On August 21, Katie Drennan and Ante Vulin, from Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s office, visited with OTREC and IBPI staff to learn more about the Consortium and the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Institute. Mary Rae Moller, Dr. Robert Bertini, Dr. Jennifer Dill, Dr. Lynn Weigand, and Hau Hagedorn participated in the discussion with Congressman Blumenauer’s legislative assistants.
On August 15th, over 30 high school youth from Oregon participated in design charette concluding the OTREC-sponsored Oregon Young Scholars Program. The young scholars were presented with a design problem earlier in the week and worked with their perspective cohorts (business, public health, planning and design, art and science) to educate themselves about the issue. The problem looked at the West Eugene Corridor as the next place to pursue bus rapid transit. Alternatives were identified, and the young scholars were charged with determining where the route should go. The charette included involvement from the young scholars and professionals from the Lane Transit District and the City of Eugene explore solutions to the design problem. On Saturday, the students gave a formal presentation to their parents and the City based on the results of the charette.
OTREC welcomed staff members Kris Pratt (Legislative Director) and Nils Tilstrom (Legislative Assistant) from Congressman David Wu’s office on August 12. Kris and Nils met with Robert Bertini, Hau Hagedorn, and Mary Rae Moller (PSU Federal Relations Associate) for an overview of OTREC and Consortium progress updates.
Drs. Christopher Monsere and Miguel Figliozzi made four presentations at at the North American Travel Monitoring Exhibition & Conference (NATMEC) in Washington D.C., August 6-8, 2008. Professor Monsere presented “Toward Incorporating Arterial Performance Quality in the PORTAL Archived Data User Service,” “Building a WIM Data Archive for Improved Modeling, Design, and Rating” and “Techniques for Establishing and Measuring Data Quality in an Archived Data User Service.” Co-authors included R.L. Bertini, K. Tufte, A. Nichols, M. Berkow and M. Wolfe. Professor Figliozzi presented “Linking Freight Planning and Real-Time Traffic Data to Monitor Freight Performance Measures,” which was co-authored with K. Tufte.
OTREC is pleased to announce the fourth issue of OTREC News. Issues of OTREC News include reports on our research projects, profiles of students and faculty, introductions to our Executive Committee and Advisory Board, updates on education programs and events, reports of partner university transportation news, and examples of exciting collaboration within our Consortium. This issue includes several special features including a spotlight on the OTREC-ODOT co-sponsored vehicle mileage fee project, overview of projects selected for 2008-2009, and a discussion on climate-friendly transportation research and much more. We welcome your feedback on our publications! Read the newsletter here: Newsletter Summer 2008.
OTREC was pleased to host a two day course on Traffic Signal Design, taught by Charles Radosta, John Ringert and Hermanus Steyn, of Kittelson & Associates, June 23-24, 2008. Professionals from around the Northwest participated in the highly interactive course. This is part of OTREC’s ongoing effort to provide relevant and affordable training and education opportunities for working professionals.
OTREC staff Carol Wallace, Hau Hagedorn and Robert Bertini participated in the RITA UTC Annual Meeting and the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) Summer Meeting hosted by the Mineta Institute at San Jose State University in San Jose, California, June 26-28, 2008. Bertini moderated a session on workforce challenges that included examples of what UTCs are doing to address the challenge through training and education. Staff met with RITA University Programs Specialist Robin Kline (left) and RITA Administrator Paul Brubaker (right).
House Committee on Science and Technology Invites Bertini to Testify on Sustainable Energy Efficient
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation invited Prof. Bertini to provide testimony before the subcommittee on June 24, 2008. Subcommittee Chairman David Wu (D-OR) called the hearing to review ongoing research and development related to surface transportation infrastructure. Other panelists included RITA Administrator Paul Brubaker, Caltrans Chief Deputy Director Randell Iwasaki, American Concrete Pavement Association President Gerald Voigt, and Dr. Christopher Poe from the Texas Transportation Institute. Detailed testimony and other information can be found on the committee website. Bertini’s written testimony can be found here and the archived video of the entire hearing can be found here (Bertini’s portion begins at 25:48). Additional photos: one two three
On June 9, 2008, the OTREC Executive Committee selected the top 28 research, education and technology transfer projects for 2008-2009 funding. Forty-nine proposals requesting over $3 million were received in March, and each proposal went through a rigorous peer review process. Peer-reviewers ranked the proposals on the basis of intellectual merit, broader impacts, relevance to OTRECís theme and the national transportation research agenda. All projects involve transportation faculty and students at one or more of OTREC’s partner campuses, and many involve multiple faculty and collaborations across disciplines. Most projects include at least one external matching partner. The list of 2008-2009 projects, including abstracts, can be found here: 2008-2009 Projects
OTREC was pleased to host a two day course on Geometric Design: Contemporary Considerations of Traditional Elements, taught by Brian Ray and Julia Knudsen, of Kittelson & Associates, June 3-4, 2008. Professionals from around the Northwest participated in the highly interactive course. This is part of OTREC’s ongoing effort to provide relevant and affordable training and education opportunities for working professionals.