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Current Projects

TWIN Study of Environment, Lifestyle Behaviors, and Health

This project builds on the Washington State Twin Registry, which includes some 8,000 twin pairs participating in a range of medical studies. The use of twins allows researchers to control for genetic and childhood social and environmental factors in ways that are not possible in studies based on singletons. This project is using a twin design and cutting edge measurement tools and spatial data to examine how the built environment is associated with physical activity and eating habits, and how aspects of the built environment affect physical activity and nutrition in its association with body mass index. Researchers at the UW Urban Form Lab are providing and analyzing data on development densities, land uses, transportation systems, and socio-demographics characteristics of areas of interest in Washington state, as well as processing data from accelerometers, GPS, and travel diaries to produce detailed, time-stamped Life Logs. From the Life Logs, physical activity and walking bouts will be identified, as will eating and food shopping episodes. Further processing of these data will include the identification of mobility patterns and activity spaces over the course of 7-day assessment periods.  As twins living in the same locations are compared to those living separately, it will be possible to isolate the effects of the built environment on physical activity

Principal Investigators:
Glen E. Duncan, College of Medicine, WSU
Anne Vernez Moudon, Urban Design and Planning, UW

Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Scheduled completion: March 2024

RAP Reset: Responsibly Optimizing Recycled Materials Use in HMA and Pavement Performance Life

Concerns with the performance of hot mix asphalt (HMA) that contains recycled materials have recently become the focal point of the asphalt industry. Recycled materials used in HMA in Washington may include reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS), and recycled engine oil bottoms (REOB). In the late 2000’s recycled materials use increased as the economy crashed, market competition increased and margins decreased, and virgin asphalt binder cost increased significantly. However, the impacts of that increased usage are beginning to be better understood, and transportation agencies are determining that the durability of HMA may have been compromised as a result. The primary objective of this project is to increase the understanding of the effects of recycled materials on HMA performance and durability to enhance WSDOT’s HMA materials selection, mix design process, and standard specifications. The results are intended to help WSDOT modify its overall recycled materials strategy so that it is informed by current national best practices, takes into account observable local issues and test results, and leads to more durable HMA pavements.

Principal Investigator: Steve Muench, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Joe DeVol
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled Completion: March 2021

Freight Policy Transportation Institute at WSU

The purpose of the Freight Policy Transportation Institute at WSU is to undertake research on a variety of topics and issues that will improve our understanding of the importance of efficient and effective freight transportation, both to the national economy and to regions, states, and international trade.  Research topics address the need for improved intermodal freight transportation policies and implementable actions that would increase the effectiveness of intermodal transportation in lowering operating costs while also increasing the safety and decreasing the environmental impacts of freight transportation nationwide. Distributing the benefits of improved freight transportation performance to specific industries and sectors of the economy are important objectives of the Institute. The continuing focus of research projects falls generally under five themes: infrastructure investment and alternative financing/pricing, transportation security and freight efficiency, transportation and economic development, alternative energy sourcing and transportation systems, and freight transportation and international trade.

Principal Investigators:
Eric Jessup, School of Economic Sciences, WSU

Sponsor: FHWA
Scheduled completion: September 2021

TRAC