The award, named after the founding president of the ARTBA Research & Education Division, recognizes an individual who has made remarkable contributions to transportation education. Bhat is an expert on travel demand modeling and travel behavior analysis. Bhat has conducted extensive research and written on land-use and travel demand modeling, evaluation of transportation control policy and congestion pricing, the use of non-motorized travel modes and physical health and transportation.

His research has been supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. EPA, National Institute of Statistical Sciences, state DOTs, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.