University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Chapter Details………………………………………………………………... 2
A Letter from the Leadership………………...……………………………… 3
Student Presentations and Publications……………………………………... 4
Awards…………………………………………………………………………. 5
Seminar Speaker Series……………………………………………………..... 6
Tech Day and Student Symposium…..………………………………………. 7
Meetings and Conferences……………………………………...………….…. 8-9
Team Building………………………..………..………………………………. 10
TRB ………….……………………………………………………..…………. 11
SaferSim Collaboration………………….………………………………….... 12
Pedestrian Safety Projects…………..…………………………………….….. 13
#ITEYearInReview………………………………………………………….… 14
Appendix: Chapter Roster………………………………………………….... I.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Chapter Details
1. STUDENT CHAPTER EXECUTIVE BOARD
President: Cole Fitzpatrick
Vice President: Craig Schneider
Secretary: Donald Panjaitan
Treasurer: Andrew Reeder
Outreach Coordinator: Jon Freeman
Undergraduate Liaison: Alyssa Ryan & Francis Tainter
2. STUDENT CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP
Number of Student Chapter Members: 45
Number of Student Members of Institute: 14
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: 302
Does Curriculum Allow Undergraduate Students to Major or Minor in Transportation: No
Number of Graduate Students in Transportation Engineering: 28
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:
Cole Fitzpatrick, UMass ITE President
(503) 709-1727
[email protected]
Professor Michael A. Knodler, Jr. Ph.D.
Student Chapter Advisor
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
From the ITE Leadership
The 2014-2015 year has been a year of transition from our previous leaders, Christina Dube
and Curt Harrington. Through our research, our student chapter was able to attend and participate in
the SaferSim Summit, TRB, and many other conferences across the country. These conferences have
been a chance for us to become a closer group of colleagues and friends as well as helping us to professionally expand our professional network to other universities, student chapters and public/private
agencies. UMassITE Student Chapter members have represented the program exquisitely, exceeding
all of our goals and expectations for this year.
In addition to our student’s accomplishments, the chapter was happy to become officially recognized as a Graduate Student Organization (GSO) which enables us to procure funds from the campus, which helped support our 16th Annual Tech Day which was held in conjunction with the Student
Symposium. The event was a smashing success, which allowed professionals and students to enjoy a
compelling technical program and a networking opportunity afterward at a fun trivia event.
The next year will be exciting and challenging as the chapter will undergo yet another transition in leadership. We are supremely confident that under the mentorship of the outstanding faculty
here at UMass, the new leaders will pick up right where we left off.
Cole Fitzpatrick
Craig Schneider
UMass ITE President
UMass ITE Vice-President
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Student Presentations and Publications
We are pleased to announce these selected presentations and publications authored by our student
chapter members. These presentations and publications showcase the great work being done at UMass.
Hayley Carlotto - “Effect of Passenger Presence on Distracted Drivers Involved in Crashes.” TRB.
Jing Ding - “Latent-Class Routing Policy Choice Model with Revealed-Preference Data.” TRB.
“Adaptive Route Choice Models: Specification, Choice Set Generation, and Estimation - Case Study in
Stockholm, Sweden.” 3rd INFORMS Transportation Science and Logistics Society Workshop.
Christina Dube - “An Observational Evaluation of Safety Resulting from Driver Distraction” New
England Chronicle.
Yashar Farid - “Person-Based Evaluation of Dedicated Bus Lanes and Queue Jumper Lanes at
Signalized Intersection with Nearside Bus Stops.” TRB. Published in the Transportation Research
Record.
Cole Fitzpatrick - “An Overview of the SaferSim Consortium.” Northeastern Safety Conference.
Foroogh Hajiseyedjavadi, Cole Fitzpatrick - “Application of Microsimulation to Model the Safety of
Varied Lane Configurations at Toll Plazas.” TRB.
Curt Harrington, Jon Freeman, Cole Fitzpatrick - “Conceptual Framework for Identification of Locations for Variable Speed Limit Implementation.” TRB.
Farnoush Khalighi - “Emission-based Signal Timing Optimization for Isolated Intersections.” TRB.
Published in the Transportation Research Record.
Mahour Rahimi - “Systematic Evaluation of Zoning Strategies for Demand-Responsive Transit.” TRB.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Awards
The UMass ITE Student Chapter is pleased to announce the following awards won by our members.
