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NewsArticles- Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver studied timber bridges as well as computer models to determine how two common load rating methods are related. They developed a conversion factor for converting one rating to another. Providing a clearer understanding of rating protocols for timber bridges...
- Researchers at Utah State University studied the connections between steel reinforcement bars embedded in concrete bridges to help bridge designers improve designs for accelerated bridge construction. The construction technique cuts construction time and costs, reduces risk for workers and the traveling...
- Utah State University researchers developed a protective coating to safeguard bridge decks overlaid with polymer concrete (PC), a material that is seeing an increased use because of its high bond strength, short curing times, good resistance to water and chlorine penetration, and excellent skid and abrasion...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming developed a system for establishing passing zones on rural two-lane highways that is more accurate and more efficient that an existing outdated system. The two-vehicle system uses vehicle-to-vehicle communication, video technology, GPS, speed data and machine...
- Researchers at the University of Utah are developing accurate ways of modeling the seismic performance of bridges constructed using accelerated bridge construction techniques that enhance construction quality and speed. The research has resulted in solutions that consider protection against corrosion...
- Research at Utah State University will help guide programs designed to change travel behaviors in a way that will improve air quality. The research provides insight into people’s perceptions of air pollution and how they change (or do not change) their travel behavior in response to episodes of area-wide...
- Researchers at the University of Utah are finding a faster, easier way to design pavements that are more robust and that optimize available resources. Current tests for dynamic modulus of asphalt (a measure of elasticity) are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Consequently, pavements are often designed...
- Researchers at Utah State University are taking advantage of novel pedestrian push-button traffic signal data to advance pedestrian traffic monitoring and improve pedestrian traffic safety. They are using the data along with machine learning techniques to estimate pedestrian volume and to better understand...
- Research at North Dakota State University promises to revolutionize both road and rail infrastructure monitoring with the use of drone technology. Researchers created a propulsion efficiency index as an objective measure to evaluate drone technology and compare performance. The work will help guide decisions...
- North Dakota State University researchers studied walkability on the Fort Totten Indian Reservation to improve pedestrian safety and mobility. In many Native American communities, walking is a significant form of mobility to reach destinations such as schools, stores, parks, and post offices. These communities...
- Research at Utah State University provides a roadmap for standardizing connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) crash reporting practices across the United States. By implementing recommendations such as uniform reporting forms, enhanced legislative frameworks, and targeted education and training programs...
- Research at North Dakota State University’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute shows that a parent advisory letter can be an effective tool for improving teen driver safety. The letter was directed to parents of teens who had been identified as high-risk drivers to encourage parent/teen safe...
- A new bridge beam design performed well in tests conducted by researchers at Colorado State University. The analysis they used can be applied to design and assess other similar bridge beam designs. The use of rolled beams (beams fabricated by rolling steel through a series of dies to create the desired...
- Researchers at Utah State University are using data collected during a 2020 earthquake near Salt Lake City to help improve models used to design earthquake resistant transportation infrastructure. The earthquake was recorded by a unique arrangement of seismometers, called a downhole array, at the intersection...
- Date: Monday, July 15, 2024 Time: 10-11 a.m. Central Time
Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials have been studied and applied to reinforced concrete (RC) structures for strengthening or seismic retrofit for many years. This research is related to using FRP composites in new bridge structures....
- Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2024 Time: 2-3 p.m. Central Time
The transportation experiences of people with disabilities have improved since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Despite progress, many aspects of the current transportation system still limit people with disabilities...
- Research at the University of Utah will help transportation planners and designers make design choices based on long-term maintenance costs as well as up-front construction and installation costs. In an initial phase of the study, the researchers identified four potential topics for further exploration...
- Routine bridge inspections in the United States are primarily conducted via visual inspection on a fixed two-year cycle. Although this strategy has generally produced a safe bridge network, bridge inspections are expensive and there is a need for an enhanced inspection planning process that could more...
- As roundabouts become increasingly popular, and as many communities promote bicycle use, a major concern is the safety of roundabouts for bicyclists. Researchers at Utah State University studied bicyclists' safety perceptions of and preferences for roundabouts with different characteristics. The researchers...
- Research at the University of Colorado Denver has the potential to help practitioners in the transportation sector reassess how they plan, design, and implement infrastructure for individuals of all abilities, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The researchers conducted interviews...
- The University of Utah was awarded approximately $600,000 by the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) Deep Technology Talent Initiative to introduce a pioneering Transportation Infrastructure Electrification Joint Certificate Program. USHE's Technology Talent Initiative aims to support the creation...
- MPC researcher and CSU civil and environmental engineering assistant Professor Yanlin Guo was recently awarded a five-year National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award of $542,000 to develop new methodologies for assessing wind damage risks to building exteriors.
"With...
