Research News Late Fall 2007
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| Region 2 University Transportation Research Center |
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Contents
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Director’s
Letter Will congestion charges (CC) come to New York City? The Mayor, through his innovative PlaNYC and USDOT through its Urban Partnership Agreement with the City are convinced the time is right. And so are many New Yorkers (depending on the day a poll is taken). But these are the issues: Transportation infrastructure is not “priced” correctly now. Congestion has occurred and is growing throughout Manhattan (not only south of 86th St) and will continue to do so as long as the City’s economy is robust. All drivers in buses, taxis, limos, your car, my car, street cleaners, and delivery trucks argue that each has the right to the curb but there is not enough curb space to go around. The average Manhattan salary ($2,300/week) is triple that in the other boroughs and therefore demand to be in Manhattan for high paying jobs renders the high personal costs of travel almost irrelevant. The streets really are paved with gold! But this gold will turn to lead if the costs of travel become too high – if commuting, deliveries, or even riding the buses and subways become too onerous. The rationale for CC is that access must be restored and mobility improved in the congested areas. However, the unknown at this point is whether or how the traveler, the commuter, truck driver, tourist, shopper, will respond to the charges. Research is key on this issue. What we need now, is fresh data on travel behavior. The region needs a new travel survey that reflects post-September 11 attitudes and behavior patterns, the rapidly changing demographics of the city, the impacts of housing prices and availability, and the changing and growing array of employment opportunities in New Jersey, the Northern suburbs and Long Island. Developing the basic data needed to assess the travel needs and choices of the region’s population, and the monitoring of those choices over time are critically important challenges facing the region’s public sector and research community. Robert E. Paaswell P.E. Ph.D Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering Director, UTRC |
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Feasibility of Virtual Container Yards
 Trade imbalances can create a number of economic challenges for a country. Besides the economic implications, these imbalances create the challenge of empty container handling throughout the United States, especially in densely populated economic centers like in the NY-NJ region. Because of the cost and logistical complexity of returning empty containers to the overseas manufacturers of merchandise for U.S. markets, large numbers of empty shipping containers are simply stockpiled in the U.S. while new containers are manufactured overseas. This accumulation of empty containers is expected to accelerate with continued growth in the U.S. population and imbalance of trade result in higher container volumes to satisfy consumer demands. Dr. Maria Boilé of Rutgers University has completed a study of an innovative approach to minimizing the unproductive movement of empty containers while helping to promote the interchange of empty containers. Together with a team that also included Dr. Sotiris Theofanis and Dr. Mohsen Jafari of Rutgers University, and Dr. Kyriacos Mouskos of CUNY, the project evaluated the creation of a “Virtual Container Yard” (VCY), a resource information system to match empty equipment needs by utilizing cutting-edge technologies like new technology platforms (Virtual Private Networks). The project was funded with a grant from the UTRC Research Initiative. The study proposed a conceptual system architecture detailing the specifications and functionalities of the system, performed financial and economic evaluation, proposed potential funding alternatives and system governance schemes, and suggested a staged application timeline and implementation plan. Informational, institutional and business related barriers often impede the implementation of such Internet based systems. A balance between costs and incentives to the port community players is a key factor in the success of a VCY system. Please see the UTRC website, utrc2.org, for more information |
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A project recently completed for the NYSDOT provides a better understanding of the impacts of traffic incidents/accidents on traffic delays on New York City’s Arterial Highways, and helps to quantify and predict non-recurring traffic delay for the city’s arterial highways. The project had two basic goals: (1) the development of New York City input data for the New York State DOT’s delay prediction model “CNAM” (Congestion Needs Analysis Model), and (2) investigation of the published literature to identify models / methods that could improve the CNAM approach for estimating non-recurring delay. The research team consisted of Prof. George List (RPI and later, North Carolina State University), John Falcocchio (Polytechnic University), Kaan Ozbay (Rutgers University) and Kyriakos Mouskos (CUNY). This project included a review of the models that have been developed for predicting non-recurring delay (NRD). The research team concluded that CNAM was as good as or better than other models currently in use today. In order to quantify non-recurring