How to Apply: Timeline and Eligibility

TURF Applications are now closed for 2022. Want to stay updated on the TURF program? Fill out this interest form if you would like to be notified when TURF applications open in the future.

Eligibility

Students must be currently enrolled in a civil engineering, urban studies and planning, or transportation-related undergraduate degree program at any college or university. Preference will be given to applicants who have a strong interest in transportation and graduate education. Due to funding restrictions, international students are not eligible to apply. 

Transportation and Communities Summit

Established in 2009, the Transportation and Communities Summit was originally known as the Oregon Transportation Summit, and has since become the Pacific Northwest's premier transportation conference. The summit brings together professionals from all areas of transportation: planners, engineers, advocates, policymakers and community leaders. Expanded to a two-day event in 2016, we started offering interactive, hands-on workshops along with breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and leading keynote speakers who offer an outside-the-industry perspective.

**Due to COVID-19, we have postponed planning new gatherings.**

2019 Transportation and Communities Summit

2018 Transportation and Communities Academy

2017 Transportation and Communities Summit

2016 Transportation and Communities Summit

2015 Transportation and Communities Summit

2014 Oregon Transportation Summit

2013 Oregon Transportation Summit

2012 Oregon Transportation Summit

2011 Oregon Transportation Summit

2010 Oregon Transportation Summit

2009 Oregon Transportation Summit (no archived materials available)

Transportation Webinars

Transportation Webinars

One of the ways in which we seek to inform transportation decision making is through the education of current and future transportation professionals. To that end, we host one or more webinars per month, covering a wide range of research topics that advance mobility for people and goods

These webinars are supported by a variety of grants and partners, primarily funded by our National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) - one of seven national University Transportation Centers (UTC) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

All of our webinars are provided to the public for free, and recorded and archived on our site for anyone to access. To get notifications of upcoming seminars and webinars, sign up for our monthly newsletter here.

Funding Opportunities for Transportation Students at PSU


Our Portland State University students conduct cutting-edge research under the guidance of the world’s foremost transportation research faculty in planning and engineering. With an emphasis on learning by doing, students work on real transportation system projects with partners in our community. These partnerships lead to internships and rewarding careers after graduation. Below you'll find a variety of scholarships, fellowships, and other awards offered through our programs, PSU, or partners. Meet all of PSU's past transportation scholars dating back to 2006!

The best way to learn about the new GRA positions, local internships, PSU scholarships, award opportunities, and more is to join the PSU listserv for our student group ITE-STEP (Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning).

Join Our Mailing List

Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on transportation events, research, and programs.

TREC Newsletter

The Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University, is home to PORTAL, BikePed Portal, the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), and other transportation programs. We produce research for transportation decision makers and support the education of current and future professionals through curriculum development and student participation in research. See some past editions of our monthly newsletter:

April 2025 | March 2025 | February 2025 | January 2025 | 

December 2024 | November 2024 | October 2024 | September 2024

Our Graduate Research Assistants

Meet our current 2022 - 2023 Portland State University students working as graduate assistants for TREC staff and researchers. Meet past GRAs here, as well as our PSU transportation scholars and fellows.
 
Cameron Bennett
 
Advisor: John MacArthur

Cameron Bennett is a second-year masters student in transportation engineering. He was the recipient of a Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship presented by the U.S. Department of Transportation at the 2022 annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Cameron currently serves as president of the PSU student group ITE-STEP (Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning). His work as a graduate research assistant focuses on promoting and facilitating the use of active transportation as a tool for equity, livability, and economic development. He's working with John MacArthur on How Can E-bike Purchase Incentives Grow the E-bike Market?. Cameron is passionate about bicycle and pedestrian design, planning, and policy in urban environments.

Kyuri Kim
Advisor: Jennifer Dill and Nathan McNeil

 
Kyuri is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in urban planning at the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning. She is currently supporting Jennifer Dill and Nathan McNeil on two projects; one is the Division Transit Project, and the other is about Evaluation of Curb Extension Treatments for Pedestrian Comfort and Safety at Intersections. In the recent past, she supported Dr. Dill and Hau Hagedorn in transportation data analysis and visualization (including BikePed Portal and OHSU Census data), Dr. Dill and Nathan McNeil on the Research Roadmap for the AASHTO Council on Active Transportation, and other transportation research.
Jacqueline Krantz
Advisor: Lacey Friedly
 
Jackie is a second-year masters student in the Book Publishing program, and a project manager at PSU's Ooligan Press. She is supporting TREC communications including social media, graphic design, and copywriting, as well as disseminating results of research published by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), a program of TREC.
 Jiahui Ma
Advisors: Jennifer Dill and Nathan McNeil
Jiahui is a third-year Ph.D. student in urban planning at the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning. She is currently supporting Jennifer Dill and Nathan McNeil on the Evaluation of Road User Comprehension and Compliance with Red Colored Transit Priority Lanes as well as analyzing data from the Breaking Barriers to Bike Share project. 
 
Prabhu Marappan
 
Advisors: Tammy Lee and Basem Elazzabi
Prabhu is currently pursuing his Master of Science in Computer Science from PSU. Before this he worked as a Software Engineer for 5 years in Backend Development, Infrastructure, System Design and Architecture for distributed web applications. He's an engineer looking to solve interesting engineering and data problems, and is currently supporting TREC's transportation data programs: PORTAL and BikePed Portal.
Gabriel Quiñones-Zambrana
Advisor: Hau Hagedorn
Gabriel is a first-year Ph.D. student in urban studies at the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning. Before this he worked in the private sector as a Transit and Transportation Planner, and in the public sector as the Director of a Planning Department in a municipality, for more than 8 years combined. Currently, he is supporting Hau Hagedorn with the Better Block PSU Program and a variety of other projects.
 

Home

The Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University (PSU) is a multidisciplinary hub for all things transportation. We are home to the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), the data programs PORTAL and BikePed Portal, the Better Block PSU program, and PSU's membership in PacTrans, the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium. Our continuing goal is to produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education, seminars, and participation in research.