods, traffic operations, pedestrians and bicyclists, and transportation economics. ... Since 2007, he has served as PI or co-PI on more than 100 grants totaling more than $15 million from agencies that include MDOT, FHWA, NCHRP, OHSP, and other state DOTs. His research has resulted in more than 100 peer-reviewed journal or compendium publications. His recent research includes projects related to driver response to traffic control devices, safety impacts associated with raising speed limits, guidelines for setting speed limits, revisions to the AASHTO Green Book, driver acceleration and deceleration behavior, safety impacts of roadway sight distance, work zone safety, driver behavior at signalized intersections, and pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Dr. Gates is a former chair of the TRB Committee on Traffic Control Devices (ACP55) and is currently a member of the TRB Committee on Road User Measurement and Evaluation (ACH50) and the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD). He is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan.

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Education

Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Transportation), University of Wisconsin 2007

M.S., Civil Engineering (Transportation), Michigan State University 2000

B.S., Civil Engineering, Michigan State University 1999

Awards

Withrow Exceptional Service Award, MSU College of Engineering, (2024)

Best Paper by First Author under Age 35, Traffic Control Devices Committee, Transportation Research Board, TRB (2022)

Best Paper by First Author under Age 35, Traffic Control Devices Committee, TRB (2021)

Best Paper, Traffic Control Devices Committee, TRB (2020)

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Publications

Chakraborty, M.*, Gates, T. Relationship between Horizontal Curve Geometry and Single-Vehicle Crash Occurrence on Rural Secondary Highways. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, TRB, Washington, D.C., 2023.

Hankin, J.*, Chakraborty, M.*, Gates, T., Savolainen P. Holpuch, T.*, Motz, M.* Evaluation of Auxiliary Signing for Driveway Assistance Devices at Low-Volume Access Points within One-Lane, Bidirectional Work Zones. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, TRB, Washington, D.C., 2023.

Mahmud, M.*, Gates, T., Megat-Johari, M.*, Jashami, H., Bamney, A.*, Savolainen, P. Do Dynamic speed feedback signs impact drivers differently based on speeding tendencies? Insights from applications at select critical roadway contexts. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 98, 157-169, 2023.

Chakraborty, M.*, Mahmud, M.*, Gates, T. Quantifying the Environmental Effects of Speed Limit Policy–A Case Study from Michigan, ITE Journal 93 (8), 2023.

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