- MPC researcher Cathy Liu was honored with the Outstanding Educator Award presented by the Mountain District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The award recognizes Liu's passion for transportation education and her dedication to her students.
Liu is an associate professor in the Department...
- Researchers at the University of Utah developed a web-based platform, named the Utah Advanced Air Mobility Simulator (UAAMS) to enable researchers, planners, and practitioners to record and update assumptions about the distribution of vertiports, traffic, population, and other requirements that may affect...
- MPC researcher Pedro Romero received the Friend of Industry Award from the Utah Asphalt Paving Association at its annual Utah Asphalt Conference February 27-28.
The honor recognizes individuals who exemplify and champion the spirit of public-private collaboration. The award recognizes the impact that...
- MPC researcher and Utah State University Professor Brady Cox is this year's recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers Prakash Lecturer Award for outstanding research or professional practice contributions in the area of geotechnical engineering or soil dynamics. Only one person is selected...
- A journal paper based on MPC research, "Seismic Column-To-Footing Connections Reinforced with Steel/GFRP Bars and GFRP Spirals," was recently published in the April issue of Engineering Structures. The paper was co-authored by Ph.D. student Duc Tran and MPC researcher Chris P. Pantelides at the University...
- Researchers at North Dakota State University’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute are using data from autonomous and connected vehicles to learn how to improve evacuation in the event of disasters like wildfire. Use of these data and traffic simulations will significantly improve evacuation...
- Thanks to University of Utah research, traffic cameras coupled with the power of artificial intelligence tools like deep learning and computer vision are giving traffic managers more reliable tools for managing traffic flow on interstate highways. The researchers used surveillance camera videos from...
- Aleks Paskett, a master's degree student in civil engineering at Utah State University, has been named the 2023 Student of the Year for the Mountain-Plains Consortium. He will be honored with other award winners from across the country during an awards ceremony January 6 in Washington, D.C.
Paskett's...
- Research at North Dakota State University’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute offers a roadmap for companies and agencies looking to profitably implement the use of autonomous aircraft. This roadmap for advanced air mobility (AAM) adoption pinpoints key economic and regulatory factors that...
- Researchers at Colorado State University developed a system for evaluating the risk of critical infrastructure system disruption from tree damage during windstorms. The research findings can potentially to be applied in future risk assessment and mitigation of urban trees before windstorms. Accordingly...
- Researchers at Colorado State University are studying new traffic control strategies for signalized intersections that may improve traffic safety, reduce congestion, and cut wait times for motorists at intersections impacted by crashes and other traffic disruptions. The new adaptive traffic signal strategy...
- Researchers at the University of Utah studied a section of roadway that deteriorated prematurely to learn how to improve road construction where soft subgrades are involved. The researchers studied a geogrid-reinforced pavement system on the section of Utah State Route 10 between Muddy Creek and Emery....
- Researchers with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU surveyed local road managers across North Dakota and with a special emphasis on the oil-producing region of North Dakota to learn about road safety activities. Compared to a previous survey, there was a notable expansion in counties...
- Liquefaction-induced ground failure and the resulting reduction in shear strength of soils occurring during major earthquakes has caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to transportation infrastructure such as bridges, embankments, culverts, and pavements. Researchers at the University of Utah...
- Researchers at North Dakota State University and the University of Utah studied traffic in the Salt Lake City area to learn more about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted traffic and traffic safety. Most transportation research to date has focused on the early stages of the pandemic, but this study examined...
- Recent research at North Dakota State University to quantify freight flow disruption risks from railroad accidents shows that five U.S. metropolitan areas are at least five times more likely than others to experience a railroad accident.
Raj Bridgelall and Denver Tolliver, researchers with NDSU's Upper...
- In a study of snowplow routes in northern Utah, researchers at the University of Utah proposed routes that improved the efficiency by an average of 4.87% in terms of vehicle miles, 13.95% in terms of deadhead miles, and 15.38% in terms of turnaround time. The researchers developed an array of computational...
- With more than 47,000 culverts under highways in Utah, researchers at the University of Utah developed a culvert management system and manual for the Utah Department of Transportation to help prioritize its inspection and maintenance efforts. The research developed methods of predicting culvert deterioration...
- Researchers at Colorado State University are developing improved computer models to better predict precipitation-induced landslides, particularly those in mountainous areas, which can pose risks to property and infrastructure such as roads and bridges and result in injuries and deaths. New modeling techniques...
- Research at the University of Utah is addressing the disconnect between asphalt mixture tests and the inputs for the structure design of pavements. Because of its complexities, the dynamic modulus (which represents the stiffness of the asphalt material when tested in a compressive, repeated load and...
- Research at South Dakota State University shows that a new bridge system made with cross-laminated timber (CLT), which exhibits desirable design strength and low environmental impacts, offers a suitable replacement for bridges on low-volume roads. CLT is an advanced wood panel system comprising several...