delay, the research team needed to find potential data sources that could be used to identify non-recurring incident characteristics and performance metrics. This task focused on agencies that are involved in highway incident management/monitoring as well as those that collect roadway attributes data, such as physical roadway and traffic flow characteristics. The research team decided to use TRANSCOM as its primary data source. The study used a sample of incidents recorded for the I-278 Corridor in New York City, from February 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005. The TRANSCOM incident data were complemented with data (volume, roadway geometry, etc.) from other sources to form the basis for incident analysis and CNAM model enhancement. Incident data from TRANSCOM were summarized and cross tabulated, and used in the development of a model for predicting incident frequency and their duration as well as traffic delay. Because the incident frequency data set in the TRANSCOM database was found to be incomplete, the models’ results must be interpreted with this constraint in mind. The study concluded with recommendations for how the new data sources developed as part of this project could be used to change the structure of CNAM and alter its predictions of non-recurring delay. It recommended a new set of look up tables, in which the classification of incidents is changed from CNAM’s current metric (number of lanes blocked) to new metrics that define incidents focusing on categories such as “property damage”, disabled vehicle”, personal injury”, etc. This new definition has the added advantage of using CNAM as a planning tool for reducing incident frequency and severity. This is because the delay information provided by the revised model can be directly related to the type of incident. Please see the UTRC website, utrc2.org, for more information |
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2007 NJ Research Showcase
Selected Presentations by UTRC-Affiliated Faculty Members The New Jersey Department of Transportation held its Annual Research Showcase at its headquarters in Ewing, New Jersey on October 27 and October 28, 2007. The conference highlighted research activities being conducted by NJDOT’s various university partners. Engineers from NJDOT and surrounding state DOTs attended the two day conference. Several of the studies presented by UTRC-affiliated faculty members are described below: "Utilizing GIS to Understand the Potential Ridership and Social Equity of Bus Rapid Transit Route Selection" The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest provider of mass transit services in the United States, is currently planning a system of five new Bus Rapid Transit routes in the City of New York, selected out of an initial group of 37 potential routes. Jonathan Peters, Associate Professor of Finance at the College of Staten Island, and Michael Kress, Professor of Computer Science at the College of Staten Island, used Geographic Information Systems to examine the demographics of the areas served by each of these routes. They examined the decision as to where to place these routes and the quality of service provided as an opportunity to study and compare the underlying demographics of areas poentially served by Bus Rapid Transit in New York City. They also compared the demographics of the routes that were selected as compared to routes that were not selected from a social equity perspective. “Neighborcast: A New Paradigm for Inter-Vehicle Communication” High end automobiles are equipped with sensors that can detect when we are too close to the car in front of us, when there is something behind us, or when there is a vehicle in our blind spot in an adjacent lane. Initially these sensors have been used to provide warnings, but they are increasingly being used to prevent accidents by controlling braking. As more cars are equipped with sensors, the operation of these safely systems can be improved by communicating with nearby vehicles to share their sensor readings. In the literature these systems are referred to as convoying, platooning and distributed anti-lock brakes. It has been shown that these systems allow vehicles on a highway to safely travel at higher speeds with less space between vehicles by controlling braking. By also controlling acceleration, these systems can eliminate rolling traffic jams. This technology reduces commuting times, which decreases fuel consumption. The technology also increases the peak capacity of a highway, thus reducing the need for new infrastructure. Nicholas Maxemchuk, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University, described a new communication paradigm, called Reliable Neighborcast, that improves the speed and reliability of inter-vehicle communications to make these technologies possible. It allows each vehicle to communicate with all of its neighbors within a given distance, to place the received messages in the same relative order as any other vehicle that receives the message, and to know when all of its neighbors have a message. Reliable Neighborcast is implemented on top of overlapping, conventional reliable broadcast groups that move with the vehicles. The groups are self-organizing as vehicles change their relative positions. “Results Not Guaranteed: A Tale of Road Pricing in New York and London” Pricing of roads has been a mantra in transportation economics for many decades now. The basic economic reasoning is sound: optimal