From July 20 to 23, the 4th Transportation Research Congress 2025 (TRC2025) was held at the Beijing International Convention Center. The Transportation Research Congress (TRC), founded in 2016, aims to serve as a “transportation innovation think tank.” This year’s conference theme covered both traditional transportation fields and interdisciplinary areas, including highways, railways, airports, traffic management, and intelligent driving. More than 300 representatives from universities, research institutions, and industry from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hong Kong SAR of China, and other countries and regions attended the conference to discuss “a sustainable, resilient, and intelligent future of transportation.”
Remarks by President YANG Renshu
At the opening ceremony, YANG Renshu, President of the university, stated in his remarks that the university’s Major Engineering Materials Service Safety Research and Evaluation Facility, which has been successfully put into operation, has provided more than 200 key experimental tests and technical support services for major national engineering projects and equipment development, playing an irreplaceable role. He noted that TRC2025 comes at a timely moment as a key opportunity to promote the transformation of transportation development toward innovation-driven growth, and that the university will work with colleagues from all sectors to contribute wisdom and strength to the sustainable development of global transportation.
Keynote presentations
Professor David Cebon, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and professor at the University of Cambridge, and Professor ZHU Hehua, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Tongji University, among nine distinguished experts from China and abroad, delivered keynote reports. The conference also featured 36 parallel sessions, one roundtable discussion, and two international expert review forums for master’s and doctoral students, offering rich content and lively discussions.
Award ceremony
Academician forum
In accordance with TRC tradition, the TRC2025 Lifetime Achievement Award was established at this conference. Five scholars were honored for their outstanding contributions to education, research, and innovation in the field of transportation: Professor David Cebon of the University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Professor NIE Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Foreign Academician of the Japanese Academy of Engineering, and Professor at Tsinghua University; Professor ZHENG Jianlong of Changsha University of Science and Technology; Professor ZHU Hehua of Tongji University; and Professor WANG Wei of Southeast University. Vice President LYU Zhaoping of the university presented the awards. After the ceremony, David Cebon, NIE Jianguo, ZHENG Jianlong, and ZHU Hehua shared their experiences on becoming successful researchers and their views on future directions in transportation research.
Main venue scene
The conference was jointly hosted by the university together with several partner universities and research institutions, and organized by the National Center for Materials Service Safety Science. TRC2025 provided a broad perspective for academic research in transportation infrastructure and systems. It not only showcased cutting-edge research achievements but also promoted interdisciplinary integration and international collaboration, strongly advancing cooperation and innovation in the transportation field and contributing wisdom and strength to global transportation development. The next TRC conference will be held in Shanghai in 2027 and hosted by Tongji University.
