University of Arizona ITE Student Chapter Annual Report

Transcription

1 University of Arizona ITE Student Chapter Annual Report April 1 st, 2017

2 1 Acknowledgements We would like to thank University of Arizona Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics department, ATLAS (Advanced Transportation and Logistics, Algorithms and Systems) Research Center, ITE Arizona section, and Southern Arizona ITE (SAITE) for all their help and support over the last year. We would also like to thank Dr. Yao-Jan Wu, our faculty adviser, and Dr. Felipe Ladron de Guevara, our industry mentor, for their guidance, support and mentorship Annual Report for the Student Chapter of Institute of Transportation Engineers at the University of Arizona (UAITE), a Registered Student Organization For the period of August 2016 to May 2017 Report submitted by: Amin Ariannezhad, Student Chapter s President ariannezhad@ .arizona.edu April 1 st, 2017

3 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter Organization... i 1.1. Student Chapter Officers... i 1.2. Transportation Engineering Student Enrollment... iii 2. Funding and Communication... iii 2.1. Financial Autonomy... iii 2.2. Funding Opportunities... iv 2.3. Communication... iv 3. Student Chapter Activities... vi 3.1. General-Body Meetings... vi 3.2. Conference Trips... ix 3.3. Field Trips and Additional Activities... xv Appendix: Roster of UAITE Student Members... xix

4 i 1. Chapter Organization 1.1. Student Chapter Officers President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Conference Coordinator Membership & Outreach Events & Community Outreach Publicist & Media Chair Amin Ariannezhad Dylan Patel Eduardo Araiza Fatima Chaudhary Francisco Gomez Chanlin Wong Lindsey Willman Taylor Dunkle Fig. 1: UAITE team for the academic year of

5 ii President Amin Ariannezhad is a 3 rd year PhD student in Transportation Engineering at the department of Civil Engineering. Amin has been the chapter s board for two years. Vice President Dyaln Patel is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with a focus in Transportation Engineering as well as Construction Management. Dylan also served as the conference coordinator of the chapter for the spring semester of Treasurer Eduardo Araiza is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with an emphasis in Transportation Engineering as well as Construction Management. Eduardo also served as membership and Outreach of the chapter for the school year. Secretary Fatima Chaudhary is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with an emphasis in Transportation Engineering as well as Hydrology. Events & Community Outreach Lindsey Willman is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with a focus in Transportation Engineering. Membership & Outreach Chanlin Wong is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with an emphasis in Transportation Engineering. Publicist & Media Chair Taylor Dunkle is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with an emphasis in Transportation Engineering.

6 iii Conference Coordinator Francisco Gomez is a senior student at the Civil Engineering department with an emphasis in Transportation Engineering as well as Structural Analysis Transportation Engineering Student Enrollment The Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (CEEM) at UA offers BSCE, MSCE, MSE, MS, and PhD degrees. The five areas of specialization are: Transportation Engineering, Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Hydrology. Combined, these areas account for 126 fulltime undergraduate students at junior and senior levels. The Department does not officially recognize undergraduate majors or minors in transportation engineering, although students do focus on specific programs or concentrations that often include transportation. Currently, 47 undergraduate students have expressed an interest on pursuing a focus in transportation. Students also have the opportunity to take classes outside of civil engineering in areas such as urban planning and construction management. The CEEM department also has 7 full-time graduate students in Transportation Engineering. Graduate students take classes in the areas of transportation engineering, planning, traffic and design. Students are required to do research and complete a research paper, thesis, or dissertation in order to attain the degree. 2. Funding and Communication 2.1. Financial Autonomy The student chapter has its own saving and checking accounts, independent of other department accounts, and also has an account with the department, which is used for donations that are made to the chapter through department. The chapter does not charge any membership fee.

7 iv 2.2. Funding Opportunities The chapter received $500 financial support from the CEEM department for general activities. This support used to be $200 in the past, but based on the chapter s satisfactory performance in , the department decided to increase that by $500. This money has been used for buying pizza and drinks for the general body meetings and also for providing transportation accommodations for field trips. A request for funding was sent to the ASUA office from which we received $760 for the academic year. AZ ITE and the university s transportation center each donated $1000 to the club. We got $300 from the Engineering Student Council (ESC) for the Fall 2016 semester and $150 for the Spring 2017 semester Communication The UAITE list is the primary method for communication with members. Information about meetings, club activities, news, and opportunities such as scholarships, jobs and internships will be sent to ITE members through s. The chapter also sends out a monthly newsletter to all CE students with news and key information on the upcoming events. Moreover, UAITE has a website, where provides this opportunity to all UA students (or anyone from outside) to learn more about the club ( The website is updated on a regular basis, and photos, news and information about the upcoming events will also be posted.