consumption of a road is set where price equals marginal cost and the lack of a price or the presence of under-pricing will lead to economically inefficient levels of congestion. In this presentation, however, Jonathan Peters of the College of Staten Island and Cameron Gordon of the University of Canberra, argue that to be effective in managing congestion, imposition of a road price is only a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for obtaining an optimal level of road usage. Pricing regimes in London and New York are compared and contrasted to examine this argument. In London road pricing has been imposed as part of an overall urban congestion management scheme that takes preexisting traffic flows and alternative modes of transport into account. This effort has generally been deemed to be successful in obtaining its objective of reduced automobile traffic on constrained urban roads. In New York pricing has been imposed on a piecemeal basis, without overall system performance goals in mind. The result there has been high tolls but growing congestion, and now a London-style cordon pricing scheme has been proposed. In general the authors conclude that road pricing is economically sensible in generic terms but that it may often be detrimental, or at least inefficient, in many of its particular manifestations. To reduce congestion, pricing must be specifically designed to do so taking into account local conditions and institutions. “Scour Countermeasure Manual” Scour critical bridges throughout New Jersey are retrofitted using different standards for countermeasures, depending on the bridge ownership. This handbook was produced by Dr. Anil Agrawal, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, City College of New York. It has been prepared with a goal to provide a unified guideline for design of scour countermeasures for both new and old bridges in New Jersey to city, county and state engineers and bridge structural consultants. All important aspects specific to scour conditions in New Jersey have been identified through an in-depth review of NJDOT Phase II inspection reports of scour critical bridges. A detailed review of all available resources on scour countermeasure design, including HEC 11, 18, 20 and 23, CIRIA Manual (2002), NCHRP 24-07 report, scour countermeasure drawings by Maryland State Highway Administration and numerous research articles on scour countermeasure design, has been carried out to recommend effective countermeasures suitable to river conditions in New Jersey. Guidelines proposed for selected countermeasures are based on their effectiveness during past applications around the world, physical tests and the best design practice followed in the subject area. The handbook presents comprehensive guidelines on all aspects of various scour countermeasures, including constructability and environmental constraints specific to New Jersey. The design guidelines presented in this handbook supplement Hydraulic Engineering Circulars and have been developed with an aim to provide the engineers all important aspects of scour countermeasure design for New Jersey conditions in a collective and systematic manner. NJ Showcase Student of the Year Award  Also at the Research Showcase, Kemba Walcott was awarded a 2007 NJDOT Research Showcase Student Award on October 27, 2007. Mr. Walcott received his B.E. (Civil) degree from The City College, CUNY and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at the same institution. As an undergraduate student he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Transportation Materials laboratory, performing laboratory tests on samples of possible pavement mixtures, as part of a project on the investigation of the physical and economic feasibility of recycling construction demolition debris as materials for bituminous mixes. He is currently a graduate research assistant on a UTRC project, “Analysis of Guidelines for Street Excavation and Restoration in New York City”. His career goals include the establishment and management of his own transportation engineering company. |
| Research Grants News UTRC Research Initiative and Advanced Technology Initiative Controlled Composite Action Connectors: Proof of Concept Ala Saadeghvaziri, Professor of Civil Engineering, NJIT This project focuses on the issue of deck cracking on bridges. It is a challenge to minimize deck cracking because of the contradiction between the need for flexibility of the concrete to accommodate shrinkage and the bonding required to provide full composite action. The research will test the concept of “controlled composite action connectors” which will help reconcile this challenge by wrapping the connectors in a hyper-elastic (rubber like) material of a carefully designed thickness. The tasks to be conducted in support of this objective will include both analytical and experimental work. Since this type of cracking, which is quite prevalent, results in increased maintenance cost and reduced bridge life span, use of this technology would allow for large cost saving benefits at minimal cost. Hot-Spot Analysis of Fine Particles (PM2.5) for Environmental and Health Impacts Assessment of Transportation Emissions in South Bronx Ke Max Zhang, Assist. Prof. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell Univ. Oliver Gao, Assist. Prof. