National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Gwen Jones, an undergraduate student at the Oregon Institute of Technology, has been awarded the 2017 Molitoris Leadership Scholarship by WTS.

Jones is at Oregon Tech pursuing a degree in civil engineering with a focus on bridges and how they affect the transportation system. Over the summer, she participated in a history of bridges class, touring more than 40 bridges throughout Oregon and attending the NITC Transportation and Communities Summit in Portland, further driving her passion for bridges and her interest in the direct impact bridges have on a burgeoning transportation system.

Jones's drive, determination and confidence helped her secure the position of Director of Health and Diversity for Rogue Community College’s Associated Student Government. However, she believes her greatest leadership commitment is being a mother to her two children. As a full-time student and mother, she is driven to succeed and obtain her degree. She will graduate in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree. In addition to taking engineering classes, Gwen has accepted a position with Adkins Consulting Engineering.

The purpose of the Molitoris Leadership Scholarship is to...

Six students in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter of the Oregon Institute of Technology had an in-person meeting earlier this month with Congressman Greg Walden, Representative of the 2nd District of Oregon.

The students, along with Faculty Advisor Dr. Roger Lindgren, were in Washington DC attending the 2017 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Funding for the student travel was provided by NITC.

Students Andrew Wixon, Alex Antonaras, Ryan Kelly, Kevin Baker, Jason Millar and Jordan Preston had the opportunity for a brief conversation with the congressman as part of their TRB experience. Students at Oregon Tech have a strong tradition of participating in NITC projects and events.

Oregon Tech has partnered with the university transportation center at Portland State since its 2006 inception as OTREC, and continues this collaboration by being a part of the expanded NITC program grant established in 2016.

The ITE student chapter at Oregon Tech, since its establishment in 2002, has provided its student members with a variety of transportation learning activities including field tours, webinars, traffic bowl participation and travel to conferences.

One of the group's main priorities is putting engineering students in contact with practicing engineers and real-world projects...

Two students from the Oregon Institute of Technology have been awarded 2015 WTS Portland Chapter Scholarships.

Miranda Barrus and Danit Hubbell were named as the recipients of these highly competitive scholarships, open to applications from students in universities throughout Oregon and Washington.

Barrus, a co-terminal graduate student expecting to graduate (BS/MS) Civil Engineering in June 2016, won the 2015 WTS Portland Gail Achterman Leadership Graduate Scholarship. Barrus was the recipient of a different WTS scholarship last year.

Hubbell is a senior undergraduate, expecting to graduate (BS) Civil Engineering in March 2016. She is the winnter of the 2015 WTS Portland Sharon D. Banks Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship. Hubbell also recently received a 2015 Oregon Tech Douglas P. Daniels/Coral Sales Company Scholarship.

Both Barrus and Hubbell have a keen interest in transportation engineering. They have each completed multiple transportation-related internships through CECOP and are active members of Oregon Tech's Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter. Hubbell is the 2015-16 Chapter President, while Barrus is the Vice-President and Field Trip Coordinator.

Founded in 1977, Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) is an international...

Seven Oregon Tech students attended a sustainable pavement conference in Portland thanks to NITC program funding. The 2015 Asphalt Sustainability Conference West highlighted innovations in technologies and practices.

Danit Hubbell, Oregon Tech’s ITE student chapter president, said she and the other students who made the trip last month are all transportation focused, though they have varying degrees of interest in asphalt. The conference featured a good mix of topics, she said.

The term “sustainability” can vary based on context, and that was reflected in the conference sessions, Hubbell said. “One presenter talked about it as the asphalt itself and the materials it’s made out of. For others, it was the transportation and the longevity.

“I think it encompasses both of those,” she said.

Asphalt paving has come a long way in the last few years, Hubbell said, with sustainability driving much of the changes. Oregon Tech has stayed on top of those innovations, she said, as all civil engineering students must complete a infrastructure sustainability course.

The conference seemed to draw more transportation practitioners than students, Hubbell said, which was part of its appeal. The Oregon Tech students relished the opportunity to browse the exhibitors’ tables and talk with professionals from various organizations.

Hubbell, who graduates next March, already has a job lined up. She’ll join Kiewit Infrastructure...