Dr. Lily Elefteriadou introduces readers to the various educational products completed, including the upcoming UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region and the UF Transportation Institute's Reception during TRB 2014.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga., March 24-25, 2014
Following the very successful UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region held in Orlando, Fla., which was conceptualized and hosted by STRIDE, the 2nd UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region will take place in Atlanta, Ga. For more information, click on the above link.
Ongoing Research Project Highlights
The STRIDE Center’s second pre-proposal period began February 22, 2013 and ended Friday, March 29, 2013. Pre-proposals were evaluated and full proposals were invited, which were due on June 21, 2013. New projects were selected late August 2013 and are now in progress.
Do you yield to pedestrians? Researchers from three STRIDE universities have joined forces to answer that very question, and to better understand and describe the complex interaction between pedestrians and vehicles at crosswalks. They are keeping close watch as pedestrians select gaps in traffic and as drivers yield to pedestrians – or not.
Sidewalk maintenance and design have significant impacts on pedestrian safety, mobility, accessibility and quality of life. Improving sidewalk conditions promotes pedestrian travel and healthy lifestyles and also provides increased accessibility to transit and equitable access to the public, including to people with physical disabilities, and this year, GaTech Undergrads have gotten the chance to get involved in this important effort.
Educational Products
Lesley Strawderman, Ph.D., associate professor at Mississippi State University, developed, tested, refined, and disseminated an educational module aimed at teaching undergraduate students about transportation safety.
The public transportation course modules developed for undergraduate and graduate students by Assistant Professors Kari Watkins of Georgia Tech and Jeff LaMondia of Auburn University are in the process of being used in introductory transportation engineering courses in a number of schools across the country.
Richard Willis, Ph.D., a member of the FHWA Sustainable Pavements Technical Working Group and former member of the FHWA Asphalt Recycling Expert Task Group, created the course to introduce graduate students to the concept of sustainability and to teach them the importance of making decisions based on triple-bottom-line concepts: economic benefits, environmental stewardship and social well-being.
The STRIDE-funded Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Course Module is now available for download on the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) website. The course explores the core concepts of pedestrian and bicycle planning and strategies related to creating effective and comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plans and programs.
K-12 Activities
Lots of exciting Workforce Development activities occurred this fall at UAB, MS State, NCSU, and UF. These events included robotics courses and competitions, Family Engineering Nights, service learning projects, career fairs, and GatorTRAX. Click here to read about all of the efforts this semester.
Student & Faculty News
When it comes time to prepare the STRIDE newsletter, we reach out to Principal Investigators on select projects and request recommendations for the Student Spotlight portion. For this issue, we received so many recommendations, that we had to save a few for the Spring edition! This issue features students from GaTech (Alice Grossman), NCSU (Elizabeth Hunter), and UNC-Chapel Hill (Mathew Palmer), who contributed a range of skills and knowledge to projects at their respective schools.
The Transportation Research Internship Program (TRIP) is designed to provide undergraduates an exciting opportunity to learn about transportation (engineering, planning and policy) and to participate in cutting edge research projects along with faculty and graduate students. The experience takes place over the summer semester and is particularly valuable to students interested in pursuing advanced studies and/or a career in the field of transportation. Five students participated this year and were involved in a variety of projects from Crash Prediction and Traffic Management to Retaining Walls and Freeway Facilities Analysis.
The Women's Transportation Senimar (WTS) is an international organization dedicated to building the future of transportation through the global advancement of women. To further these efforts, universities under the STRIDE consortium have been working to establish student chapters, and the WTS teams at GaTech and UF are going strong. Now, FIU is proud to announce the formulation of their new student chapter, which hit the ground running this August.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers is an international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs. Energetic and driven students at
FIU,
GaTech,
UAB, and
UF have been busy this year attending conferences, presenting research, and even winning awards!
Other News
The University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) launched on Friday, October 4, and aims to advance the transportation state-of-the art, disseminate research results, and provide educational opportunities related to transportation. UFTI brings together faculty, staff, and students from many diverse backgrounds to provide solutions to a variety of transportation problems.
The University of Florida’s Transportation Institute and the Engineering School for Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE) will be hosting once again a reception during the 93rd TRB on January 13, 2013 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Mezzanine of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The reception also will feature a STIDE Student Research Poster Showcase. Save the date and plan to attend!
After 6 years of operation under a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Tier-1, University Transportation Center (UTC) grant, the Center for Multimodal Solutions for Congestion Mitigation (CMS) closed its doors; but along the way, CMS produced some very impressive products that are currently used in transportation practice.
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