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell Univ. This research will assess impacts of transportation emissions on local air pollution of carbon monoxide and particulate matter. It will result in an advanced process-based hotspot analysis model which not only accounts for dispersion through dilution and air movement as is currently tracked, but also chemical reactions and physical dynamics as the particles disperse from road sources. Development of a State of the Art Residential Relocation Model Cynthia Chen, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, City College/CUNY Hongmian Gong, Assistant Professor of Geography, Hunter College/CUNY The objective of this research is to develop a theoretically sound and empirically tested model of residential relocation decisions. This research will develop a model that addresses the issue of households’ residential choices, particularly how people respond to density-driven or mixed-use neighborhoods in determining residential choice. Development of Highly Sensitive Hydrocarbon Sensors Michael Carpenter, Assistant Professor of Nanoscience, University at Albany/SUNY This proposal is a renewal of a 2006-07 UTRC project that was approved for one year. This research will continue work in the development of field portable devices for soil testing in New York State DOT projects, developing sensors with increased sensitivity. Utilizing Remote Sensing Technology in Post-Disaster Management of Transportation Networks Hani Nassif, Assoc. Prof. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rutgers University Kaan Ozbay, Assoc. Prof. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rutgers University Since it is vital that infrastructure components such as bridges, highways, tunnels, traffic systems, road pavements and other systems be protected in cases of both man-made and natural disasters, this project proposes the use of novel remote sensing technologies to quickly assess damage to the transportation infrastructure that can detect damage to roads and bridges at very high levels of accuracy. This information can be used to determine which individual components of a given transportation network would be susceptible to failure under various loading conditions and therefore would serve as a very useful post-disaster mitigation resource. Other Recent Research Grants The
following is a list of new projects awarded since the last edition of
this newsletter. In the interest of increasing awareness of
research underway regionwide, we are including projects being conducted
both inside and outside the UTRC consortium.Bridge - Vehicle Impact Assessment (awarded by NYSDOT to Anil Agrawal and Cynthia Chen, City College of New York/CUNY) Develop Consultant Management Estimating Tool (awarded by NYSDOT to Trefor Williams, Center of Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, Rutgers University and Fan Yang, City College of New York/CUNY) Emergency Evacuation Plan for the Northern New Jersey Urban Area Security Initiative (awarded by the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University).* Effectiveness of Graduated Driver Licensing Program, Phase 2 (awarded by NJDOT to Claire McKnight, City College of New York/CUNY) Pedestrian Fatality and Severe Injury Accidents in New York City (awarded by NYCDOT to Allison L. C. de Cerreño and Hyeon-Shic Shin, NYU; Alan Blatt and Kevin Majka, Center for Transportation Injury Research, University of Buffalo; Satish Ukkusuri, RPI; and Greg Chen, Baruch College/CUNY) Seismic Design Recommendations (awarded by NJDOT to Anil Agrawal, City College of New York/CUNY) * Not funded through the UTRC Consortium
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Dr. Richard Brail,
professor in the urban planning and policy development program for over
30
 years at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public
Policy at Rutgers University, will be retiring on December 31,
2007. During his career, Dr. Brail contributed significantly to
the transportation field and founded the National Transit Institute at
Rutgers. His recent research projects have included the application of
planning support systems, transportation planning for the disabled and
elderly, the transportation impacts of the New Jersey State Plan, and
the development and application of new transportation planning
models. Professor Brail has served on numerous national, state
and local committees and has been the recipient of the Presidential
Award for Distinguished Public Service by Rutgers University. In 1993-94, Dr. Brail was a key participant in UTRC’s “Evolving Issues in Transportation Planning Research in NJ Study,” leading the way on a variety of topics such as the connection between land use patterns and travel behavior, user based costs for auto drivers, and traffic congestion mitigation tools to modify travel behavior. UTRC offers congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Brail, as well as thanks for his many years of service to the region.  Dr. Jerome M. Lutin,
Senior Director of Statewide and Regional Planning for NJ TRANSIT, will
be retiring December 31, 2007 after 20 years of service to the agency
and over 35 years in the transportation profession. Throughout
his career, Jerry has contributed significantly to the Region, serving
in a variety of other positions for NJT including Deputy Director of
the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Project, Director of the Newark-Elizabeth
Rail Link Division and Senior Director of Planning Research and
Development. Academically, his career is equally distinguished,
having earned a Master of Architecture and Urban Planning and a Ph.D.
