The Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety (CVeSS) at Virginia Tech was established in 2004 by Dr. Mehdi Ahmadian, professor of Mechanical Engineering, and director of CVeSS. The center consists of four laboratories: The Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory (AVDL, established 1995), Vehicle Terrain Performance Laboratory (VTPL, established 2006), Performance Engineering and Research Laboratory (PERL, established 2006) and Railway Technologies Laboratory (RTL, established 2004). The center is served by five full-time faculty, more than twenty graduate students, a large number of undergraduate students and technical personnel. Several other Virginia Tech faculty members and visiting scholars are CVeSS affiliate faculty.

Through its affiliated labs, CVeSS is engaged in a wide variety of research ranging from advanced vehicle suspensions, to measurement and modeling of terrain and terramechanics, to biodynamics, to dynamic control of vehicle systems, to vehicle stability and rollover anlysis. The research at CVeSS is broad. It encompasses a myriad of analytical, modeling, and experimental work. We work closely with our sponsors to come up with ways and methods of improving their existing and future products, improve their market share, and ultimately bring added value to their services and products.