University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Chapter Details………………………………………………………………... 2
A Letter from the President…………………...……………………………… 3
Student Presentations and Publications……………………………………... 4
Awards…………………………………………………………………………. 5
Seminar Speaker Series……………………………………………………..... 6
Major Events………….………………………………………………………. 7
Meetings and Conferences……………………………………...………….…. 8
Social Events……….……………………………………………………….…. 9
Chapter Activities Around Umass…..………..………………………………. 10
TRB ………….……………………………………………………..…………. 11
Volunteer Work/Technical Training…….………………………………….... 12
Pedestrian Safety Projects…………..…………………………………….….. 13
#ITEYearInReview………………………………………………………….… 14
Appendix: Chapter Roster………………………………………………….... I.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Chapter Details
1. STUDENT CHAPTER EXECUTIVE BOARD
President: Curt Harrington
Vice President: Christina Dube
Secretary: Ethan Minnot
Treasurer: David Posner
Professional Liaison: David Champoux
Student Outreach: Balazs Martai
Undergraduate Liaison: Craig Schneider
Webmaster: Matt Moretti
2. STUDENT CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP
Number of Student Chapter Members: 45
Number of Student Members of Institute: 21
Number of Students Eligible to be Student Members of the Institute: 45
Number of Faculty Members who are Current ITE Members: 2
3. INFORMATION ON TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENROLLMENT
Number of Undergraduate Students in Civil and Environmental Engineering: 291
Does Curriculum Allow Undergraduate Students to Major or Minor in Transportation: No
Number of Graduate Students in Transportation Engineering: 30
4. SUMMARY OF STUDENT CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
See pages 3-14
5. ROSTER OF STUDENT CHAPTER MEMBERS
See Appendix I.
Report Submitted By:
Content Approved By:
Curt Harrington, UMass ITE President
(508) 735-4367
[email protected]
Professor Michael A. Knodler, Jr. Ph.D.
Student Chapter Advisor
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
From the desk of the President...
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Student Presentations and Publications
We are pleased to announced these selected presentations and publications authored by our student
chapter members:
Berthaume, A. (2013) “Physical Barrier, Mental Barrier?”
Berthaume, A. (2013) “Roundabout Impacts on Transit Operations: How the Introduction of a Roundabout Can Help Improve Transit Reliability”
Berthaume, A. (2013) “A New Methodology for Determining Bicyclist Safety at Single-Lane Roundabouts”
Berthaume, A. (2013) “Hazardous Bicycle Maneuvers at Single-Lane Roundabouts in Massachusetts:
A Conflict and Events Study”
Berthaume, A. (2014) “Towards a Social Psychology-Based Microscopic Model of Driver Behavior
and Decision Making: Modifying Lewin’s Field Theory”
Berthaume, A. (2014) “Modeling Driver Behaviors in Freeway Work Zones Based on Field Theory”
Ding, J. (2014) “Routing Policy Choice Set Generation in Stochastic Time-Dependent Networks: Case
Studies for Stockholm and Singapore”
Farid, Y. (2014) “Analytical Evaluation of Queue Jumpers and Transit Signal Priority on Signalized
Arterials”
Fitzpatrick, C. and C. Harrington (2013) “The Influence of Clear Zone Size and Roadside Vegetation on Driver Behavior”
Fitzpatrick, C. and I. McKinnon (2013) “There’s an App for That!”
