CAT Certificate Program – Center for Connected and Automated Transportation

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CAT Certificate Program

The Connected Automated Transportation (CAT) Certificate Program prepares students to lead in the rapidly evolving field of connected and automated transportation. Through five expert-led modules, you’ll gain interdisciplinary insights into the legal, technical, and control aspects of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). The CAT certificate program was built in response to the educational gaps found in transportation engineering by Neda Masoud, CCAT Associate Director of Education and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. In 2022, Professor Masoud held a workshop with experts in connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) to discuss how to best address these gaps, which led to the creation of a CCAT-funded research paper.

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Why Enroll?

The certificate program consists of five 20-hour modules that explore different facets of CAV technologies and are led by faculty from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Coursework includes videos, discussion boards, and quizzes. Students who enroll will have access to:

Flexible, Modular Learning — You’ll have one calendar year to complete four out of the five available modules.

Expert-Led Content — Courses are taught by nationally-recognized leaders in law, engineering, and transportation.

Cutting-Edge Topics — The program covers timely issues such as vehicle cybersecurity, system control, machine learning, and more.

Career-Enhancing Skills — Completing these modules will prepare you with the skills you need to shape the future of mobility.

Who Can Enroll?

The certificate program is free and open to all senior-level undergraduate and graduate-level students who are enrolled at one of the nine CCAT partner schools including The University of Akron, Central State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Purdue University, Washtenaw Community College, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Course Details

CAT Certificate Program

1. Fundamentals for CAV Modeling

Instructor: Prof. Xiaopeng Li, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This module delves into various aspects of automated vehicle (AV) technologies. Initially, it will explore the three primary technologies essential for automated vehicles, namely sensing, trajectory planning, and vehicle control.

2. Automated Vehicles and the Law

Instructor: Tifani Sadek, University of Michigan Law School

This module explores how the U.S. legal system affects and is affected by the deployment and adoption of AVs. The module will begin with a broad overview of the U.S. legal system as it is relevant to automated vehicles, including how disputes are resolved, how authority to regulate is created and exercised, and more.

3. Cybersecurity for CAVs

Instructors: Prof. Z. Morley Mao, University of Michigan, and Dr. Andre Weimerskirch, Block Harbor Cybersecurity

This course will cover a wide range of topics in security and safety for CAVs, providing a broad introduction of the CAV ecosystem, followed by both known attacks and emerging attacks (e.g., adversarial machine learning), along with defense solutions.

4. Dynamics and Control of Connected Vehicles

Instructor: Prof. Gabor Orosz, University of Michigan

This module focuses on modeling and control of connected vehicle systems consisting of human-driven vehicles and CAVs. Models are built in terms of ordinary differential equations and delay differential equations to describe the motion of different vehicle classes in the traffic flow.

5. Machine Learning Methods for CAT

Instructor: Prof. Neda Masoud, University of Michigan

This module introduces the fundamentals of machine learning, focusing on its application in connected and automated transportation (CAT). Participants will explore key concepts of supervised and unsupervised learning methods, gaining insights into how these techniques are used to address real-world challenges.

Meet the Instructors

Xiaopeng Li
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tifani Sadek
Michigan Law

Z. Morley Mao
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Andre Weimerskirch
Block Harbor Cybersecurity

Gabor Orosz
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Neda Masoud
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Registration

Registration for the CAT Certificate Program opens twice per year, once in the Spring and once in the Fall. Students will have one calendar year to complete four out of the five modules to receive their certificate. The next registration window will open from Friday, May 30th, 2025 through Monday, June 30th, 2025.