These awards are a testament to the quality of students that our involved in our student chapter.
UMassITE Student Chapter - 2013-2014 Northeastern District Chapter of the Year
Mahyar Amirgholy - International Road Federation (IRF) Traditional Fellowship Grant,
NEITE Student Symposium Best Poster Award
Jing Ding - University Transportation Center Student of the Year, WTS-Rhode Island Leadership
Legacy Scholarship, Eno Fellow
Cole Fitzpatrick - Eugene M. Isenberg Scholar, Thomas S. Desjardins Scholarship
Nick Fournier - NEITE Student Symposium People’s Choice Poster Award
Radhameris Gomez - WTS-Helene M. Overly/Ann Herhsfang Scholarship, Selig Fellowship
Farnoush Khalighi - NEITE Student Symposium Best Poster Runner Up
Mahour Rahimi - WTS-Claire Barrett Memorial Scholarship
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Transportation Seminar Series
Recognizing the importance of professional development, the chapter had a great lineup of
seminar speakers who provided exposure to topics not generally covered in the curriculum.
Sustainability of Roundabouts: Driver Behavior, Emissions & Safety - Mr. Derek Roach
Hazard Perception & Bicycle Hazards in the Netherlands - Dr. Willem Vlakveld
Empirically Based Analyses of Driver Lane Changing Behavior - Mr. Enzo Jia
The Electric Vehicle: Challenges and Opportunities - Ms. Karen Glitman
Driver Behavior Evaluation of Variable Speed Limits and Conceptual Framework For Optimal
VSL Location Identification - Mr. Curt P. Harrington
The Tesla Electric Vehicle: An Owner's Perspective - Mr. Jeff Catlin
Transportation Research Abroad & the Spanish Railroad System - Ms. Radhameris Gomez
Future Transportation in a Connected World - Dr. Jeff Ban
The Controls of Collisions - Dr. John Flach
Playing Games at Marine Container Terminals - Dr. Mihalis M. Golias
Roles and Responsibilities: A Look at the Day-to Day of a Junior Transportation Engineer Mr. Samuel W. Gregorio, PE
Transportation Challenges Facing the Region and the Commonwealth - Mr. Tim Brennan
Conflict Matrices to Evaluate North Station Terminal Operations Under Varied Conditions Mr. Bradford Kippen
Transit Preferential Treatments at Signalized Intersections: Person-based Evaluation and Realtime Control - Mr. Yashar Farid
A Feasibility Study to Rehabilitate the Tanzanian Narrow Gauge Railroad & the Development of
a New Railway for Rwanda & Burundi - Mr. John W. Orrison
Hatch Mott MacDonald Job Information & Pipeline Transportation - Mr. Chris Cockshaw
US Air Traffic Control System: Present & Future - Mr. Dan Bergeron
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Tech Day and Student Symposium
The 16th Annual Technical Day was combined with this year’s Student Symposium. Three schools
from the New England area attended the event: UConn, UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst. The day consisted of a student oriented program which kicked off with a professional and student interactive working
lunch. The discussion specifically examined job skills to have for prospective entry positions within the
field of transportation engineering. Two concurrent student research presentation sessions were given followed by a student poster competition. The program was topped off with the annual Boyer Lecture given by
former UMass Amherst Alumni and current Virginia Tech Professor, Kevin Heaslip, as he presented his
research on “How a Wirelessly Charged Driverless Car Can Change Everything.” The Jane F. Garvey/
UMass ITE Transportation Leadership Award was given to Ruth Bonsignore. Professor Heaslip received
the Distinguished Alumni award and Vice-President, Craig Schneider, received the Student Service Award.
The evening concluded with a networking event in which students, professors and professionals played
transportation themed trivia at a local establishment. UMass ITE provided attending company representa-
tives with flash drives containing resumes of students attending the event.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Meetings and Conferences
Massachusetts ITE/NEITE Joint Annual Meeting—September 17th in Waltham, MA
UMass ITE was one of the few student chapters to be represented at this meeting. Members attended technical sessions pertaining
to the “Systematic Safety Improvements in Massachusetts” and the “Current Practices Regarding the Flashing Yellow Arrow Permissive Indication”. Members stayed for dinner and the keynote speaker panel which discussed the Historic Boston Complete
Streets Project. Current President, Cole Fitzpatrick, was awarded the Graduate Student Thomas E. Desjardins Scholarship for his
outstanding achievements in transportation academia and extracurricular involvement.