Skelly, M. (2013) “Public Transit Electronic Payment Systems: An Analysis of the Tradeoffs between
Privacy and Utility”
Wenners, K., Knodler, M., Kennedy, J. and C. Fitzpatrick (2013) “Large-Scale Observation Study
of Drivers’ Cell Phone Usage”
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Awards
The UMass ITE Student Chapter is pleased to announce the following awards won by our members:
Andrew Berthaume: 2nd Place ITE Northeastern District Annual Meeting Daniel B. Fambro Student
Paper Competition (2013), APBP Ken Cross Scholarship Student Poster Competition Finalist (2013)
David Champoux: Thomas E. Desjardins NEITE Scholarship (2013)
Jing Ding: Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Graduate Fellowship (2013), WTS Connecticut
Helene M. Overly Scholarship (2014)
Christina Dube: UMass ITE Student Service Award (2014)
Cole Fitzpatrick: UMass Transportation Center Student of the Year (2013), New England ITE Emerging ITE Professional Award (2013), UMass ITE Student Service Award (2013), ITE Northeastern District Student Paper Award (2013)
Curt Harrington: UMass ITE Student Service Award (2014)
Dr. Michael Knodler: College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Award (2013)
Matthew Skelly: NEARC Conference Poster Competition Finalist (2013)
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Transportation Seminar Series
Tuesday 4pm
February 4
Climate Change and the Sustainability of Cities and natural Resources:
Characterizing Uncertainties for Citizens and Decision Makers, Dr. Richard Palmer,
Professor and Department Head, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UMass
Thursday 1pm
February 6
The Fundamentals of Roundabout Planning and Design Webinar, Mr. Jason D. Pack,
P.E., Traffic Engineer and Fred Choa, P.E., Traffic Engineer
Tuesday 1pm
February 18
UMass Electric Vehicle Initiative, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, EOEEA Secretary
Richard Sullivan, and Energy Commissioner Mr. Mark Sylvia, Energy Commissioner Ms. Jeri Baker, UMass Director of Transportation
Thursday 1pm
February 20
Statewide ITS Strategic Plan for Massachusetts, Mr. Peter Sutton, Transportation
Planner, MassDOT
Thursday 1pm
February 27
The Intersection of Transportation and Human Factors: Research Challenges and
Lessons Learned. Mr. Siby Samual, Ph.D. Candidate and Dr Michael Knodler,
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Friday 2pm
March 7
Big Data/Big Discoveries/ Big Decisions: challenges and Opportunities in Transporta
tion Webinar, Dr. Yinhai Wang, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Washington Seattle
Thursday 1pm
March 13
Rail Freight Transportation In Massachusetts, Mr. Dana Roscoe, Transportation Plan
ner, PVPC and Mr. Tim Doherty, Transportation Planner, MassDOT
Thursday 2pm
March 27
UMass Transportation Technical Day, UMass ITE Student Chapter and the UMass
WTS Students Chapter
Thursday 1pm
April 3
Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) Systems: Issues and Challenges
Dan Griffith, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Thursday 1pm
April 10
Transportation Issues and Challenges in Massachusetts: Careers in Public Service,
Jeff Mullan, UMass Board of Trustees and Former MassDOT Secretary
Thursday 1pm
April 17
An International Perspective: Multimodal Needs Assessment for Tanzania, Dr. Celeste Chavis, Assistant Professor of Transportation and Urban Studies, Morgan State
University
Thursday 1pm
April 24
The Impact of Adaptive Driving and Adaptive Signal Control on Network Stability, Dr.
Vikash Gayah, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
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Major Events
Northeastern District ITE Meeting/UMass Tech Day/Student Research Symposium
May 22-24, 2013 in Northampton, MA
This ITE meeting joined forces with UMass Amherst ITE Technical Day 2013 and the 2013 Student Research Symposium. In addition to attending various technical sessions, UMass ITE members put their
transportation knowledge to the test and won the Northeastern District Traffic Bowl. Cole Fitzpatrick
and Ian McKinnon presented “Leveraging Social Media in Today’s Workplace” during a technical session. The meeting required extensive planning throughout the months leading up to it, and none of this
would have been possible without the contributions of UMass ITE advisor Dr. Michael Knodler.
UMass Amherst ITE 15th Annual Technical Day
March 27, 2014 in Amherst, MA
A roundtable discussion “The Future of Transportation” sparked an open conversation about technological advances, infrastructure changes, and aspects that the group was nervous about. Panel members included Neil Boudreau, Jason DeGray, Dr. Eleni Christofa, and Vice President Christina Dube; the discussion moderator was President Curt Harrington. Our keynote speaker, UMass alum Ken Shain, President and CEO of Smart Signal Technologies, Inc., presented on the application of Smart Signal to coordinated signalized intersections. The Jane F. Garvey/UMass ITE Transportation Leadership award was
given to MBTA GM Beverly Scott. UMass ITE provided company representatives in attendance with
flash drives containing student member resumes.
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Meetings and Conferences
UMass Amherst ITE Student Chapter Meetings—Monthly in Amherst, MA
The group holds monthly meetings to go over important items such as upcoming events,
fundraising, and other pressing matters. UMass ITE always encourages students within the
College of Engineering to join and attend the meetings. The executive board holds separate meetings to discuss details and event logistics.
International ITE Annual Meeting—August 4-7, 2013 in Boston, MA
Members Ian McKinnon, Andy Berthaume, and David Posner competed in the Traffic
Bowl at the international level. The chapter members attended technical sessions and
networking events with other ITE professionals. Students took advantage of the complete
streets and bike tour of Boston and Cambridge that were offered during the meeting.
