Pasi Lautala, PE

Contact

ptlautal@mtu.edu
906-487-3547
Dillman 318, M&M 707

Associate Dean for Research
Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Director, Rail Transportation Program, Michigan Tech Transportation Institute

PhD, Civil Engineering (Transportation), Michigan Technological University
MS, Civil Engineering (Transportation), Michigan Technological University
BS, Civil Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland

Biography

Dr. Lautala was appointed in August, 2012 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017 and to Professor as well as Associate Dean for Research in 2023. He is also the founder and the Director of Rail Transportation Program (RTP) since the program was established in 2007 and is currently on his second stint of directing the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI). Pasi has his BS from Tampere University of Technology in Finland and his MSc and PhD degrees from Michigan Tech University. Dr. Lautala has been a leader or co-leader of more than ten million dollars in external research, covering a range of topics related to the rail and other transportation, from trespasser and grade crossing safety to multimodal transportation logistics, life cycle analysis, and railway capacity related topics. Under his leadership, Michigan Tech has also expanded the rail research portfolio to various departments across the campus. Dr. Lautala is also one the nationwide leaders in rejuvenation of rail transportation education in academia, including at Michigan Tech. Since 2013, Dr. Lautala has been appointed as a member of Michigan Commission for Supply Chain and Transportation Logistics Collaboration. He is currently the Rail Group Chair for the Transportation Research Board (TRB), part of National Academies of Sciences and actively involved in the AREMA Education and Training Committee. Since 2021, he has also provided transportation consulting services under Lautala Consulting, LLC. His previous experience includes work with Finnish Railways prior to his arrival in the US, as well as five years of railroad and highway-engineering consulting experience in Chicago before his return to Michigan Tech.

Links of Interest

Selected Interviews and Citations

Autonomous battery-powered rail cars could steal shipments from truckers

Amtrak CEO outlines plans for spending $66 billion from infrastructure funding

With Line 5 closure, a ‘game of chicken’ over how to heat Upper Peninsula

Research Interests

Rail and highway transportation / engineering
Highway-rail grade crossing and trespasser safety
Multimodal transportation; planning, policy, supply chain logistics and economics
Sustainability of transportation and life cycle/life cycle cost analysis
Railway capacity analysis and modeling
Curriculum and engineering education development
Industry/university collaboration

Recent Publications

Nadri C, Kekal S, Li Y., Li X., Chan Lee S., Nelson, D., Lautala P., Jeon M., “Slow down. Rail crossing ahead. Look left and right at the crossing”: In-Vehicle Auditory Alerts Improve Driver Behavior at Rail Crossings. Applied Ergonomics, Volume 106, 2023, 103912, ISSN 0003-6870, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103912
*Ko, S.; Lautala, P.; Zhang, K. Data-driven Analysis of Short-distance Freight Rail Transportation Potential: A Case Study of Log Movements in the U.S. Lake Superior Region. Transportation Research Record (in press)
Wang, J., Dai, Q., Lautala, P., Yao, H., Si, R., Rail Sample Laboratory Evaluation of Eddy Current Rail Inspection Sustainable System. Sustainability 2022, 14, 11568. 10.3390/su141811568
Nadri, C., Lee, SC., Kekal, S, Li, Y., Li X., Lautala, P., Nelson, D., Jeon, M., Effects of Auditory Display Types and Acoustic Variables on Subjective Driver Assessment in a Rail-Crossing Context. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. April 2021. https:/doi.org/10.1177/03611981211007838
*Ko, S.; Lautala, P.; Zhang, K. Log Truck Value Analysis from Increased Rail Usage. Forests 2020, 11, 677. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11060677
Lautala, P.; Zhang, K. Ko, S., Log Movement in the Superior Region - Rate and Capacity Based Analysis of Modal Shares. Final Report, March, 2020, Prepared for Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Department of Transportation and Michigan Department of Agricultural and Rural Development
*Ko, S.; Lautala, P.; Zhang, K. Data-Driven Study on the Sustainable Log Movements: Impact of Rail Car Fleet Size on Freight Storage and Car Idling. Sustainability (2020), 12, 4563., https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114563
Dick, C.T., Lautala P., Schlake, B.W., STEM K-12 Outreach as the Root of Transportation Education: Experiences from the Railway Engineering Field, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2019), 2673, 12, 558-569. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119841564
*Ko, S., Lautala P., Fan, J., Shonnard, D.,Economic, Social and Environmental Cost Optimization of Biomass Transportation: A Regional Model for Transportation Analysis in Plant Location Process, Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining (2019), 13(3), pp. 582-598, https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1967
Lautala, P., From In-Vehicle Alerts to Analyzing Driver Behavior – Level Crossing Research in the United States, ILCAD Conference, Amersfoot, Netherlands, June 5-7, 2019

