Auburn Engineering acquires facility to centralize transportation research
Published: Sep 8, 2026 10:40 AM
By Dustin Duncan
Auburn Engineering has acquired a 28,000-square-foot building in Auburn’s Technology Park that will be renovated to centralize transportation research and support the college’s work with the Federal Transit Administration.
The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has acquired a 28,000-square-foot building in Auburn’s Technology Park that will serve as a hub for transportation research, anchored by the college’s work with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
Located on 11.5 acres at 177 Technology Parkway, near the National Center for Asphalt Technology, the building will allow the college to bring transportation-related research currently spread across multiple locations together in one facility.
“Having a place where you can bring all the transportation-related work under one roof and have that co-location spark ingenuity and innovation makes sense,” said Christian Brodbeck, director of engineering research operations.
Auburn plans to renovate the interior for research use, with work expected to begin in early 2027.
The acquisition also marks the latest step in Auburn’s ongoing relationship with the FTA. Auburn was selected in 2017 as one of two universities to receive funding through an FTA component assessment program supporting transit component testing.
Changes to the federal program in 2022 expanded how Auburn could use the funding to support research and capital projects, giving the college the flexibility to begin planning a dedicated facility that directly supports the component assessment program.
The FTA program now supports research in multiple areas across Auburn Engineering. Bryan Beckingham, the Uthlaut Family associate professor of chemical engineering, is leading an $887,985 project examining how materials used in buses, including windows and structural panels, affect performance and operational expenses under varying environmental conditions.
A second project, led by the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and funded at $760,688, is developing a field-deployable system that can be connected to transit buses to identify potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Transit agencies have already expressed interest in the technology, which is being developed with the goal of being ready for use at the conclusion of the project.
Allan David, associate dean for research, said the new facility is part of a larger effort to build the infrastructure needed to support Auburn Engineering’s rapidly expanding research enterprise, particularly transportation and advanced manufacturing, two of the college’s fastest-growing research areas.
“We really need that infrastructure to support our growing needs,” David said. “The ability to bring some of our complementary programs together will make us more competitive for funding and enhance their impact on the transportation sector.”