Massachusetts ITE Meeting—September 18, 2013 in Waltham, MA
UMass ITE was the only student chapter represented at this meeting. We attended the technical sessions that were offered and stayed for the dinner presentation. Student member
David Champoux was awarded the Desjardins scholarship for his outstanding achievements in transportation academia and extracurricular involvement.
New England ITE Meeting—December 3, 2013 in Warwick, RI
President Curt Harrington attended the executive board meeting,, and the chapter attended
the technical sessions and a networking event before dinner. The chapter received a monetary award that was designated for ITE meeting registration reimbursements for students
and TRB reception sponsorship.
ITE Technical Conference & Exhibit—March 9-12, 2014 in Miami, FL
Chapter member Yashar Farid presented “Analytical Evaluation of Queue Jumpers and
Transit Signal Priority on Signalized Arterials.” The student chapter also won a contest
and received a free VISTRO license from PTV. Andrew Chatham, lead engineer for
Google self-driving cars, presented a keynote lecture on the future of driverless cars and
how ITE and Google can best combine forces to attack future needs.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Social Events
UMass ITE student and faculty members
networking at the Young ITE Members
Reception in Miami, FL, at the ITE
Technical Conference & Exhibit this past
March..
For a team-building exercise, the student
chapter and faculty advisor played some
hotly contested laser tag at a local mall after
sharing appetizers at a nearby restaurant.
Competition was fierce at this year’s UMass
ITE Transportation Jeopardy Night. Teams
battled it out for prizes, and the chance to
represent us in the regional traffic bowl.
An end of the semester ITE picnic celebrated
a completed Spring 2013 semester and
brought us together to introduce our new
executive board and say goodbye to the students who were graduating.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Chapter Activities Around UMass
Joint ASCE/ITE/WTS Meeting
Guest speaker and UMass Amherst alum Steven Tupper spoke about
working for a state agency and discussed some of the challenging projects
that the Cape Cod Commission had recently completed. ASCE members
with interest in transportation were urged to join ITE.
GWIS and WTS Situation Room Event
Dr. Michael Knodler was a guest speaker at this Graduate Women in
STEM event that focused on teaching styles and effective methods for all
class sizes and education levels. ITE member Farnoush Khalighi presented
a short lecture to a group of graduate students and received feedback on her
teaching methods.
Ribbon-Cutting for MA’s First Level 3 Electric Vehicle Fast Charger
The UMass Transportation Services Building is now home to the first of
many electric vehicle chargers. UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy,
State Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan, and
John Collura were some of the noted speakers during this ceremony that
ITE attended.
Successful Business Writing Seminar
Rockie Blunt, President of Blunt Consulting Group, gave several tips and
techniques that will enhance the quality of our members writing. The seminar did not simply cover how to write effective reports, but rather, Mr.
Blunt also discussed proper formats for e-mails, letters, and memos. The
seminar was held for the UMass Transportation Center.
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Student Chapter Goes to TRB
UMass ITE sent fifteen active members to Washington, DC, to the 93rd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. In addition to attending the technical and poster sessions, several students gave presentations about their completed research. Posters were presented by Jing Ding, Yashar
Farid, Cole Fitzpatrick, and Curt Harrington. Technical session presentations were given by Andrew
Berthaume and Keith Wenners. Vice President Christina Dube was interviewed about the future of
transportation by representatives from AASHTO’s YouTube channel called Transportation TV.
The group also traveled to the ITE Headquarters building for the student chapter reception. Here, we
watched an astounding presentation about the first ITE high school student chapter by International
Relations Officer Jeremiah Liu from the Smart Driving Cars club at Jinan Foreign Languages School
International Center. UMass ITE also met with ITE International Vice President candidate Paula Benway. We held our 2nd Annual UMass ITE TRB Reception at Buffalo Billiards. Improving upon last
year’s pilot reception, this year’s gathering was overflowing with domestic and international professionals and students. Our reception proved to be an excellent opportunity for our students to socialize
with professionals in a casual environment.
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Technical Training
The chapter has prioritized technical training as part of this years programming. It is our belief that
these skills trainings best prepare our students for the work force.

AutoCAD Tutorial Series with WTS—November-December 2013

Traffic Counts—October, November 2013

Pedestrian Count on Campus—March 2014

Highway Surveying and Layout—March 2014
Volunteer Work
UMass ITE members rally
together during rain to pick up
trash on Route 116 in Hadley,
MA, for our sponsored
Adopt-A-Highway section.
