The Outstanding Student of the Year award is presented during the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) banquet at each annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, where the U.S. Department of Transportation honors an outstanding graduate student from each UTC. Sam Jensen will be presented with the award for NITC at the CUTC award ceremony and banquet in January 2021. See past NITC Students of the Year.

2019 NITC Outstanding Student of the Year: Samuel Jensen, University of Arizona

Samuel Jensen is a planning masters student at the University of Arizona. He has been selected as the 2019 NITC Student of the Year, and will be presented with the award at the Council of University Transportation Centers banquet at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in January 2020. He will present research on "An Inventory of Bus Stop Amenities Guidelines at U.S. Transit Agencies" at TRB, in the Bus Transit Research and Practices poster session. Samuel's interest in transportation developed through his work as an advocate for transit justice. He also serves as the president of Graduate Planning Society, UA's planning student group, and as vice-chair of the city of Tucson's Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Read more about Samuel in his Student Spotlight.

2019 NITC Masters Student of the Year: Damian Matzen, Oregon Institute of Technology

Damian Matzen is a masters student at the Oregon Institute of Technology. He is a 2018-2019 National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) scholar, and was selected by NITC's executive committee as the 2019 NITC Outstanding Masters Student. As a recipient of this recognition, NITC is supporting Damian's attendance at the 2020 annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Washington, D.C. next month. Read more about Damien in his Student Spotlight.

2019 NITC Doctoral Student of the Year: Sarah Robinson, University of Texas at Arlington

Sarah Robinson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas and a NITC dissertation fellow. Her research primarily focuses on service provision and utilization by survivors of intimate partner violence. Sarah's NITC dissertation will explore the transportation challenges of survivors in intimate partner violence shelters. She is particularly interested in how the built environment (i.e. the structure, location, design of service agencies and transportation networks) impacts survivors’ abilities to access services and survivors’ outcomes, such as future experiences of violence and overall health and well-being. Read more about Sarah in her Student Spotlight.

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) is one of seven U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers. NITC is a program of the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. This PSU-led research partnership also includes the Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, University of Oregon, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Utah. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.