PacTrans Graduate Fellowship
As part of our mission to cultivate the next generation of transportation professionals, two PacTrans consortium partner universities offer fellowships to students seeking advanced degrees in transportation-related fields.
At the University of Washington, the PacTrans Fellowship is focused on students interested in pursuing a master’s degree and with aspirations of being industry leaders in the transportation field. In addition to receiving a quality education, UW PacTrans fellows also participate in an internship, allowing for their knowledge obtained in the classroom to be supplemented with practical knowledge of the transportation industry.
At Oregon State University, the PacTrans Fellowship is focused on students pursuing either a master’s or doctoral degree in civil engineering. The OSU PacTrans fellowship is presented to one graduate student annually. It includes a stipend from PacTrans with a tuition match from the Graduate School for one academic year. Fellowship awardees focus their efforts on advancing novel research aimed at improving mobility for all transportation system users.
For the academic year 2022-23, the following three students received the award:
Bryce Beason (UW)
Bryce a first-year transportation engineering master’s student at the University of Washington graduating from the UW in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He is interested in traffic operations, intelligent transportation systems, shared mobility, and traffic safety. He is also currently an intern at SDOT working on transit safety projects, and plans to join the STAR Lab on campus to further his research efforts.
Sarah Carr (OSU)
Sarah Carr earned a BS in Civil Engineering at Kansas State University in 2022. She is currently in the first year of the master’s program in Transportation Civil Engineering at Oregon State University. She is interested in autonomous vehicles and signalized intersections. Carr is currently working on a research project for the Oregon Department of Transportation, SPR 861, which focuses on the development of a Signal-Controller-in-the-loop Simulation for Testing and Deploying Advanced Signal Operations on Arterial Roadways.
Olivia Potash (UW)
Olivia Potash obtained her Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Davis in 2018. She has since worked on a wide variety of transportation planning and roadway design projects at two consulting firms, Kimley-Horn and Wood Rodgers. Those projects supported her interests in data analysis, active transportation modes, and safety. During her Master’s Program she is eager to expand her perspective of the transportation engineering industry and better understand how she can best contribute to the advancement of sustainable and equitable transportation systems. She is excited to live in Seattle and explore all the city has to offer.