- Truck crashes on steep downgrades are often caused by brake failures resulting from overheated brakes generated by excessive braking. Research at the University of Wyoming has resulted in a better understanding of the relationship between truck weight and the maximum descent speeds necessary to prevent...
- Crashes at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) often result in severe injuries and fatalities. Researchers at North Dakota State University are developing an innovative computer modeling technique that can serve as an efficient decision-making system to predict crash occurrence and severity, identify...
- A switch to automated parking systems that assess on-street parking fees for the exact amount of time parked would be fairer for drivers and would help transportation planners manage traffic and parking demand better, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Denver. In a study of on-street...
- Yirong Zhou, a civil and environmental engineering Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, was recently awarded a scholarship from the Utah Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Winners of the $500 scholarships are selected based on outstanding scholarship, work experience, and activity...
- Colorado State University Ph.D. student Mohammad Teymouri was recently awarded the Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Research Award from the Slag Cement Association. The work was honored April 5 during the spring American Concrete Institute Convention in San Francisco. Teymouri's research is titled...
- Ziluo Xiong, CSU civil and environmental engineering Ph.D. student, was recently awarded the Jack E. Cermak Wind Engineering Graduate Fellowship by the CSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The $2500 fellowship award is named after Dr. Jack E. Cermak, the "U.S. Father of Wind Engineering,"...
- CSU civil and environmental engineering master's degree student Daniel Sanchez earned an honorable mention in the Great Minds in Research category of the CSU Graduate Showcase in November. He received the award with Dr. Karan Venayagamoorthy, professor of civil and environmental engineering, for their...
- Research at the University of Utah shows that introducing connected automated vehicles (CAVs) into traffic flow can elevate safety performance, especially on freeways. CAV adoption will likely reduce rear-end and lane-change crashes. Similarly, less speed variation among vehicles and fewer unexpected...
- A test with known repeatability that can easily and reliably evaluate the potential of asphalt mixtures for cracking will result in significant savings for transportation agencies. The IDEAL-CT test is a promising candidate that has been adopted by many agencies. Research at the University of Utah resulted...
- Researchers at Colorado State University are learning more about the complex hydrology that contributes to stream flows in order to develop recommendations for building bridges that can better withstand the effects of erosion. The most common cause of bridge failure in the United States is the erosion...
- Concrete structures such as bridges play a key role in transportation infrastructure, but as those structures age, transportation agencies seek affordable ways to safely extend their service lives. Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver developed design recommendations for the use of new technologies...
- Researchers at South Dakota State University developed a simple, straightforward benefits estimation methodology for evaluating the financial benefits of proposed access management treatments, including the design, spacing, operation, and locations of street connections, interchanges, driveways, and...
- University of Utah researchers developed and tested a computational modeling technique that can predict the local and global response of column-to-footing joints with recessed grouted spliced sleeves in seismically active areas. The model will facilitate the use of the construction technique in accelerated...
- Researchers from the Mountain-Plains Consortium's eight collaborating universities were among the more than 20,000 transportation administrators, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers who came to Washington, DC, for the Transportation Research Board's 102nd Annual Meeting, January 8–12. The...
- Researchers at the University of Utah found that road efficiency and safety was improved in snowy and icy conditions when variable speed limit signs used amber instead of white lettering on a black background. They found the corridor’s average speed and speed variation are reduced after the implementation...
- University of Utah research will help the Utah Department of Transportation identify freeway bottleneck locations that are suitable for coordinated ramp metering control and evaluate both the safety and operational performances of the system. The work will also study the additional delay created to the...
- Based on recommendation results from University of Wyoming research, engineers at the Wyoming Department of Transportation will be able to specify concrete that resists shrinking and cracking. The result will be longer-lasting bridge decks with reduced maintenance costs. The researchers found that polypropylene...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming have developed a set of engineering properties for most bedrock encountered by the Wyoming Department of Transportation as they construct transportation infrastructure elements such as bridges. These measured properties will improve design efficiency and increase...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming surveyed groups from across the state that partner with the Wyoming Department of Transportation on road safety to learn about their needs with regard to the quality, timeliness, completeness, and format of data provided on crashes and roadway inventories. The...
- Carrie Tremblatt, a transportation professional and Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado Denver, has been named the 2022 Student of the Year for the Mountain-Plains Consortium. She will be honored with other award winners from across the country during an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in...
- University of Utah researchers combined off-the-shelf video equipment with machine learning software to develop a system for monitoring operations and small general aviation airports that lack control towers and staff to do so. These airports provide vital services such as aerial firefighting, aeromedical...
- Raj Bridgelall, associate professor of transportation and logistics, has been named a fellow by the National Academy of Inventors. He was among 169 distinguished academic inventors on this year's list of fellows, which was announced Dec. 8.
