Chandra R. Bhat, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, university distinguished professor and Joe J. King chair in engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, has been honored with inclusion by ASCE in its 2026 class of Distinguished Members. He was recognized for pioneering travel behavior contributions shaping how global transportation professionals conceptualize, measure, and forecast mobility; international leadership bridging research and transportation planning practice; and preparing a new generation of high-quality leaders with a lifelong love of learning and service.
ASCE will honor Bhat and the 2026 distinguished members at the 2026 OPAL Gala, Thursday, Oct. 15 in Reston, Virginia.
Bhat distinguishes himself in the integration of engineering, economics, and data science to transform the analysis of travel behavior and transportation systems. His early work pioneered discrete choice and activity-based modeling that brought person-centric decision modeling into mainstream practice.
He ranks among the very top of scholars worldwide in transportation systems and logistics and has been recognized for his teaching excellence by his university as well as other organizations. He has mentored scores of doctoral, postdoctoral, master’s, and undergraduate students, many of whom hold leadership positions in academia, industry, and government.
Bhat’s leadership and initiatives extend to and beyond ASCE. As co-chair of the Transportation Research Board’s, or TRB’s, National Education and Training Committee, he addressed workforce development issues through events that embraced the need to reach out to K-12 students, graduate and undergraduate students, and professionals. These activities raised awareness of issues and strategies to address recruitment and retention, and materials served as a foundation for future efforts by the Council of University Transportation Centers. He also has served as the Chair of TRB’s Transportation Demand Forecasting committee and TRB’s Analysis Section.
His work has not only advanced academic frontiers but also profoundly influenced transportation policy and practice at the federal, state, and local levels. Bhat’s pioneering research in agent-based transportation engineering and planning led to the development of the comprehensive econometric microsimulator for daily activity patterns, known as CEMDAP, and the comprehensive econometric microsimulator for social economics, land use, and transportation systems, or CEMSELTS – two software platforms that have been adopted for regional economic development, land-use planning, and mobility and accessibility enhancement to improve overall quality of life.
Bhat has served on many review panels for travel modeling practice at metropolitan planning organization in the country and beyond. He has also served as a consulting academic on panels reviewing ridership forecasts for proposed large scale public transportation investments, such as a new Transbay rail crossing in the San Francisco Bay area and a new rail service connection for travel to and from LaGuardia airport.
Bhat’s record within ASCE exemplifies eminence in the profession. From 2023 to 2024, he served as president of the T&DI Board of Governors, advancing initiatives that strengthen the pipeline of transportation professionals, including forums embedded within the Society’s International Conference on Transportation & Development. As chair of ASCE’s Collaborative Engineering Team, he works closely with the board on high-impact priorities that position civil engineering within a fast-changing technological and social landscape, linking research, education, and practice. He has also served in leadership roles in ASCE codes and standards development, including on the Engineering Smart “X” task force and the Mobility Energy Productivity Standards Committee, and as a member of the ASCE candidate development committee, among other involvements.
Bhat has been recognized with a host of awards, among them the German Humboldt Award and ASCE’s Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award, James Laurie Prize, and Walter Huber Prize.
Nominations for the 2027 class are due Dec. 15. Email [email protected] for more information.
