• July 30, 2019

    “Congestion vs. Connected Autonomous Vehicles” video lands OSU graduate student a scholarship

    Doctoral candidate, Alireza Mostafizi, from PacTrans constituent university, OSU, was the recipient of the 2018 – 2019 Bill Kloos scholarship, presented by the Oregon Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) last March.

    The Bill Kloos scholarship, offered by the Oregon ITE and the Bill Kloos Scholarship Fund, is named after William C. Kloos, who had spent 25 years of his life serving as the Signals and Street Light Manager at the City of Portland. 

    Kloos was most well known for his ability to communicate technical information in a way that a variety of audiences could understand. This scholarship was developed to both financially aid students pursuing careers in transportation engineering, and promote the same communication skills and innovative thinking that Kloos had. 

    Candidates are asked to submit an application in order to be considered for the scholarship. However, the application has no set format. Students are encouraged to express their ideas in whichever way they choose, whether that be in the form of an essay, poster, Powerpoint presentation, or video. This is meant to push students to think outside the box. 

    Mostafizi was recognized for his video, “Congestion vs. Connected & Autonomous Vehicles,” which discussed emerging technologies in connected and autonomous vehicles, and how they will change our transportation system and increase mobility. 

    Mostafizi is a data scientist and has been at OSU for the past four years. He first acted as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, later moving up into his current position as a Graduate Research Assistant, all the while earning his M.S. and Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering, and a minor in computer science. 

    While obtaining his M.S., Mostafizi was heavily involved in OSU’s ITE Student Chapter, playing the role of secretary and social events coordinator.

    On top of his current role at OSU, Mostafizi is also a data scientist and R&D consultant for AirSage, who he had previously interned for in 2018. 

    Mostafizi has over five years of professional experience and is interested in working with artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

    Congratulations, Alireza!