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PacTrans News

• October 14, 2014

  2014 PacTrans Regional Transportation Conference – final agenda

  Tomorrow is the last day to register for the 2014 PacTrans Regional Transportation Conference: The IOUs of Safety – Infrastructure, Operations, and Users. We hope to see you there!

  Friday, October 17, 2014
  University of Washington
  Cascade Room, Haggett Hall

  Click agenda below to view larger image.

  

• October 9, 2014

  PacTrans Sponsors 2014 Dr. J. Don Brock TransOvation™ Workshop

  PacTrans is proud to sponsor the 2014 Dr. J. Don Brock TransOvation™ Workshop. TransOvation is a unique opportunity to learn from, and collaborate with, other industry leaders in this exciting new world of rapidly changing technologies and transportation developments.  Workshop participants will learn first-hand how Microsoft, one of the most innovative companies in the world, is looking to make an impact on infrastructure. Participants will be part of discussions that focus on bringing the worlds of “Big Data” together with transportation construction.

  

   

  Learn more and register here.

   

   

• October 3, 2014

  2014 Pactrans Regional Transportation Conference Updated Agenda

  There is still time to register for the 2014 Pactrans Regional Transportation Conference: The IOUs of Safety – Infrastructure, Operations and Users, coming up on Friday, October 17 at the University of Washington, Haggett Hall. The conference will feature opportunities for networking, discussing research and applications, meeting top student researchers, and discovering potential collaborations.

  KEYNOTE ADDRESS

  The SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study: Summary and Future Opportunities for Researchers

  The SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS), is the largest naturalistic driving study ever conducted, and includes over 3,100 drivers, 3,900 years of driving data, and 2.5 million trips.

  John Campbell  will summarize the objectives and methods associated with the SHRP 2 study, and describe how researchers and practitioners can access and use the data from this landmark study to improve future roadway design and traffic safety.

  John Campbell is a Research Leader with Battelle’s Center for Human Performance and Safety, located in Seattle, Washington. There, he leads a team of behavioral scientists and engineers that provide a human-centered approach to the development and evaluation of transportation programs, products, and systems.

  Since 1985, Dr. Campbell has conducted numerous research studies involving driver behavior, vehicle safety, and driver assistance systems, using on-the-road vehicles, driving simulators, and test tracks.  He helped design the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS), and also served as the site manager for the Seattle data collection site, which contributed over 700 drivers and over 850 years of driving data to the overall study.

  AGENDA

  8:30 AM

  Welcome
  Yinhai Wang, PacTrans Director and Transportation Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington

  8:45 AM

  Welcome
  John Milton, Director of Enterprise Risk and Safety Management at  Washington State Department of Transportation

  9:00 AM

  Keynote Address: Naturalistic Driving Study
  John Campbell, Research Leader with Battelle’s Center for Human Performance and Safety, Seattle WA

  10:00 AM

  Brief introductions by PIs for poster session
  David Hurwitz, Assistant Professor, Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University

  10:30 AM

  Break

  11:00AM

  Research Session: Preparing for a Driverless World
  Edward Mantey, Senior Vice President Vehicle Planning, Corporate Strategy, Technical Administration, Toyota Technical Center

  User Safety:  From the Perspective of the Cyclist/Pedestrian
  Dongho Chang, City Traffic Engineer, City of Seattle

  User Safety: From the Perspective of the Driver
  Ted Trepanier, Executive Director, Inrix

  Infrastructure Safety:  From the Perspective of Autonomy
  Guoyan Wu, Research Engineer, University of California,  Riverside

  Operations Safety:  From the Perspective of State Research Needs
  Michael Bufalino, Research Manager, Oregon State Department of Transportation

  12:00 PM

  Lunch and Poster Session
  David Hurwitz, Assistant Professor, Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University

  1:00 PM

  Workforce Development, Panel Discussion
  Bruce Haldors, CEO, Transpogroup

  DOTs
  Carolyn Morehouse, Chief or Research Development and Technology Transfer Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

  Professional Organizations
  Jim O’Brien, American Society of Civil Engineers

  Industry
  Wayne Kittelson, Principal at Kittelson & Associates, Inc.

  CUTC/Universities
  Teresa Adams, Professor of Transportation Engineering and City Planning in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Director and Principal Investigator, National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education

  2:00 PM

  Tech Transfer, Presentations
  Doug Brodin, Research Manager, Washington State Department of Transportation

  DOT
  Santiago Navarro, Technology Transfer Program Manager at Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Department of Transportation

  Education Project
  Kevin Chang, Assistant Professor,  Department of Engineering, University of Idaho

  Idaho Snowmobile
  Dan Cordon, Clinical Faculty, Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho

  2:45 PM

  Break

  3:00 PM

  Breakout Groups – Strategic Directions
  Anne Goodchild, moderator, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Washington
  Infrastructure
  Operations
  Users

  4:30 PM

  Report Back/Closing Remarks
  Yinhai Wang, PacTrans Director and Transportation Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington

  5:00 PM

  Social Hour and Networking

  6:30 PM

  End of Conference

   

  Register for the conference today.

  Registration for the Student Conference can be found here.

• September 30, 2014

  Tsinghua University Delegation Visits PacTrans to Discuss Smart Cities

  A delegation led by Professor Zhang Yi, vice provost in global affairs, from Tsinghua University was welcomed by PacTrans and members of the University of Washington community on September 11th, 2014. The exchange brought faculty and administrators from both universities together to discuss cutting edge research in intelligent transportation and smart cities.

  Professor Zhang of the Tsinghua delegation, who hosted the UW delegation in 2008 and visited the UW in 2010, expressed enthusiasm for long-term cooperation between the institutions. “I’m excited to see that seed grow,” responded Dr. Yinhai Wang, PacTrans director.

  Dr. Wang led the presentation, introducing PacTrans’ research, the work of Smart Transportation Applications and Research (STAR) Lab, and important questions for research. Though there are many questions, Dr. Wang explained, the most important thing is to effectively use the data and derive effective solutions from data-driven research investigations.

  It may be the “age of big data,” but certain data challenges persist, such as the quality of existing data, the sensitivity of sensors, and missing types of data. PacTrans researchers work toward solutions for these issues, including e-Science transportation framework, the Digital Roadway Interactive Visualization and Evaluation Network (DRIVE Net), and new sensor technologies for pedestrian detection and safety.

  A robust discussion time following the presentation revealed a strong interest in big data, as many connected with the challenges surrounding its definition and data quality, as well as the opportunities of big data in civil and environmental engineering.

  

• September 22, 2014

  2014 PacTrans Student Transportation Conference on October 18th, 2014

  Registration is now open!

  

  This event will attract a diverse group of 60-70 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students alike from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho, bound by a common interest in transportation engineering and planning. The theme of this year’s event is success: namely, we hope that participants will gain valuable knowledge of the skills and tools necessary to be successful in their future careers, as well as current trends in engineering, and the kinds of jobs are available for young aspiring transportation professionals. This event is free to attend for all interested students.

  Register for the conference here!