The NAI Fellows Program highlights academic inventors who have...
- Most bridges are supported on piles, vertical support members driven into the ground that transfer the load to the surrounding rock or soil. Researchers at the University of Wyoming are developing new analysis methods that will improve the consistency and efficiency of driving piles in intermediate geomaterials...
- Researchers at the University of Utah are studying automated data collection technologies that can be used to gather information on roadway assets such as traffic signs, bridges, pedestrian access ramps, and pavement. Their research confirms that LiDAR technology is currently best suited for the in-motion...
- Researchers at Colorado State University developed an integrated tool that provides a more accurate consideration of various adverse driving conditions, including those in work zones. The new tool will allow planners and emergency responders to develop work zones and traffic patterns that reduce the...
- Researchers at the University of Utah are developing bridge designs that dissipate seismic forces during earthquakes so that the bridges can remain operational. The bridge designs are compatible with accelerated bridge construction techniques, which reduce construction costs and traffic disruptions....
- Injuries, deaths, and lost time in the construction industry all occur at alarmingly high rates. More than 6,000 deaths occur on construction jobsites around the world annually. To reduce those deaths and injuries, researchers at the University of Wyoming are tracking eye movements to learn what captures...
- Chris Pantelides, MPC program director and researcher at the University of Utah, was recently elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE fellows have made celebrated contributions and developed creative solutions that change lives around the world. It is a prestigious honor...
- North Dakota State University will head a consortium that includes South Dakota State University, Montana State University, and the University of Wyoming in providing transportation outreach and technical assistance to tribes across the Upper Great Plains and Intermountain West.
As part of its Tribal...
- Colorado State University Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Becki Atadero will serve as the first program director of the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering's new Engineering Education Initiative. The initiative is intended to improve retention, close equity gaps, and enhance...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming are closely examining the characteristics of fatal and severe motorcycle accidents in Wyoming and Utah to identify methods and models that can be used to assess roadways to improve motorcycle safety. They looked at multiple years of crash data and found that the...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming are developing and improving vehicle communication protocols and creating signal control programs to prepare for the integration of connected and autonomous vehicles into traffic. The work will improve operations and safety at signalized intersections and has...
- Researchers at South Dakota State University tested new precast column connection details that could potentially reduce the time it takes to construct bridge bents (the combination of posts/piles and caps that support bridge girders) by a factor of three to four while meeting seismic requirements. The...
- Researchers at South Dakota State University are developing a database to help pavement engineers select the best types and application rates of tack coats, the asphalt-based material applied between pavement layers to improve structural performance. In particular, they are looking at the resulting shear...
- University of Wyoming researchers developed a new system for setting speed limits on roadways that are characterized by steep downgrades and curves. They used high-fidelity dynamic simulation modeling to assess lateral and roll stability of different vehicle types on various road surface conditions....
- Researchers at the University of Utah are developing tests for asphalt that can predict their performance in the field so that optimum life of pavements can be attained, and maintenance investments can be minimized. In this ongoing research, the researchers are looking at asphalt mixtures' flexibility...
- Urban traffic networks are essential to emergency response and recovery, but current traffic simulation models do not adequately address partially blocked roads and other traffic disruptions that may result from disasters and emergencies. Researchers at Colorado State University are developing ways to...
- Asphalt mixes now contain recycled asphalt pavement and less asphalt binder in an attempt to resist rutting and save on materials, however these mixes have resulted in increases in cracking and raveling in pavements. Researchers at the University of Utah are developing performance-related tests that...
- Research at South Dakota State University will provide bridge engineers with design tools that will substantially reduce the cost of some bridge foundations and protect existing bridge foundations from the damaging effects of scour, the erosion of soil from around those foundations. Scour rates in cohesive...
- Researchers at Colorado State University are exploring new ways to limit the damage to transportation infrastructure caused by the expansive soils that are common across the Mountain-Plains region. Four commercially available polymer treatments were tested in comparison with lime and fly ash, two of...
- Researchers at South Dakota State University found that mixed media filtration using steel chips and steel slag can be used as an effective treatment tool to remove E.coli and phosphate from stormwater runoff. This filtration technology will improve stormwater management and protect natural water resources....
- Research at the University of Wyoming will help transportation managers and policymakers decide on strategies for implementing appropriate alternative interchanges in consideration of growing traffic demands, safety, and limited budgets. The researchers introduced two new versions of the Super Diverging...
- Researchers at Colorado State University are developing a method of inspecting infrastructure elements such as guardrails and bridges. The method is more objective than typical visual inspections and has the ability to store and track changes in condition over time. The approach capitalizes on a combination...
- Researchers at Colorado State University developed new modeling techniques to assist in planning emergency medical services (EMS) response. The techniques help predict the resilience of the transportation network in terms of EMS response to help implement optimized post-disaster medical response plans...
- Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver developed an analytical model that can be used to improve repair technique designs for concrete suffering from a common reaction between aggregate and Portland cement that can damage and weaken concrete over time. The researchers studied 120 concrete cylinders...
- Hybrid Post Tensioning Columns
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 Time: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Central Time
This webinar is based on MPC project 588, Hybrid Bridge Bents Using Post-tensioned Precast Columns for Accelerated Bridge Construction in High Seismic Regions. Seismic resilience of bridges improves safety...
- Prasanna Humagain was named "Doctoral Researcher of the Year" because of his impressive publication record (six peer-reviewed articles in 2021); a timely dissertation, which advanced theory and knowledge about COVID's impacts on tourists' decision-making for outdoor recreational travel; and impact on...
- MPC produces volumes of research that is critical to maintaining and improving the transportation systems of our region, the nation and the world. That research would not be possible without the efforts of our students who collect and analyze data, test new ideas and approaches, and help interpret results....
- A summer Transportation Institute Camp will give ninth graders an opportunity to explore engineering in a week-long event dedicated to the transportation industry. Selected participants will experience hands-on activities while working with the professional researchers and faculty at the University of...
- Researchers at Colorado State University found that urban roadway flooding can be reduced by diverting storm water from just 1% to 5% of directly connected impervious areas (i.e., streets, parking lots, rooftops) to bioretention areas, a part of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). These results show...
- Researchers at Colorado State University used responses to written and oral interviews and questionnaires administered to bridge personnel in state DOTs to identify the reasons behind the gap between researchers and practitioners. The effort helped provide insights about how to facilitate research implementation...
- Researchers at North Dakota State University studied crash reporting by four Indian tribes to develop a pragmatic approach that tribes can refine based on objectives related to accountability, sovereignty, and system integrity. With motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of American Indian unintentional...
- Researchers at the University of Utah studied microtransit, riders' use of ride-sharing and short-term rentals of cars, bikes, and scooters, as a way to access traditional transit to learn how it enhances mobility and its impact on transit system use. Their work will help determine the feasibility of...
- Automated Image-Based Aircraft Tracking
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2022 Time: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Central Time
Automated Image-Based Aircraft Tracking and Record-Keeping for Utah Airports considers that over 97% of U.S. airports are not equipped with control towers. As a result, these airports need an alternative...
- Earlier this year at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington D.C., Utah State University Civil and Environmental Engineering master's student Joshua Ward received an Eisenhower Transportation Graduate Fellowship. Ward will receive $31,500 from the Federal Highway Administration...
- Given the growing interest in and promising market for shared autonomous vehicles, metropolitan planning organizations and departments of transportation need to begin modeling how SAV technology would impact regional travel patterns and consider the special needs of automated vehicles in long-range cost...
- University of Utah Ph.D. student Zhao Zhang and his advisor Xianfeng "Terry" Yang were awarded the 2021 Best Dissertation Award from the TRB Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Applications (AED50) at TRB's Annual Meeting in January. The title of the dissertation is "Modeling...
- North Dakota State University Transportation and Logistics Ph.D. student Yun Zhou has been named a 2022 Lifesavers Traffic Safety Scholar and attended the Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, March 12-15, in Chicago. She is one of 43 U.S. and international students selected through...
- Researchers at North Dakota State University examined Indian nations' motor vehicle crash reporting systems with the intent of helping them establish systems to gather key information they can use to better understand the causes of crashes and prevent them.
The research was recently published as an...
- Recent advancements in commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have made them ideal for collecting images during bridge inspections. However, measuring the extent of a defect, its growth, and its exact location using those images can be cumbersome. Researchers at Colorado State University developed...
- Researchers from the Mountain-Plains Consortium's eight collaborating universities were among the thousands of transportation administrators, practitioners, policy makers and researchers who came to Washington, DC, for the Transportation Research Board's 101st Annual Meeting, January 9-13. The meeting...
- Researchers at North Dakota State University are refining techniques for using sensors to more safely and precisely identify railroad track irregularities that could lead to derailments or accidents. The current method of inspection and maintenance is expensive, slow, increases the safety risk to workers...
- While autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to become more commonplace in coming years, they will need to share streets and roads with human-operated vehicles for decades. Researchers at North Dakota State University developed an infrastructure support system based on infrastructure sensors and a new...
- John Higgins, a master of science student in civil engineering at the University of Wyoming, has been named 2021 Student of the Year for the Mountain-Plains Consortium. He was honored with other award winners from across the country during a virtual awards ceremony Saturday, January 8.
As a graduate...
- Dynamic message signs provide key information for drivers. Researchers at South Dakota State University tested new signs that are constructed using adhesives rather than welding to assure that the signs will stand up the rigors of roadside use. In research with small-scale panels and full-size signs...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming are developing tools that local road agencies can use to assess the condition of rural gravel roads. Those user-friendly tools implement smartphones, machine learning, and optimization techniques to help local road managers identify the most appropriate treatment...
