PacTrans | Student Activities

Student Activities

April 11, 2014
PacTrans at the UW Paws-on Science weekend held at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle

PacTrans was among more than 30 research groups from the UW who shared their research at the annual Paws on Science weekend at the Pacific Science Center this year, from April 4-6, 2014. The exhibit, titled “Red Light Green Light” was co-sponsored by PacTrans and the STAR Lab, a University of Washington transportation research lab led by Dr. Yinhai Wang. Several STAR lab researchers volunteered their time over the weekend to speak with families and school groups about safe and sustainable transportation research in the region. Interactive pedestrian detection and the Drive Net transportation data analysis, visualization, and mapping platform were among the highlights of the exhibit. This weekend event was a great opportunity to engage the next generation of engineers and scientists in the research and development at the UW through hands-on activities and demonstrations. The Paws on Science event was very well attended, with over 11,000 adults and children participating over the weekend.
April 01, 2014
Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Gala

Women’s Transportation Seminar is one of the most important professional societies in the transportation field. The annual gala is an event held every spring to acknowledge people who have made great contributions to the transportation industry for the past year and to raise funds for upcoming year scholarships that are provided to college students interested in making transportation a career. The gala draws hundreds of people from major transportation consulting firms, government agencies and other transportation enthusiasts.

This year’s Gala was attended by more than 320 transportation professionals, entrepreneur and students including Menglin Wang who was sponsored by PacTrans. She is currently the student liaison chair of Women’s Transportation Seminar Puget Sound Chapter and has been actively involved in their activities. She was also one of the recipients of WTS 2013 scholarship award. Menglin Wang considers the gala a great platform to interact with other transportation professionals and present PacTrans as an active player in the transportation world.

This year’s 2014 WTS scholarship winners include three University of Washington students, two from Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and the other from Evans School of Public Affairs. Mary E. Anderson is a recipient of the Helene M. Overly Graduate Memorial Scholarship. She is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Transportation. Amy Riley is a recipient of the Sharond Banks Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship with a focus on structural engineering. Jennifer Malley is the recipient of Senator Scott White Memorial Scholarships and is pursuing a Master of Public Administration through the Evans School of Public Affairs. She aspires to serve as an advocate for progressive transportation policies that create environmentally sustainable, equitable urban communities and lasting social change.

Menglin Wang and Maria Bayya at the Women’s Transportation Seminar Gala held on March 27, 2014, at Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA
October 22, 2013
2014 TRB Data Contest

Contest announcement

Develop an analytical or statistical model using the data available on http://depts.washington.edu/hfsm/ to identify differences in driver behavior in a dilemma zone while distracted. You can use any statistical/analytical software program.

Deadline: Nov. 30, 2013

For details, see http://depts.washington.edu/hfsm/upload.php or e-mail Dr. Linda Ng Boyle (linda@uw.edu).
September 19, 2013
PacTrans Summer Interns Produce New Seattle Bus Buddy Android Phone App

Summer interns Jinglan Wang and Kevin Yang on the UW campus in Seattle

As part of PacTrans’ outreach activities, PacTrans started a summer intern program in 2013 to attract talented high school and college students to work and study on transportation related issues. The first two students recruited to this program were Kevin Yang, an incoming high school junior at the Lakeside School in Seattle, and Jinglan Wang, an incoming sophmore at Wellesley College. Both students had demonstrated their talents by winning numerous awards in mathematics competitions. Particularly, Kevin won the 3rd place in Mathcounts National Competition in 2011 and received honorable mentions in both the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) 2013 and the United States of America Physics Olympiad (USAPO) 2013. Additionally, Jinglan is a talented athlete who won 4th place in the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in 2012 when she was captain of the Lakeside School’s crew team. The two interns worked closely together at the Smart Transportation Applications and Research Laboratory (STAR Lab) of the University of Washington over the summer and produced an Android phone app called Seattle Bus Buddy (available for download at the Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.starlab.busbuddy).

The idea for Bus Buddy was born when Jinglan continuously napped through her bus stop, much to Kevin’s amusement. They decided that many Seattleites likely faced a similar issue and set to work. The application they created allows users to set a GPS enabled alarm for their respective bus stops so that those who tend to miss their stop for various reasons will no longer worry about it. This application is meant to benefit all public transit users, especially those who are visually impaired. With data support from Sound Transit, the pre-installed accessibility options on the Android phone allow the user to navigate and utilize the application conveniently. They hope that hey can someday develop an iPhone version of the application, or that the open source app will capture the interest of other developers who are willing to optimize it for various cities and languages.

For more information about Seattle Bus Buddy or about interning at PacTrans, please contact pactrans@uw.edu.
August 23, 2013
Region 10 Student Transportation Conference on Oct. 19th

Save the Date: PacTrans is organizing a Region 10 Student Transportation Conference on Saturday, October 19th on the UW campus in Seattle, Washington.

More information: PacTrans-ITE Region 10 2013 Student Conference Flier

Please register online (and choose the student conference) as an option.

*Please note that students attending the Region 10 Student Transportation Conference on Saturday, Oct. 19th at the UW are also welcome to attend the Region 10 Transportation Conference on Friday, Oct. 18th.