8 v Fig. 2: An example of the UAITE bi-monthly newsletter

9 vi 3. Student Chapter Activities 3.1. General-Body Meetings Location: Civil Engineering Bldg, Rm 201 Date: 2 nd and/or 4 th Wednesdays of each month UAITE holds general body meetings once or twice a month. During these meetings, first the president or VP greets the members and updates them about the past and/or upcoming events and activities. In the kick-off meetings at the beginning of each semester, the officers and chapter s general plans are being announced and a quick orientation is given on ITE and what benefits the students will get by becoming a member. In the Fall kick-off meetings, usually a representative from SAITE will be present to briefly talk about the SAITE activates as well as the scholarship opportunities. Free pizza and drinks will also be served at these events. A speaker is invited to give a presentation at the general body meetings, and the president would introduce the speaker and announce his/her talk topic. We try to invite speakers from different sectors and different areas of transportation to help students broaden their knowledge and learn about all aspects of transportation profession. Below is a list of our invited speakers for the school year: Kolb Road Extension by Joe Chase, PE, Transportation Engineer at City of Tucson - September 14 th, 2016 Presented the on the Kolb Road extension including the design and the obstacles faced while carrying out project. I-11 A tiered approach to a new Interstate by Jay Van Echo, PE, Arizona Department of Transportation, Horrocks Engineers, Multi-modal Planning Department, Project Manager September 28 th, 2016 Gave a presentation on the new I-10 corridor from Nogales to Wickenburg, AZ. Talked about ADOT and FHWA involvement and the impact this project will have.

10 vii Kittleson & Associates! by Andrew Bailey, Joel Amarillas, and Jason Simmers, Associate Engineers at Kittelsons & Associates, Inc. - October 12 th, 2016 The speakers gave a presentation on the planning and design of Broadway Blvd as well as Camino Seco to Houghton Road and discussed its purpose. Also talked about professional careers, internships and other career advice and choices in transportation. Geotechnical Aspects of your Transportation Project: The Good, Bad, and Ugly by Randall D. Harris, PE, Managing Director and Vice President at Western Technologies Inc. October26th, Discussed Geotechnical Engineering, the equipment used, and showed pictures of past projects and job sites. Showed the details of compaction tests. Talked about case histories and what could have gone better. Coronado Roundabout Case Study by Sean Samsel, PE, PSOMAS, Civil Engineering Designer November 9 th, 2016 Discussed the various kinds of projects done at PSOMAS vertical construction and transportation projects (Twin Peaks, Roundabouts), land development, roundabouts. Valencia/Kolb parkway at-grade intersection (PAGI) by James Beier, PE, PTOE - January 25 th, 2017 Discussed the Valencia-Kolb intersection section and the challenges faces. Talked about the traffic operations and stimulations that were put into place as well as the road safety assessment that was done. Introduction to Crash Reconstruction by Robert K. Seyfried, PE, PTOE - February 8 th, 2017 Discussed the challenges faced when dealing with reconstruction. Connected Vehicles by Larry Head, Ph.D. Systems & Industrial Engineering, Professor at University of Arizona - February 22 nd, 2017 Discussed what connected vehicles are and simulations done in designing and analyzing connected vehicles. Talked about the future with these kinds of

11 viii innovations. Introduction to Crash Reconstruction by Avery Rhodes - March 22 nd, 2017 Discussed automated systems for transits in order to have priority in signal timing. Fig. 3-4: UAITE general body meetings

12 ix 3.2. Conference Trips o 23 rd ITS Arizona Annual Conference The 23 rd Annual ITS Arizona Conference hosted by Arizona s Intelligent Transportation Society was held on September 28 th and September 29 th, 2016 at Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona. A group of 8 UAITE students attended this conference, and our student chapter held a booth exhibition at the conference exhibition hall, showcasing ITE student chapter activities and UA transportation group research, which was a success and attracted many visitors. Fig. 5: UAITE members at the chapter s booth at ITS Arizona conference September 29 th, 2016 Graduate student and research assistant Chengchuan An presented his research paper titled Detecting Impacts of Communication Loss on Signal Performance Using Event

13 x Based Data at the 23 rd Annual ITS Conference. He won the best graduate research paper award. Fig 6: Chengchuan An photographed with his award at the 23 rd annual ITS Arizona Conference University of Arizona Transportation Professor Dr. Yao-Jan Wu also presented at this conference and talked about the research on real-time signal detectors. Fig 7-8: University of Arizona Transportation Professor Dr. Wu presenting on signal detectors at the ITS Arizona Conference

14 xi o Transportation Research Board (TRB) 96th Anuual Meerting As the most important transportation event of the year, each year TRB brings thousands of professionals, professors and students from all around the world together in Washington, DC. The program covers more than 5,000 presentations in sessions and workshops addressing various topics that are interested for policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. The conference was held at Walter E Convention Center, Washington, DC on January 8-12, A group of UAITE transportation graduate students attended this conference, connected with other students and researchers and got familiar with the hot topics in their field of interest. They had multiple paper and poster presentations at this conference, and received valuable feedbacks from researchers and practitioners which would help them improve their work. Fig. 9: UAITE graduate members at TRB conference January 2017

15 xii o Student Leadership Summit 2017 Conference The Student Leadership Summit 2017 took place in Fullerton, California from Friday January 12 to Sunday January 15. Five UA ITE members attended this conference. There were various companies there for a meet-and-greet. There were also technical sessions where students presented about transportation careers as well as projects that have happened or are currently taking place. In this conference, students were put into projects where they had to promote or denounce a proposed development. They had to make an advertisement for their stance.