Chapter members assisted the Cold
Spring Swift River PTO with race
route monitoring for the third consecutive year in Belchertown, MA.
President Curt Harrington shares
thoughts on his TRB poster with prospective UMass transportation graduate students. ITE grad students spent
their Friday touring students and introducing them to faculty and facilities.
Students volunteered to help
guide runners along the race
route for the Cider Donut Run
5K in Amherst, MA. All proceeds benefited the Amherst
Survival Center.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Pedestrian Safety Projects
The UMass Amherst campus has a dangerous crosswalk located in between the sports arena
(Mullins Center) and the Recreation Center that students use daily. UMass ITE recognized that there
was a need for a pedestrian treatment at this location in order to improve pedestrian safety, and in
March 2014 the perfect opportunity arose.
Carmanah Traffic held a national competition that encouraged universities to upload a picture or
video to their Facebook page with a caption that explained why the pictured crosswalk was dangerous.
The winner of this contest would receive a free solar rectangular rapid flashing beacon crosswalk system. By the end of the contest on March
31st, UMass ITE held a firm grasp of first
place out of the twelve entries, with over
1,300 social engagement points.
Additionally, UMass ITE has been
involved with the planning of two projects
titled “Walk This Way” and “Distracted
Campus.” These projects were the direct
result of our input in a campus-wide pedestrian safety audit from which UMass officials identified and implemented various
safety countermeasures. The UMass Police Chief has established a Pedestrian
Safety Committee, and once again, UMass
ITE is excited to be involved.
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
#ITEYearInReview
The student chapter has fully embraced social media and has used it to connect students with alumni,
professionals, and organizations. By staying active on Twitter and on other social media fronts,
UMass ITE has been able to stay current on real-time transportation news, jobs, contests, and more; it
also allows us to chronologically store and recall important information and events for our group.
Below are some of the highlights from our #ITEYearInReview.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2013 - 2014 Annual Report
Chapter Roster
STUDENT NAME
Berthaume, Andrew*
Brooks, Ariel
Buchalter, Cody
Champoux, David*
Cummings, James*
Ding, Jing*
Dube, Christina*
Ebacher, Beth
Farid, Yashar
Favalora, Christian
Fitzpatrick, Cole*
Freeman, Jonathan*
Gauvin, Jayson
Gómez, Radhameris*
Guzze, John
Hajiseyedjavodi, Foroogh
Harrington, Curt*
Jarvis, Miles
Jia, Chaoqun*
Khalighi, Farnoush
Kippen, Bradford
Li, Qiao
Lovejoy, Alex*
Magazu, Eric
Martai, Balazs*
McGinnis, Russell
McKinnon, Ian*
Minott, Ethan*
Moser, Jonathan
Muench, Eric
Oldread, Krystal
Panjaitan, Donald*
Paquette, Jenna
Posner, David*
Rachtan, Piotr*
Reeder, Andrew
Roach, Derek
Schneider, Craig*
Skelly, Matthew*
Tang, Yue*
Tian, Hengliang
Tierney, Patrick
Wang, Yicheng
Wenners, Keith*
Zhang, Cheng*
DEGREE
Ph.D. CE
BSCE
BSCE
MSCE
BSCE
Ph.D. CE
MSCE
Ph.D. CE
Ph.D. CE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
BSCE
Ph.D. CE
MSCE
Ph.D. CE
MSCE
BSCE
Ph.D. CE
Ph.D. CE
BSCE
MSCE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
BSCE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
MSCE
Ph.D. CE
Ph.D. CE
BSCE
MSCE
MSCE
MSCE
* Denotes ITE Member
GRAD/EXP GRAD DATE
Fall 2014
Spring 2013
Spring 2015
Fall 2013
Spring 2013
Fall 2014
Fall 2014
Spring 2016
Spring 2015
Spring 2015
Spring 2013
Fall 2014
Spring 2015
Spring 2014
Fall 2013
Spring 2017
Fall 2014
Spring 2015
Spring 2015
Spring 2017
Spring 2015
Spring 2013
Spring 2013
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2015
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2015
Spring 2015
Spring 2013
Fall 2014
Spring 2014
Spring 2014
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Fall 2014
Fall 2014
Fall 2013
Spring 2015
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2013
Spring 2013
Spring 2013
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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