ITRE Director Rouphail Stepping Down Following Fifteen Years of Service

ITRE Director Dr. Nagui M. Rouphail

ITRE Director Dr. Nagui M. Rouphail has announced that he will step down from his position beginning in August of this year, fulfilling fifteen years of leadership at the Institute. Dr. Rouphail will be returning to his home Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering and resume his teaching, research, and service activities as an NC State faculty member.

“ITRE has indeed made great strides towards becoming one of the elite transportation research and education centers in this country,” said Dr. Rouphail in his message to Institute stakeholders for the recent annual activity report. During his tenure as director that began in 2001, ITRE’s annual funding and expenditures on program activities increased 91.3% to $8.19 million in 2015—the highest level in the Institute’s history. ITRE has grown significantly under Dr. Rouphail’s direction in its support of graduate and undergraduate students, in journal publications, in presentations at industry conferences, and in its winning rate of nationally competitive research projects. “And ITRE continues to be a great investment by the state of North Carolina,” said Dr. Rouphail, “generating nearly $16.5 dollars for every dollar of state support.”

In addition to resuming his NC State faculty activities, Dr. Rouphail also will be conducting research on ‘Big Data and Transportation’ at RTI International as a newly selected RTI University Scholar. Headquartered in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, RTI is a nonprofit organization providing research and technical services to government and commercial clients. Its University Scholar program supports distinguished academic researchers to partner with RTI experts, helping foster collaboration and develop opportunities for future joint projects.

The NC State Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development is currently leading a search for the next ITRE Director. Candidates for the position will be interviewed on campus in March and April. The new director is expected to be announced and in place by mid-August.

“I am fortunate to have been associated from day one with an incredibly dedicated staff at ITRE,” said Dr. Rouphail. “As a result of their accomplishments, the future of this Institute will remain in good hands and will indeed thrive going forward.”