On September 19, 2012, the three NYMTC/UTRC September 11th Memorial Program Academic Initiative participants from this past year discussed their research in fi nal presentations at a NYMTC Brown Bag lunch program. The three speakers were former UTRC students Cyrus Naheedy, Shuai Ren, and Maxwell Sokol.

CYRUS NAHEEDY interned at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the Offi ce of Planning and Regional Development. Under the supervision of Nichola Angel, Sr. Transportation Planner/Modeler, his work assisted the LaGuardia Airport Access Alternatives Analysis that was co-sponsored by several transportation agencies in the Region. Cyrus’s research contributed to the modeling eff ort for ground access and mode choice to help gain a clearer picture of ridership analysis and travel times. His work also included expansion and development of the consultant’s modeling data of LaGuardia Airport to apply the analysis to the other Port Authority Airports - Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy, and Stewart. Cyrus graduated in May 2012 from Polytechnic Institute of New York University with a master’s of science degree in transportation planning and engineering and recently started working at Sam Schwartz Engineering as a transportation engineer.

SHUAI REN presented the results of her research with the New York City Department of Transportation’s Traffi c and Planning Division on a pilot curbside space program known as the Pop-up Café project. Shuai’s NYCDOT supervisor was Ed Janoff , Public Spaces Operations Manager. Her Pop-up Café work led to an evaluation report, which will ultimately be distributed by NYCDOT staff to community boards for further reference regarding a permanent program to be launched in the spring of 2013. Shuai is currently employed by the World Bank’s Bejing offi ce as a consultant in the Urban Transport Group and will focus on introducing global best practices of non- motorized transport and transit oriented development to Chinese cities. She graduated from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service in May 2012 with a master’s of urban planning degree.

MAXWELL SOKOL presented his research, which was undertaken at NYMTC’s offi ce under the direction of Jan Khan, Manager, Regional Planning. Max’s work focused on developing a guidebook for NYMTC that provides step-by-step instructions for conducting the infrastructure needs assessment of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Th is process involved collaboration with the NYMTC members. The primary objectives of the project were to enhance the NYMTC data collection process for and to assist with the development of the fi nancial analysis for the 2015-2040 RTP. His presentation highlighted his eff orts, which included the development of an inventory of transportation system components under the member agencies’ jurisdiction; discussion of member agencies’ methodologies for forecasting the needs for transit, pavement, bridges, and non-motorized transportation infrastructure; and the collection of cost estimates and documentation of assumptions from member agencies for the needs forecast of the 2015-2040 RTP. Max graduated with a master’s of science in urban planning degree in May 2012 from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. He is now working at Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) as a planner in their New York City offi ce. To review the fi nal presentations, please visit the website at: http://www.utrc2.org/education/september-11th-memorialprogram.