About Me

Adrian Cottam, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor · Auburn University Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI)

I am a transportation researcher. I build digital twins, large-scale models, and artificial intelligence tools that let engineers see, test, and improve how transportation systems behave, from a single military installation gate to a statewide highway network.

I'm passionate about transportation engineering and using concepts from the information technology sector to propel my field into the next generation. I pursue excellence in all that I do, and share my passion for the industry with my peers. I seek to foster a culture of innovation with those around me, and motivate my peers to achieve great things through teamwork.

View Curriculum Vitae (CV) LinkedIn Profile

News

• Oct 2026Awarded the ALDOT Public Transportation Management and Rural Transit Assistance Program ($3.98M) as Co-PI, bringing training and technology transfer to Alabama's transit agencies.
• Oct 2026Awarded a USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All grant for a data-driven multimodal campus road safety action plan ($1.09M) as Co-PI.
• 2026"AI Safety Analyst," on multimodal large language models for transportation safety assessment, accepted for the 2027 TRB Annual Meeting.
• Jul 2026Our AUTRI team was one of twelve selected nationally for the FMCSA Research and Technology IDIQ.
• Mar 2026Awarded a USDOT SS4A grant on Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon warrants ($1.05M) as Co-PI.
• Aug 2025Our proposal to found the Rail Center for Research Enhancing Short-line Transportation (RailCREST) was awarded an FRA Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant. I am a Co-PI on the center.
• Jan 2025Two papers earned TRB committee best paper awards (ACP70 Best Overall Paper; ACP20 Young Professional/Student Best Paper).
• Feb 2024Auburn Engineering news: AUTRI's Department of Defense research on safe and efficient entry control points.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, Transportation Engineering (Minor in Management Information Systems)
  University of Arizona · 2023
• Graduate Certificate in College Teaching
  University of Arizona · 2021
• Master of Engineering, Transportation Engineering
  University of Arizona · 2019
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
  University of Arizona · 2018
• Associate of Science in Civil Engineering (Highest Honors)
  Pima Community College · 2016

Skills

Transportation Engineering

AutoCADMicroStationVISSIMVISTROHighway Capacity ManualHCSMicrosimulation calibrationUnreal EngineCarSim

AI and Data Science

Large language modelsMultimodal LLMsAgentic AI architecturesComputer visionObject detectionReinforcement learningImitation learningMachine learningNeural networksPythonRC#SQL ServerMySQLR ShinyShinyProxyWeb development

Teaching

Learner-centered teachingBackwards designD2LCanvasCertificate in College Teaching

Contact