in Urban Planning from Princeton University, where he served on the
faculty of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning and the
Department of Civil Engineering. With experience in both the academic and working environments, Dr. Lutin reflected on the need to “form a bridge between the academic world and the working world for transit managers.” As a planner, his role has been to focus on the future, but he observed that most operators have to direct almost all of their attention to serving the customer on a daily basis. In his opinion, transit workers are dedicated and often serve lifetime careers, but there is also a need for the transportation industry to do a better job reaching out to the universities to make students aware of professional opportunities. As Dr. Lutin steps down from his role in statewide and regional planning, his regional vision involves an emphasis on a greater use of buses within the highway system. Jerry’s view is that the state, counties and regional agencies which control the highways, and transit agencies which use them, should work together to create exclusive lanes and a preferential network for buses. Dr. Lutin believes, ‘“To get people out of their cars and using buses, we must reduce travel time and improve service, but this won’t happen with the current level of congestion. Our focus should be on people-carrying capacity, not vehicle-carrying capacity.” Dr. Lutin was invovled in a UTRC-funded project with Richard Wener and Gary Evans to study the physiological signs of stress in commuters and how transit improvements helped to reduce stress. Robert Paaswell, Director of UTRC noted that Dr. Lutin has been an important voice in regional public transportation. He continued, “Bridging academia and practice, he applied modern, innovative approaches to the improvement of our regional systems, with the perspective of simultaneously improving the quality of life of those who live here. Whether using economic approaches to catalog the strong benefits of commuter rail, or demonstrtaing how new technologies would improve operations, Lutin set an example of leadership and will be missed.” |
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UTRC Welcomes Penny Eickemeyer
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Recent Events
Visting Scholar Seminar: Robin Chase
On October 19th, Robin Chase delivered a UTRC Visiting Scholar Seminar at Baruch College titled, “The Window of Opportunity is Now: How Wireless Can Move Us to More Sustainable Transportation.” Robin Chase is founder and CEO of GoLoco, an online ridesharing community. She is also founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the largest carsharing company in the world. The launching point for her talk was the global climate crisis, which is now acknowledged at the highest levels by most national governments around the world, but which has not yet significantly started to influence transportation policy. According to the IPCC, even if worldwide CO2 emissions begin a downward trend in 2015 – which would be a difficult achievement – there will be only a 50% chance of avoiding catastrophic effects of climate change. Many tools in the transportation kit, such as building new transit systems, reorganizing land use, and changing over vehicle fleets to use alternative energy systems, cannot produce significant CO2 reductions on this timeframe. Strategies that directly influence transportation behavior, such as market- and cost-based pricing, can affect emissions rates much more quickly. But changes in behavior, cost structures, and lifestyle are a hard sell with the public. How can we sweeten this deal for transportation users? Ms. Chase’s answer lies in freeing the private sector to develop and market innovative new transportation services, such as carsharing, ridesharing, and information services far superior to what is available today. Two key elements are needed to free the market to achieve this: first, the pricing environment for travel by private vehicles needs to be radically different from what it is today. While the prospect of this seems remote at the moment, if emissions caps are established, then governments may begin shifting the basis for taxation away from labor and income and toward pollution and energy use. If this happens, then the cost structure of transport systems will change significantly. The other key lies in the availability of wireless technologies that serve as the backbone for information services that support innovative transportation systems. Wireless technologies can transform our experience and costs associated with car travel (car sharing and ride sharing), and can provide a new economic platform for innovation and economic development (mesh networking). One key to making this innovation economically feasible in the near term is to ensure that the investments we are making today in wireless communications infrastructure – including systems for congestion pricing and traffic management – provide an open network and open-access platform. “Thinking Bigger: New York and Transportation in the Northeast Megaregion” On November 13, over 300 individuals from both the public and private sectors attended "Thinking Bigger: New York and Transportation in the Northeast Megaregion." The