Graduate student Ivana Tasic has been selected by the Board of Regents of the Eno Center for Transportation to participate in the 24th annual Eno Future Leaders Development Conference in Washington, DC, June 5-9, 2016. Ivana will be among 20 other of the nation’s top graduate students in transportation to get a first-hand look at how national transportation policies are developed.

Ivana also will receive the 2016 Charles William Koch Award, which recognizes exceptional academic achievement and leadership qualities evidenced by a student specializing in transportation operations.

Dr. Amanda Bordelon and her student Min Ook Kim received the “Gene Skok Award for Outstanding Paper by a Young Author”. This was given by the Transportation Research Board Committee AFD70 Pavement Rehabilitation and presented at the TRB Annual Meeting in January 2016. The paper was entitled “Fiber Effect on Interfacial Bond between Concrete and Reinforced Mortar” and will be published in the Transportation Research Record journal this 2016 year. Click here to view the paper.

The Utah Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) awarded its 2016 Educator of the Year to Professor Cathy Liu at the ITE Utah Chapter Annual Conference on January 28th.

The event was held at the Rice Eccles Stadium. There were over 200 transportation professionals from public agencies, consultants, academia, students, and vendors.

The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Geometric Design Committee awarded its 2015 Best Paper in Geometric Design Award to Professor Richard J. Porter, Michael Scott Shea, and Thanh Le. The title of the paper is, A Combined Crash Frequency – Crash Severity Evaluation of Geometric Design Decisions (15-5881).

On January 13th their paper was honored in Washington D.C. at the Geometric Design Committee meeting.

Title: A Combined Crash Frequency – Crash Severity Evaluation of Geometric Design Decisions: Entrance-Exit Ramp Spacing and Auxiliary Lane Presence
Authors: M. Scott Shea, Thanh Q. Le, R.J. Porter
Abstract: This paper quantifies the effects of freeway ramp spacing and auxiliary lane presence on crash frequency and crash severity. Crash frequencies are predicted using a safety performance function and crash severities are estimated using a “severity distribution function.” The paper then demonstrates how to combine quantitative knowledge related to the effects of ramp spacing and auxiliary lane presence on both crash frequency and severity into a framework for assessing the overall crash cost for different ramp configurations. Geometric features, traffic characteristics, and crash data were collected for 404 freeway segments in California and Washington State. Negative binomial regression models and multinomial logit regression models are used to estimate the effects of ramp spacing and auxiliary lane presence on expected crash frequencies and crash severities, respectively. Results show that expected multi-vehicle crash frequency increases when ramp spacing decreases. Meanwhile, there is a decrease in the proportion of severe crashes (fatal, incapacitating injury) with a decrease in ramp spacing, even though the overall frequency of these severe crashes remains relatively unchanged. Providing an auxiliary lane is expected to decrease crash frequency, although this reduction appears to be primarily in less severe crashes (possible injury and property damage only). The findings appear to effectively capture the complex relationships between geometric design designs and operations and the high sensitivity between speed and crash severity. The paper provides quantitative tools for making informed freeway and interchange design decisions where ramp spacing is a consideration.
MPC Project Information: MPC 406, http://www.mountain-plains.org/research/projects/downloads/2012_mpc_406.pdf

The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) student chapter recently won the 2016 Western ITE data collection fund. Their proposal is about, Mixed Land Use Center with Transit-Oriented Development. The student chapter was one of five winners.

ITE Western District created a Data Collection Fund to encourage Student Chapter involvement with the profession. This program is specifically aimed at creating interest in transportation through practical activities and mentoring. More information here.

Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that they are awarding a $1.2 million dollar grant to the University of Utah. The money will fund a 3-year study on the impact of drought and extreme events on water quality.

Michael Barber is the department chair of civil and environmental engineering at the U. He says much of their successful grant proposal is based on the fact that the state’s population is expected to nearly double by 2050.

To read the full article please click here.

Two civil engineering transportation students, Anusha Musunuru and Ivana Tasic, were recently honored from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) with the “Women Leaders in Transportation Design & Construction” awards. They each received the Future Industry Leader Spotlight Award.

Anusha Musunuru is focused on developing a framework for more reliably informing causation and/or occurrence-mechanism of traffic crashes.

Ivana Tasic is studying civil and environmental engineering, with a focus on Urban Multimodal Transportation.

For more information please click here.

Dr. Ramesh Goel has joined the Editorial Board of Water Research as Associate Editor. Water Research is a leading journal internationally in Environmental Engineering.

Water Research publishes refereed, original research papers on all aspects of the science and technology of water quality and its management worldwide. To find out more please visit: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/water-research.

No one better understands the operations of the University of Utah’s TRIGA nuclear reactor than Ryan Schow. As the reactor supervisor, Ryan is a prime example of the nuclear engineering program’s top-notch staff, always training personnel and maintaining the facility with an eye toward safety and security. Working with UNEP Director Tatjana Jevremovich, Ryan helped develop new and improved ways of maintaining and operating the reactor that mirrors the rigorous operations of industry nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, he has demonstrated a continuous commitment to the growth of the program. As the students of the Utah Nuclear Engineering Program wrote: “It would be fitting to honor Ryan for his outstanding work and dedication in improving both UNEP and the College of Engineering and in setting a high standard for us to follow.”

2015 Outstanding Staff and Teaching Awards

The Technology Partnership Programs, Universities and Grants Programs has awarded Ph.D. student, Scott Shea, to receive a 2015 Dwight David Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship. This prestigious award is given to transportation students to advance in education, research and workforce development.