Admittedly, the lbpost.com has been a bit heavy on the Port news this week. From updates on expansion projects to environmental progress and weekend festivals, we try to bring you all the current information on one of Long Beach’s most distinguishing features. For better or worse, the port is a Long Beach foundation, in constant flux as it attempts to update a 50-year old infrastructure to blend with present day environmental standards.
The port is in constant, never-ending change, and there will always be those with ideas on exactly what should change and how. This week, a CSULB-funded research program unveiled five projects that university professors have created in an effort to explore new opportunities in the goods movement industry.
The Center for the Commercial Deployment of Transportation Technologies (CCDoTT) has worked under the radar at CSULB since 1995 to research the industry, using faculty and students for goods movement research. A few years ago, the Innovation Cell Pilot Program was initiated, allowing researchers to submit proposals that would be eligible to receive funding for continued study. CCDoTT selected and funded five proposals, two of which have matured into fulltime CCDoTT programs – and the work done in those programs could kickstart new innovations at the Port of Long Beach and elsewhere.
1. Cargo Inspection Technology – The Port of Long Beach has an excellent record of preventing smuggled goods from entering the country, but with elevated risks and safety concerns, you can never be too careful. CSULB professor Chin Chang, PhD., from the Department of Electrical Engineering, heads the Automated Cargo Container Inspection Technology program with the goal of researching available X-ray imaging and sensing technologies to improve speed and accuracy in sniffing out possible weapons or threats. A partnership with Raytheon extends the resources available, and results will be presented to the Department of Homeland Security when completed.
2. MAGLEV Research
The issue most often under fire at the Port is emissions – whether from the massive cargo ships, army of semi-trucks or never-ending maze of trains puffing in and out of the facility. Container traffic is expected to dramatically increase in future years, but there will soon be no more land to expand transportation infrastructure. So the focus is efficiency, hopefully in an environmentally-friendly manner. There is no silver bullet, but research done by CSULB professor Bei Lu, PhD., of the Department of Electrical Engineering, is furthering our understanding of alternative goods movement by studying the pros and cons of magnified rail transportation. This program is in the phase of researching four American-based magnetic levitation companies, and researching similar systems utilized in foreign countries like Germany, Japan, Korea and Switzerland. Which system is most useful? Reliable? Cost-effective? Development in America is behind those in other countries, and Lu’s research may provide a clearer understanding of a technology that is seen as a front-runner in the race to endorse an alternative goods movement system.
During a September meeting of industry minds – sponsored by CCDoTT and held at CSULB – attendees agreed that freight systems in Southern California must be revolutionized. The problem remains that there is no clear solution. Experts are still unsure of which technology to endorse, and CCDoTT recently proposed the creation of a governing panel of experts that would recommend action.
Until then, CCDoTT continues to conduct crucial research that may determine the future of the Port of Long Beach, not ten miles from CSULB classrooms and lecture halls. Click here to learn more about CCDoTT, and here for details about the Innovation Cell Pilot Program.