event was hosted by the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC). The event was co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the University Transportation Research Center – Region 2 (UTRC), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), along with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Chapter, the Regional Plan Association (RTA), the University of Delaware’s Institute of Public Administration and the Wagner Transportation Association (WTA). Kris Kolluri, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and Chairman of NJ Transit, provided the keynote address. Commissioner Kolluri highlighted financial problems New Jersey is facing now, but that are not unqiue to New Jersey. He conduced that we need to build regional coalition and he continued that If we do not unify and work together, all the challenges we face today will certainly become insurmountable In addition, the conference featured two panels of experts who discussed the key transportation, economic and demographic trends that affect the movement of people and goods; the relationship between the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and the New York Metropolitan area; the impacts of the capacity constraints in other locations on the New York Metropolitan area and other locations; and the issues and challenges related to moving forward with a more regional and integrated approach to transportation along the NEC. The Rudin Center plans to continue to collaborate with AIA, NYMTC and RPA to work toward these goals. There will be events by RPA in the spring and AIA in the fall regarding the different aspects of the NEC. The idea here is that it is a way to continue to support and dialogue and to eventually find ways to support action. “New Directions in Asset Management and Economic Analysis” The 7th National Conference on Transportation Asset Management, “New Directions in Asset Management and Economic Analysis,” was held November 6–8, 2007 in New Orleans. This event was organized by the Transportation Research Board’s committees on Transportation Asset Management, Transportation Economics, Marine Transportation, and Pavement Maintenance, with support from the Federal Highway Administration Office of Asset Management. UTRC’s Associate Director Todd Goldman served on the Program Committee, working to develop the conference’s thematic track on “Putting Economics into Practice.” The event featured presentations from several speakers affiliated with UTRC:
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“Protecting New York from Terrorism and Disaster, Taking Stock, Setting Directions, Looking Forward” Researchers, educators, and professionals concerned about keeping New York (city and state) safe from terrorism and disaster will hold their first state conference in Manhattan on January 10-11. The conference is organized by Protect New York, which has over 120 academic members representing at least 20 academic institutions. The conference is highly interdisciplinary, including sessions related to radiation emergencies, ethics of disaster preparedness, and security technologies. Organized by Professor Daniel Hess of the University at Buffalo, a session on "Transportation Security" will include papers on pedestrian response to disaster, worker vigilance in subways, and subway emergency response systems. Other panels relevant to transportation include "Emergency Logistics," "Border Security and Identification Systems," and "Securing Critical Infrastructure." Prof. Ernest Sternberg, also of the University at Buffalo, serves as president of Protect New York. The conference will be held at the SUNY Levin Institute on 116 East 55thStreet on Thursday and Friday, January 10-11, 2008. The conference is open to the public, but seating is severely limited (110 persons); advanced registration is likely to be essential to get a seat. The registration page will open in mid-December. For more on the mission and history of Protect New York, and for registration as it becomes available, please check www.protectnewyork.org Commissioner Sadik-Kahn to Speak at VTC New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan will be the guest of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University on January 30, 2008 when she delivers a lunchtime presentation on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan for New York City. The event will be held at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick, NJ. For more information, visit vtcpolicy@rutgers.edu. Upcoming UTRC Seminars Please save the date for these future UTRC events:
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| Notes And News Hunter College Students Examine Driver Distraction
For more information, please visit UTRC’s
website at www.utrc2.org