- With targeted education related to the accessibility, familiarity, and incentives related to ridesourcing, research at North Dakota State University indicates this mobility option could become a viable impaired driving prevention strategy in rural communities. In a survey of North Dakota drivers, the...
- Ying Huang, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and Welch Faculty Fellow at North Dakota State University, was recently named the 2021 NDSU College of Engineering Researcher of the Year.
Huang's research interests include intelligent transportation systems, smart...
- Mohamed Ahmed, the Williams and Person Professor/Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, and Construction Management was recently named Wyoming Excellence Chair in recognition of his exceptional scholarship and teaching. He was one of only four University of Wyoming...
- Colorado State University researchers have developed a process to streamline bridge inspections and make them more objective and quantitative. Their method could keep better tabs on deteriorating infrastructure and help bridge owners plan for maintenance.
In an MPC-supported work, Yanlin Guo, assistant...
- Research at the University of Colorado Denver leverages developments in spatial data to advance the literature and improve the understanding of pedestrian infrastructure, city-wide sidewalk characteristics, and the fair distribution of sidewalks. Researchers derived usable GIS sidewalk data from aerial...
- Christopher Bareither received the ASCE 2020 Associate Editor Award for the 2020 Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. The award recognizes an associate editor who has provided consistent and exemplary service to a particular journal or practice periodical, or a substantial unique...
- Anas Alrejjal, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Wyoming's College of Engineering and Applied Science, from Amman, Jordan, was named the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Colorado/Wyoming Section student of the year in May. He received a plaque, $500 and a stipend to attend the 2021 ITE...
- Jimmy Kim, professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, delivered a keynote speech during the 11th International Association of Chinese Infrastructure Professionals (IACIP) Workshop, virtually held on January 10 and 17, 2021. The presentation was titled 'Infrastructure Rehabilitation...
- Research at Utah State University into public perceptions of connected vehicles (CVs) and the data from them that is collected and shared will guide policy making that will make CVs more acceptable to the public and promote their adoption. CVs offer potential improvements, including improved efficiency...
- Transportation researchers at NDSU recently published techniques that will help refine the use of sensors in smart phones to measure road roughness.
"Effects of Smartphone Sensor Variability in Road Roughness Evaluation" by Hafiz Usman Ahmed, Liuqing Hu, Xinyi Yang, Raj Bridgelall and Ying Huang was...
- Researchers at the University of Utah are developing and testing innovative systems for accelerated bridge construction that combine precast concrete elements with stretch length anchors. Accelerated bridge construction techniques can dramatically shorten the time required for bridge construction or...
- Researchers at Colorado State University developed computer models to evaluate the complex interactions between debris flows and the stress-strain response of steel structures of flexible steel, ring-net barriers, a common form of barrier used to mitigate debris flows and protect transportation infrastructure....
- Researchers at South Dakota State University used data from the South Dakota Department of Transportation to develop a new family of compaction curves to be utilized in base and subbase material compaction quality control. These curves, standards based on the relationship between soil weight and moisture-density...
- With more than 500 local short-span bridges in need of replacement in South Dakota, federal and state funding falls far short of meeting those replacement needs. Researchers at South Dakota State University developed tools to help local governments make the most effective and economic decisions about...
- Research at the University of Denver demonstrated that the AlertMeter®, a commercially available electronic vigilance test that can assess fatigue/vigilance within two minutes, is a valid measure of fatigue. The researchers collected data on a sample of healthy adults over a 36-hour period of wakefulness...
- Kalpana Katti was recently highlighted by North Dakota State University in a series of highlight articles profiling "Inspiring Teachers."
In the article Katti said, "If a student feels that you are genuinely concerned about them as human beings and engaged in their learning, they are likely to learn...
- The NDSU College of Engineering has announced the creation of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. The new department was formed July 1 with the merging of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Construction Management and Engineering.
The...
- Researchers at Colorado State University are testing an innovative building material for its suitability in building lightweight sustainable bridges. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a sustainable, lightweight, high-strength versatile building material that has been used in Europe but has not been tested...
- Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver developed an innovative system that can identify commute solutions to reduce negative environmental impacts of business commuting. The Multi-Business Commute Optimization System (MBCOS) consists of three integrated components: a website (www.commuteopt.com)...
- Researchers at South Dakota State University developed a cost-effective method of evaluating the corrosion potential of reinforcing bars in continuously reinforced concrete pavement. They evaluated damage to continuously reinforced concrete pavement to determine if corrosion of the reinforcement within...
- (This article was recently featured on DOTNET, USDOT's internal communications network.)
American Indian reservations have some of the highest COVID-19 infection and fatality rates in the United States and are poorly equipped to deal with pandemics, given the high rates of poverty and limited health...
- Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver are studying the use of a sophisticated surveying and remote sensing technology to assess and improve streetscapes.
The researchers investigated methods to extract streetscape features with three different classes of light detection and ranging (LiDAR)...
- Chris Pantelides was recently named as an Outstanding Reviewer for 2020 by the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering. Pantelides is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and MPC researcher and MPC program director at the University of Utah. This is the second consecutive year he has received...
- North Dakota State University transportation and logistics Ph.D. student Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi received an academic scholarship from the Transportation Club of Fargo-Moorhead April 29. The scholarship was presented by Mark Wolter, president of the club, and Kris Olson, treasurer.
The $500 scholarship...
- Using virtual meeting technology, staff and students from MPC universities attended and presented more than 40 research Posters and Presentations at the virtual annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in January.
Thousands of transportation professionals from all over the world participated...
- Research at Utah State University is establishing a reference for transportation agencies to use in making budgetary or policy decisions regarding autonomous vehicles and big data management. The researchers collected roadway geospatial data with a simple mobile LiDAR (light detection and ranging) setup...
- Joshua Ward, an undergraduate researcher at Utah State University, was recently named the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 2021 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year and the 2021 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year for the USU College of Engineering.
In part, the awards recognize his...
- Researchers at the University of Utah implemented machine learning techniques to optimize snow plow truck life. Snowplow trucks serve a crucial role in winter highway maintenance activities of deicing and snow removal, activities that are essential to public mobility and safety. The researchers showed...
- The Utah Department of Transportation deploys more than 100 continuous count stations to collect traffic volumes at different locations in order to achieve balanced geographic coverage. Even so, it is still difficult to capture traffic characteristics of the entire Utah road network within a short time...
- Mostafa Tazarv, researcher with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at South Dakota State University, recently gave several presentations related to his MPC local bridge research.
He presented "Design of Mechanically Spliced Precast Bridge Columns for High-Seismic Regions" to the American...
- Researchers at the University of Utah have developed performance-based processes for establishing highway design criteria that would allow designers to consider and balance the accommodation of driver and vehicle operating characteristics, safety, design, and construction costs in any given context....
- Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021 Time: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Central Time
To mitigate crash severity and reduce crash rate, advanced technologies such as connected automated vehicles (CAVs) have shown great potentials in preventing human driving errors. Using real-time data collected via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)...
- Date: Thursday, March 11, 2021
Time: 10:30-11:30 a.m. Central Time
LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is a mature and efficient technology used by various transportation agencies for highway asset management and data collection purposes. While effective, there are some limitations in using LiDAR...
- Because of their relatively low cost and ease of construction, bridges using double-tee (DT) girders are widely used on local road networks across the United States. It has been found that rapid deterioration of longitudinal joints between DT girders, which can significantly degrade the structural performance...
- NDSU transportation researchers Ying Huang, Raj Bridgelall and Pan Lu were recently selected as editors of a special issue of the journal Smart Cities. The journal's theme is "Advances in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles".
The special issue is intended to create a forum for advancing research related...
- Several papers from MPC-funded research projects were recently published. They include the following:
"Bicycle safety at roundabouts: a systemic literature review" was written by Niranjan Pudel and Patrick Singleton with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University....
- Several papers from MPC-funded research projects were recently published. They include the following:
"Seismic repair of deficient and code compliant bridge wall piers" was published in the April 2021 edition of Engineering Structures. Authors are Bhaskar Kunwar, Vanessa McEntee, and Chris P. Pantelides...
- The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute recently awarded several scholarships to outstanding NDSU students with interests in transportation.
Ryan Swanberg and Mackenzie Holkesvig were awarded the $1,500 Transportation Engineering Scholarship which recognizes academic achievement and promotes...
- The limited variability of test results in this University of Wyoming research should alleviate alkali-silica reaction concerns for those who wish to use recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). The Rocky Mountain Region has experienced considerable difficulty due to the presence of alkali-silica reaction...
- With 8.5 million visitors in 2016, tourism is the second largest industry in Wyoming. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks were among the top 10 most-visited national parks in 2016. Researchers at the University of Wyoming developed a travel demand model that incorporates tourism-based travel to...
- Researchers at Colorado State University developed a method that engineers can use to optimize a road segment and all bridges on the roadway for height above a river or creek to reduce the potential damage to the transportation network to a consistent level of risk and assure transportation access for...
- Theodore Sjurseth has been named 2020 University Transportation Centers Student of the Year for the Mountain-Plains Consortium. He will be honored with other award winners from across the country during a virtual awards ceremony today (January 6).
Sjurseth is a master's student in civil engineering...
- Kathryn Knight, master's student in civil and environmental engineering at Colorado State University, defended her MS thesis, "Assessing the Use of Dual-Drainage Modeling to Determine the Effects of Green Stormwater Infrastructure Networks on Events of Roadway Flooding." The work was part of MPC project...
