• May 01, 2023

    OSU Student Researcher Serves on ODOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee

    Aaron Mendez, an Undergraduate Student Researcher from Oregon State University, serves on the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee (OBPAC). He is currently a senior, wrapping up his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

    Mendez gained first-year research experience in the lab of PacTrans Associate Director, David Hurwitz, professor of transportation engineering and director of the Kiewit Center, as part of the STEM Leaders Program. During this time, Mendez networked with a graduate student researcher who offered him a seat on the OBPAC. Mendez, a cyclist himself who fervently advocates for bicycle and pedestrian safety and eco-friendly transportation, saw this as an ideal leadership and community service opportunity.

    “I think that’ll be helpful as I move into the professional world,” said Mendez, “It’s also important to me to get out in the community, showing students that engineering is a strong career path.

    Young people need opportunities to be on statewide committees. With OBPAC, we help ODOT look at issues directly relevant to bike and ped users in Oregon — deciding on bike lane widths, revising parts of the highway design manual, allocating funds to the Oregon Community Paths Program, and more. Serving on this committee has helped me understand more about how transportation in Oregon works and how a state agency runs overall.”

    Mendez, who graduates in June, recently accepted a full-time position as a transportation engineer with design-oriented engineering firm HDR in Bellevue, Washington. While moving means he must relinquish his OBPAC seat in May, he is excited to engage in community outreach in the Seattle area, elevating aspiring Hispanic and Latino engineers.