NEITE Annual Meeting—December 1st in Warwick, RI
New UMass ITE leadership attended the NEITE executive board meeting to get familiar with current and future leadership for the
section. The student chapter attended afternoon technical sessions and networking events before dinner. In addition to the bottle
swap, ITE members competed to see who could sell the most 50-50 raffle tickets for NEITE. Student members were happy to
congratulate recent alum and former Student Chapter Secretary, Keith Wenners, on his Emerging Professional Award.
Vermont ITE/NEITE Joint Annual Meeting—January 21st in Somerset, VT
Vice President Craig Schneider represented the student chapter at Vermont ITE’s annual
meeting at Mount Snow Ski Resort. The meeting consisted of a morning of skiing with current members followed by the NEITE Board Meeting. UMass ITE announced their “Save the
Date” for their 16th Annual Technical Day which was combined with the Student Symposium. The event concluded with an evening networking event.
BSCE Meeting—February 5th in Springfield, MA
Seven student members attended a meeting in Springfield, MA given by the Boston
Chapter of ASCE. Students learned about the “Construction Implementation of the
Knowledge Corridor” from three employees of Pan Am Railways. This meeting was a
great opportunity to connect with another professional organization and network with
professionals in the region.
MassDOT Innovation Conference & Tech Transfer—March 11-12 in Worcester, MA
Chapter members assisted in event operations for the two day event. Members worked the
check-in/registration tables for attendees and scribed technical sessions in exchange for free
registration. Students learned a vast array of information from pavement design to complete
streets to the future of connected vehicles and much more.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Meetings and Conferences
Northeastern District ITE Annual Meeting—May 14-16 in Long Branch, NJ
Twelve UMass Amherst ITE members attended this meeting and competed in the Student Poster Competition. Along with attending numerous technical sessions and networking events, UMass ITE members
put their transportation knowledge to the test and won the Northeastern District Traffic Bowl. It was here where UMass ITE leadership,
Christina Dube & Curt Harrington, graciously accepted the 20132014 Student Chapter Award.
ITE International Meeting & Exhibit—August 10-14 in Seattle, WA
Members attended technical sessions, exhibits and networking opportunities throughout the week. The
UMass Traffic Bowl team put on a valiant effort but was unfortunately defeated in quadruple overtime to
the eventual champions, University of Texas. While in Seattle, the chapter did its best to explore the city
by attending a Seattle Sounders FC soccer game, Seattle Mariners baseball game and visiting local landmarks such as the original Starbucks and Public Market Center.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Team Building
Traffic Bowl Practice Party—May 5th
Fellow students tested their knowledge of ITE & transportation while battling it
out for a chance to be on the regional traffic bowl team. The event was not all
competitive as the day was Cinco de Mayo. Members participated in a Mexican
themed burrito lunch before the jeopardy event kicked off.
Adopt-a-Highway—September 30th
UMass ITE members rallied together to pick up trash on Route 116 in Hadley, MA near the UMass
campus. The student chapter has been responsible for Route 116 for over 10 years. Afterwards,
participating members went to Chili’s for appetizers and drinks to celebrate a job well done.
Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse Dinner—September 8th
Members gathered in Northampton, MA to try out local restaurants in the Western Massachusetts area
during Northampton’s Restaurant Week. This dinner also served as an informal setting for the outgoing
leadership to discuss chapter events with the incoming leadership.
Homecoming ITE Tailgate—September 27th
The executive board invited current members and alumni to participate in welcoming our
football team back to McGuirk Stadium, as the team had been playing in Foxbourgh as the
stadium was being renovated. This event introduce prospective members to the current ITE
leadership.
ITE Holiday Party—December 4th
The chapter wanted to celebrate another excellent year from its past leadership,
professors, and members. The evening was topped off with a yankee swap be-
tween members and welcomed our new executive board as we said goodbye to
our graduating students.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Student Chapter Goes to TRB
UMass ITE sent 23 active members to Washington, D.C., to the 94th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Students attended numerous technical and poster sessions and had the opportunity to hear Secretary of Transportation
Anthony Foxx speak. This year 11 students presented their research in poster sessions: Hayley Carlotto, Jing Ding, Yashar
Farid, Cole Fitzpatrick, Jon Freeman, Curt Harrington, Foroogh Hajiseyedjavadi, Farnoush Khalighi, Mahour Rahimi,
Derek Roach, and Yue Tang.
