University of Utah Ph.D. student Fengze Yang has received the ITE Mountain District Outstanding Graduate Student Award, recognizing his contributions to transportation engineering, student leadership, and the transportation profession.
Yang, who studies transportation engineering in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering under Assistant Professor Chenxi Liu, was presented the award at the ITE Utah September luncheon. He was nominated for the honor by Cathy Liu and credits her and Chenxi Liu for their continued mentorship and support.
“I am deeply honored to receive the ITE Mountain District Outstanding Graduate Student Award,” Yang said. “This recognition encourages me to continue advancing transportation research, supporting student engagement, and contributing to the transportation profession.”
That commitment extends beyond Yang’s own research. Through his leadership with the University of Utah’s Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter, he has helped create opportunities for students to take transportation engineering out of the classroom and use it to improve safety in the community.
One recent example is “Safe Speed, Smart Drive,” an outreach initiative developed by the U’s ITE Student Chapter in partnership with Utah Motorsports Campus. The project received the 2025–26 ITE Mountain District Student Project Fund, providing support to bring transportation safety education directly to middle and high school students.
The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on driving experiences to demonstrate how speed, traction, braking, and reaction time affect roadway safety. During a recent outreach event at Utah Motorsports Campus, students participated in controlled go-kart exercises and learned from professional instructors how snow, ice, and reduced traction can change vehicle handling and stopping behavior.
The program also emphasizes vulnerable road user safety, encouraging young drivers to understand how their decisions behind the wheel affect pedestrians, cyclists, and everyone who shares the transportation system.
By combining research, professional involvement, and community outreach, Yang is putting transportation engineering into practice well before completing his Ph.D. His ITE Mountain District recognition reflects that broader commitment: advancing transportation research while helping prepare both the next generation of engineers and the next generation of safer drivers.