16 xiii Fig : Pictures from the Student Leadership Summit Conference 2017 o 2016 Arizona ITE/IMSA Spring Conference The 2016 Arizona ITE/IMSA Spring Conference was held jointly by ITE Arizona Section and the International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA) on March 2-3, 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ITE/IMSA is a joint conference between the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA), and has been an annual tradition for years, allowing local transportation professionals from both public and private sectors to learn together about issues, research, and technology advances that affect our profession.

17 xiv Fig : Some of the UAITE members at the ITE/IMSA conference venue March 2017

18 xv The chapter took 11 members of UAITE to the conference. They students were able to engage with professionals, attend presentation sessions, and also get familiar with current research topics and practitioners. UAITE s own Amin Ariannezhad presented on the topic of the development of a traffic data quality assurance tool. UAITE Vice President Dylan Patel and former UAITE president Andisheh Ranjbari were a part of the Young Professionals Development Panel. Fig. 12: Dylan Patel and Andisheh Ranjbari with the rest of the students and professionals on the Young Professionals Development Panel at the ITE/IMSA Conference March Field Trips and Additional Activities o Engineering Student Council Club Showcase At the beginning of every Fall semester, the University of Arizona s Engineering Student Council (ESC) puts on an engineering clubs showcase to give freshman engineering students the opportunity to learn about each of the many engineering-focused clubs on campus.

19 xvi As a member of ESC, ITE participated in this event and introduced the club, its activities and the membership benefits to freshmen visitors. This year s event was held on September 2 nd on UA campus. Fig. 13: UAITE members at the ESC Fall engineering clubs showcase September 1 st, 2016 o Meeting with Western District ITE President Mark Spenscer On September 22nd, 2016, Western District ITE President Mark Spencer met with a group of UA ITE members to talk about different jobs available in Transportation Engineering. He also discussed the many up coming opportunities in ITE. With his extra time with the students he presented on a very interesting project, the California High Speed Rail.

20 xvii Fig. 14: Western District ITE President Mark Spencer with some ITE board members o Traffic Signal Timing Workshop A workshop on traffic signal timing was organized and held by UAITE on August 25th with Civil Engineering Department. Dr. Zong Tian, associate professor in University of Nevada, Reno was invited to teach this workshop. Dr. Tian has developed a software, TranSync, to optimize the coordinated signals timing at arterials. The workshop was mostly organized for graduate students and practitioners. Engineers from several local agencies including Pima County Department of Transportation (PCDOT), Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Pima Association of Government (PAG), and City of Marana attended this workshop for help in further using the TranSync in arterial signal timing improvement projects.

21 xviii In this one day workshop, attendees were trained to work with the TranSync tool. Then, the corridor under study (Speedway Blvd) was visited on the site to collect travel run data. A new timing plan was developed, loaded, and verified to optimize the coordinated signals at this corridor. Fig : Dr. Tian teaching a Traffic Signal Timing Workshop at the CE Department

22 xix Appendix: Roster of UAITE Student Members Name Year Abolfazl Karimpour Graduate Adrian Cottam Junior Alex Weber Senior Amy White Senior Amin Ariannezhad Graduate Ana Rapalo Senior Andisheh Ranjbari Graduate Austin Moore Senior Blair Kessler Junior Brian Loev Senior Christian Castillo Junior Chanlin Wong Senior Daniel Recker Junior Dante Lo Greco Senior David Araiza Junior David Klebosky Junior David Rodriguez Junior Dylan Patel Senior Eduardo Araiza Senior Falvio Cavada Senior Fatima Chaudhary Senior Fernanda Fraijo Senior Francisco Gomez Senior Gabe Francke Junior Gabe Mitchell Junior Hunter Brown Junior Ian Barr Senior Jacob Ehm Senior Jason Boley Senior Jason Javelosa Junior Jishun Ou Graduate Jorge Sanchez Senior JT Dang Junior Kiet Dao Graduate Kossigan Apedjinou Junior Kyle DerHaag Junior Lindsey Willman Senior Lissette Flores Senior

23 xx Luis Medrano Junior Luis Valdez Graduate Manuel Lopez Senior Michaela Long Junior Miranda Jackson Junior Nick Westphal Junior Payton Cooke Graduate Sal Licari Junior Sebastian Lujan Junior Taylor Dukle Senior Tina Johnsen Junior William Zimmerman Junior Vince Morello Junior Zachary Mcpherson Senior