In addition to attending the student chapter reception at ITE Headquarters, UMass ITE held its 3rd Annual TRB
Reception at Penn Social. Each year this event has improved on the previous experience while increasing its attendees. This
year’s event was packed with domestic and international professionals, student and professors. The reception provided a
great venue and opportunity for all to interact professionally in a casual environment.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
SaferSim Collaboration
SaferSim University Transportation Center—Amherst, MA - September 19-20 and San Juan, PR February 25th - 27th
The SaferSim University Transportation Center (UTC) is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary research using simulation techniques to address the safety issues prioritized by the US Department
of Transportation. It has promoted the interaction between universities by giving students and professors a forum to discuss research topics and projects while growing professional relationships. This research committee consists of 5 universities: University of Central Florida, University of Iowa, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and the University of WisconsinMadison. Each summit has been hosted by one of the universities with the first conference being hosted
by UMass Amherst in September and most recently hosted by the University of Puerto in San Juan this
past February.
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Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Pedestrian Safety Projects
As of the 2013-2014 report, the UMass student chapter was in first place in a national competition sponsored by Carmanah Traffic, 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.
After becoming 1 of 3 finalists, UMassITE won the final round of voting and received the flashing beacon crosswalk system. Physical Plant installed the signage after the end of the 2014 school year.
The campus was so happy with how the system was being used that they installed a second one before
the beginning of the 2015 school year at their own expense. The campus is considering installing more
but is being careful not to install too many that drivers will no longer respect them.
In addition to the crosswalk project, the student chapter assisted a group called “Walk This
Way” in data collection. The group seeks to reduce noise and litter by students specifically in the neighborhood near the Southwest Residential Area. The student chapter continues to seek ways to leverage
their expertise for the benefit of the campus.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014- 2015 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.
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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2014 - 2015 Annual Report
Chapter Roster
STUDENT NAME
DEGREE
GRAD/EXP GRAD DATE
Amirgholy, Mahyar
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
Anderson, Josh*
BSCE
Spring 2015
Baidy, Myles*
BSCE
Spring 2015
Berthaume, Andrew*
Ph.D. CE
Fall 2014
Buchalter, Cody
BSCE
Spring 2015
Carlotto, Hayley
BSCE
Spring 2015
Copoulos, George
MSCE
Spring 2015
Ding, Jing*
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2015
Dube, Christina*
MSCE
Fall 2014
Ebacher, Beth
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2015
Farid, Yashar
Ph.D. CE
Fall 2015
Favalora, Christian
BSCE
Spring 2015
Fitzpatrick, Cole*
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
Freeman, Jonathan*
MSCE
Spring 2015
Garmroudi, Somaye
MSCE
Spring 2016
Gauvin, Jayson
BSCE
Spring 2015
Gómez, Radhameris*
Ph.D. CE
Fall 2015
Hajiseyedjavodi, Foroogh
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
Harrington, Curt*
MSCE
Fall 2014
Jia, Chaoqun
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2015
Keegan, Aaron
MSCE
Spring 2016
Khalighi, Farnoush
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
Kippen, Bradford
BSCE
Fall 2014
Louis, Marie
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
Maloof, David
BSCE
Spring 2015
Martai, Balazs
MSCE
Fall 2015
McGinnis, Russell
BSCE
Spring 2015
Minott, Ethan
MSCE
Spring 2014
Moser, Jonathan
BSCE
Spring 2015
Muench, Eric
BSCE
Spring 2015
Panjaitan, Donald
MSCE
Spring 2015
Posner, David
MSCE
Spring 2014
Rahimi, Mahour
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
Reddy, Bhavana
MSCE
Spring 2016
Reeder, Andrew*
BSCE
Spring 2015
Roach, Derek
MSCE
Fall 2014
Ryan, Alyssa
BSCE
Spring 2018
Samaha, Maher
BSCE
Spring 2015
Schneider, Craig*
MSCE
Summer 2015
Tainter, Francis*
BSCE
Spring 2015
Tang, Yue
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2015
Tierney, Patrick*
MSCE
Spring 2014
Trubey, Mason*
BSCE
Spring 2015
Young, Derek
MSCE
Spring 2015
Young, Jared
Ph.D. CE
Spring 2017
* Denotes ITE Member
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Institute of Transportation Engineers
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