Professor Chandra Bhat Recognized by ASCE as Distinguished Member

Chandra Bhat has been inducted into the 2026 class of Distinguished Members by the American Society of Civil Engineers. This is a high honor given in recognition of exemplary academic, service, mentorship and societal contributions. Whether it’s traffic, public transportation usage, or the effect of race and gender on pedestrian fatalities, his analysis has significantly improved our understanding of how humans move through the world.

Bhat is a distinguished professor and the Joe J. King Chair in Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering. He also serves as the director for the National Center for Understanding Future Travel Behavior and Demand.

He has consulted on many industry and government programs and services that affect our commute in invisible ways, such as the Comprehensive Econometric Micro-simulator for Daily Activity-Travel Patterns and the Comprehensive Econometric Microsimulator of Socio-Economics, Land Use and Transportation Systems. These programs were among the first of their kind to simulate travel patterns and help policymakers and other researchers understand traffic flow. Bhat also consulted on infrastructure projects in the San Francisco Bay and LaGuardia airport, as well as mentored dozens of students from doctoral candidates to undergraduates.

Bhat has previously been honored with the German Humboldt Award, the ASCE’s Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award and the Council of University Transportation Centers’ Lifetime Achievement Award. He has occupied a number of leadership positions across transportation science and outreach, including director of UT’s Center for Transportation Research.

Bhat and other distinguished members will be honored at the 2026 OPAL Gala in Reston, Virginia, in October.