A recent study undertaken by Hunter College students studying with sociology professor Peter Tuckel found that about one-third of New York City drivers engage in distractions such as smoking, eating, and speaking on cell phones while driving. About 15% of female drivers and 10% of male drivers (based on a 3,120 driver sample) were observed using hand-held cell phones while driving. The study also found that more than 18% of drivers who use cell phones simultaneously engage in other distractions, such as eating, smoking, drinking coffee, and grooming. This study was featured in the Daily News on November 14, 2007. http://www1.cuny.edu/forum/?p=1855 http://multimedia.nydailynews.com/pdf/2007/11/14/Driving_distracted_study_Nov_2007.pdf Hofstra University Introduces High School Students to Civil Engineering Tyrone Bennett, the Associate Director of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) at Hofstra University’s School of Education and Allied Human Services Program, is conducting a four-month workshop on bridge building for fifth and sixth graders at Washington Rose Middle School in Roosevelt, Long Island. As “engineers,” these students will discover the importance of and relationship between math and science as they design bridges using the metric system. The students will be challenged as they hurdle the same obstacles as civil engineers as they design bridges under a variety of scenarios and specifications. CSTEP is a New York State Education Department effort to encourage and prepare underrepresented minorities and low income secondary school students for entry into scientific, technical, health, and health related professions. Clarkson Professor Develops Wireless Bridge Monitor System A partnership has been formed between Clarkson University professor Kerop Janoyan and New York State Department of Transportation to run a test on a wireless sensor system that can be used to monitor bridge safety according to the Elmira Star Gazette.com (November 13, 2007). Though in the very early stages of development, this sensor can transmit data on bridge stress and vibration and therefore has potential to serve as an early warning system. Employment Opportunity at NJIT Seeking motivated research scientist to apply computational methods and hydro-codes in complex nonlinear dynamics analyses of solids, fluids and gas as well as their interaction. Simulate and analyze fluid-structure interaction and impact problems such as shock wave effects on structures or high-velocity projectiles. Experienced in nonlinear explicit and implicit analyses using commercial packages; preferably one of the following AUTODYN or LS-DYNA or ABAQUS Programming knowledge. Strong oral and written communication skills. Competitive salary and excellent potential for multi-year continuation. US citizenship required. For more information, contact: M. Ala Saadeghvaziri, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102-1982. (Tel: 973-596-5813; Fax: 973-596-5790, Email: ala (at) njit.edu). Rudin Center Studies Programmed Price Increases Linda Spock, Visiting Practitioner at the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, recently completed a report on “Fare Policy Regarding Regular and/or Inflation Related (“Programmed”) Price Increases.” Historically, transit agencies have implemented fare increases largely on an "as needed" basis. In practice, this has resulted in relatively infrequent changes in fares which are often large in magnitude by virtue of the need to "catch up" on expenses since the previous fare change. This study examines an alternative approach to fare policy - "programmed fare increases" to keep up with expenses on a pre-determined regular basis. The report is available for free downloading at: http://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/publications/reports2.php?center=rudin Report on the NJ Trucking Industry Martin Robins, senior policy fellow at the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, has completed a new report with Anne Strauss-Wieder regarding the New Jersey trucking industry. The study, “The New Jersey Trucking Baseline Report: A Reality Check,” is available at: http://policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/documents/FREIGHT.NJMTA_10.07.pdf |
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Region
2 University Transportation Research Center
(Serving New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands) Robert
E.
Paaswell, Ph.D., P.E., Director UTRC
Research News
is
published quarterly by the University Transportation Research
Center, which is based at the City College of New York, 910 Marshak
Hall, New
York, NY 10031. Editorial inquiries can be made by calling Penny Eickemeyer
at 212-650-8074. For more information on our programs or to
notify us for
an address correction, please email nadia@utrc2.org. CONSORTIUM
MEMBERS include
the
City University of New York, Columbia University,
Cornell University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York
University, Polytechnic
University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rowan University, Rutgers
University, the State University of New York system, Stevens Institute
of
Technology, and the University of Puerto Rico. |
Penny Eickemeyer has joined the UTRC Region
II staff as the Assistant Director for Program Management to assist
with the administration of UTRC’s research, education, and technology
transfer programs. Her responsibilities will include management of
UTRC’s competitive RFP process, monitoring of project progress, and
preparation of quarterly progress reports. She will also be working to
enhance communication between groups of PIs with similar transportation
research interests as well as between UTRC and the various agencies
serving as the project sponsors.
