UMTRI Celebrates Three Prestigious CUTC Awards
UMTRI’s Henry Liu, Zachary Jerome and CCAT student from Purdue, Richar Ajagu receive prestigious research awards.
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The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) is celebrating the achievements of its researchers and students following the announcement of three national awards from the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC). The honors were presented at the CUTC Winter Banquet during the 2026 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., recognizing excellence in transportation research, student leadership, and technology transfer.
Dr. Zachary Jerome Receives Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award
Dr. Zachary Jerome, a former UMTRI-affiliated researcher with the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT), received the Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award, which honors the nation’s most outstanding doctoral dissertation in transportation science and technology.
Jerome earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2025. His award-winning dissertation introduced one of the first traffic signal management systems powered entirely by vehicle trajectory data, enabling continuous monitoring and low-cost, targeted signal retiming. The work offers a scalable solution for municipalities that often lack resources for frequent signal updates.
This marks Jerome’s second CUTC honor; he was previously named CCAT Student of the Year in 2023.
Richard Ajagu Named CUTC Student of the Year
Richard Ajagu, a master’s student at Purdue University, was named CCAT Student of the Year, an award presented annually to one student from each USDOT-funded University Transportation Center. Ajagu, advised by Professor Samuel Labi, was recognized for his work on CCAT-funded projects focused on economical intersection data collection and lessons from high-speed autonomous vehicle racing.
The award includes travel support and registration to attend the TRB Annual Meeting.
Dr. Henry Liu Honored with Technology Transfer Leadership Award
Dr. Henry Liu, Director of CCAT, received the CUTC Technology Transfer Leadership Award, a national honor recognizing outstanding leadership in translating transportation research into real-world impact. Since 2019, the award has recognized only five university transportation centers nationwide.
Four CCAT-supported innovations were highlighted:
- TeraSim, an open-source, city-scale simulation platform used globally for autonomous vehicle testing and digital twin development
- PREACT, a technology that uses anticipatory vehicle cues to reduce motion sickness, now partnered with a leading global automaker
- Optimized Signal as a Service (OSaaS), a data-driven traffic signal management system shown to reduce intersection stops by up to 30 percent
- Transportation Security Index (TSI), a nationally adopted tool measuring individuals’ experiences with transportation insecurity
Together, these projects demonstrate UMTRI and CCAT’s leadership in advancing transportation safety, equity, and innovation—from fundamental research to real-world deployment.
Original stories by Calvin Tuttle can be found on the CCAT website.