Recent Funding

University of Michigan, MTRAC Advanced Transportation Program, Crossing-i Harnessing Drone Data and Analytics for Efficient Grade Crossing Management, $77,812, PI: Pasi Lautala, Co-PI: Colin Brooks, Aug. 2022 – Aug. 2023
U.S. Department of Transportation (Federal Railroad Administration), Railroad Track Maintenance Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) Development; Framework, Data, Tools, and Implications for Multi-modal Transport Decisions, $221,017 (Phase 1), Total project value (Phase 1-3) = $641,917, PI: Pasi Lautala, Co-PI: Amlan Mukherjee, Robert Handler, Aug. 2022 – Jul. 2025
U.S. Department of Transportation (Federal Railroad Administration), Railroad Crossing Vehicle Warning (RCVW) Application Demonstrations with Connected Vehicles, $221,003 (Phase 1), $380,700 (Phase 1-2), PI: Pasi Lautala, Co-PI: Kuilin Zhang, Jeff Utterback (Battelle), Sept. 2021 – Sept. 2023
U.S. Department of Transportation (Federal Railroad Administration), Expanding Summer Youth Programs in Rail through Virtual Learning and a National Campus Network, $313,235 (Phase 1-2), Total project value (Phase 1-3) = $527,237, PI: Pasi Lautala, Co-PI: C. Tyler Dick (UIUC), Bryan Schlake (Penn State Altoona) Jul. 2021 – Jun. 2024

Presentations

AASTHO Council of Rail Transportation 2022 Annual Meeting, Tomorrow’s Rail—Emerging Rail Technologies Panel Session, Kansas City, MO (September, 2022)
PTC, CBTC and Advanced Signalling Systems to Further Improve North American Railroad and Grade Crossing Safety, Virtual Conference (three presentations), June, 2021
State of Michigan Commission for Supply Chain and Logistics Collaboration, Presentation on the Upper Peninsula Propane Transportation, May, 2021
Developments in Grade Crossing and Trespasser Safety, Midwest Virtual Rail Conference, August 11, 2020
Railway Grade Crossing and Trespassing Safety presentations, Penn State University – Altoona (December, 2019), Univ. of Nevada – Las Vegas (March, 2020)
Public hearing on Freight Rail Service in Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Wisconsin, Testimony, Marquette, MI (August, 2019)
MEDA Annual Meeting, Mobility Panel Session, Marquette, MI (August, 2019)
Michigan Rail Conference, Lansing, MI, Crossing & Trespasser Safety Research and Upper Midwest Log/Forest Study (August, 2019)
National Highway – Rail Grade Crossing Safety Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (August, 2019)
Summerail 2019, St. Louis, MO, Upper Midwest Log/Forest Study (July, 2019)

Research Awarded

Since the start of his academic career, Dr. Lautala has been involved in 43 funded research projects/studies. He has been the principal investigator for 20 of them, co-principal for 15 and in senior research role for the remaining 8. The total value of all projects under Dr. Lautala’s leadership (PI) have been over $5.0 million. Several have been collaborative in nature with portions of the budget dedicated to collaborating colleagues. Dr. Lautala has been responsible for 60-100% of the total funds for these projects, depending on each specific project.
Projects under Dr. Lautala’s co-leadership (Co-PI) have also exceeded $5.0 million. Until recently, Dr. Lautala had significant fiscal responsibility (up to 50%) on most projects. More recently, his role is more of a “mentor” and fiscal responsibility has been as low as 5%, depending on the project.

Teaching Experience

CEE 3401 - Transportation Engineering
Intro to North American Rail Transportation (Tampere Univ. of Technology, Finland)
CEE 3490 - Intro to Rail Transportation
CEE 4407/5417 - Transportation Design
OSM 4700 - Transportation Logistics and Management
CEE 4404/5417 - Railroad Engineering
CEE 5404 - Railroad Track Design and Engineering
CEE 4405 - International Railroad Engineering
CEE 4490 - Rail Transportation Seminar
Traffic Engineering
CEE 3101 - Civil Engineering Materials