PacTrans News
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May 8, 2026
Join the UW Transportation Seminar on May 14 with Albert Wang, PhD
Join our upcoming PacTrans-sponsored UW Seminar titled “From Data to Solution: Integrating Performance Evaluation into Traffic Signal Timing and System Management” with Dr. Aobo “Albert” Wang, Assistant Professor at Oregon State University.
Seminar Details
📌 HUB 234, University of Washington
⏲️ Thursday, May 14, 2026 from 3:00PM – 4:20PM PT
💼 This event is free & open to the public!
☕ Refreshments provided.
This seminar aims to actively engage transportation professionals and students with a wide variety of transportation-related activities and opportunities (such as this seminar) to further their education, experience, knowledge, and networks.
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May 7, 2026
Bringing Transportation STEM Opportunities to Thousands of K-12 Students at UW Engineering Discovery Days 2026
On April 30 and May 1, 2026, PacTrans shared our K-12 Workforce Development Institute (WDI) initiatives at Engineering Discovery Days held at the University of Washington (UW). Hosted by the UW College of Engineering, this free, two-day event is designed for 4th through 8th-grade students and features hands-on activities that showcase the exciting work of engineers. This year, more than 9,000 students from 109 schools registered to attend.
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May 2, 2026
Edward McCormack retires after decades of service to CEE
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Research Associate Professor Edward McCormack retired this winter after a career spanning more than 35 years at the UW.
McCormack served as director of the Master of Sustainable Transportation program and built a research portfolio focused on using technology to improve freight mobility. His work ranged from developing truck performance measures for WSDOT and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to testing unpiloted aircraft for avalanche monitoring and evaluating freight technology for the U.S. Department of Transportation. He also contributed to three National Academy of Engineering projects on truck bottlenecks, smart growth and freight data. McCormack will remain connected to the department in an emeritus role.
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April 10, 2026
The 2026 Region 10 Transportation Conference is headed to Anchorage, Alaska in October! Save the date now!
We are pleased to welcome you to the Region 10 Transportation Conference at the University of Alaska Anchorage on October 9. We are proud to continue this tradition of hosting the premier forum for transportation research in the Pacific Northwest. Each year the conference aims to hear from leaders in transportation, showcase innovation in technology and research, provide a means for collaboration, and advance the transportation workforce.
This year’s theme is Transportation Systems Empowered by Innovation: Safe, Adaptive, and Connected.
We encourage you to share this announcement with colleagues and others in your network who may be interested. Registration details will be available soon. We look forward to welcoming you to Alaska!
For students, we are pleased to offer opportunities to participate in both the main conference and a dedicated student conference on Saturday, October 10. Additional details will be shared soon.
Learn More at www.pactransconference.com or add the event to your calendar now!
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March 28, 2026
UW PI Cynthia Chen Wins 2026 Exceptional Technical Achievement Award
UW PI Cynthia Chen, Grace Jia (CEE Ph.D. ’25), Kaitlyn Ng (MSCE ’24) and Ekin Ugurel (CEE Ph.D. ’25) received the 2026 Exceptional Technical Achievement Award from the Zephyr Foundation for their paper on how telecommuting has changed travel behavior. The research, out of Chen’s THINK Lab, found that remote work reduces vehicle miles traveled and shifts transit needs, with telecommuters making more local trips for non-work activities. The team also included Brian Lee of the Puget Sound Regional Council and Arizona State University Professor Ram Pendyala.