- MPC researchers at the University of Utah are working to eliminate or reduce the bump at the end of Utah bridges caused by settling of soils that can occur long after construction. In some cases, the settling can result in a need to completely reinstall bridge approaches. The researchers studied surcharging...
- MPC research at South Dakota State University will help roadway agencies reduce pavement stripping, a moisture-induced loss of bonding between aggregates and the asphalt binder that typically begins at the bottom of the hot-mix asphalt layer and progresses upward. Stripping is a serious form of roadway...
- Work by MPC researchers at Colorado State University was recently published in several journals.
"Streamlined bridge inspection system utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles and machine learning," by Brandon J. Perry, Yanlin Guo, Rebecca Atadero and John W. van de Lindt was published in the journal, Measurement....
- A student design team at the University of Utah is designing a six-block corridor of bike lanes in Salt Lake City. MPC researcher Cathy Liu is the faculty mentor for the Civil and Environmental Engineering senior capstone project (4900 -- professional practice & design). The team of six students is designing...
- Australia may hold important lessons for improving road safety in the United States, according to MPC researchers at the University of Colorado Denver. Despite similarities to the United States in terms of transportation, land use, and culture, there are 5.3 deaths per 100,000 in population on Australian...
- MPC researchers at Colorado State University are improving the hydrologic analyses used to evaluate dam safety and to design bridges and roads. Many current hydrologic guidelines assume that runoff from design storms is produced by an infiltration-excess mechanism where rainfall intensity exceeds the...
- MPC research in South Dakota regarding tolerances for tie-bar placement in concrete pavements could result in improved pavement service life and reduced maintenance costs. Longitudinal joints in Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement slabs require tie (dowel) bars to control joint opening resulting...
- MPC researchers at South Dakota State University are developing enhanced technology to improve the quality of runoff water from highway construction sites. The research promises to help maintain the quality of surface waters, promote environmental sustainability, and reduce the need for costly dredging...
- MPC research to calibrate the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) for local roadways in South Dakota will make the manual more useful for the South Dakota Department of Transportation as that agency works to improve highway safety. The calibrated manual will help SDDOT screen roadways to find problem areas for...
- MPC researchers conducted a systematic study on the long-term cost effectiveness of various short-span concrete structures. The research will help state and local governments choose the most cost-effective options when replacing concrete structures on their road networks. The research included analysis...
- MPC researcher Mahmet Ozbek recently received the Associated Schools of Construction Outstanding Educator Award. Ozbek is the interim department head for the Colorado State University Construction Management Program and was recently promoted to professor at CSU.
The award recognizes Ozbek's contribution...
- Bridge decks strengthened with glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP) have shown promise for improving the service life of bridges subjected to deicing salts that corrode steel-reinforced bridges. Unfortunately, GFRP is typically brittle and prone to to possible failure.
MPC researchers at Utah State...
- University of Utah Transportation Engineering Ph.D. Student Zhiyan Yi recently received two honors from the Intermountain Section of the Institute of Traffic Engineers.
Yi was awarded one of two 2020 Ellis L. Mathes Scholarships given by the section. The scholarship is awarded to undergraduate or graduate...
- MPC researchers at Colorado State University developed an improved method for estimating stream flows from storms so that engineers can install bridges, culverts and other transportation infrastructure that assures the reliability and public safety of the transportation network.
The improved method...
- MPC research at the University of Utah shows that reinforced concrete bridge wall piers constructed using older codes can be retrofitted with carbon reinforced polymer rods or vertical CFRP anchors to increase stiffness, load carrying capacity, and hysteretic energy (as occurs in earthquakes) dissipation....
- Colorado State University Ph.D. student Abdelrahman Abdallah won second place in the Great Minds in Research award for his research topic at the Graduate Student Showcase in November.
Abdallah is earning his Ph.D. in Construction Engineering and Management, a collaborative program between the Colorado...
- A recently published study by MPC researchers at North Dakota State University's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute suggests that large cities should continue to invest in public transit improvements even as ride hailing services proliferate with the potential to attract users away.
"A fuzzy...
- MPC research at the University of Colorado Denver will improve the understanding of embedded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) systems for concrete bridge members, and will enhance the durability of strengthened concrete members and provide new techniques for bridge engineers who want to adopt state-of-the-art...
- Collecting bridge inspection data is essential to bridge asset management and assuring that bridges receive timely maintenance so that highway maintenance investments can be directed most efficiently and bridges remain safe for users. MPC research at North Dakota State University proposed a holistic...
- Online mapping systems offer route guidance for travelers, but may also increase congestion as increasing volumes of traffic are routed to vital network corridors. Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver developed an enhanced approach with the objective of optimizing global road network utilization...
- In the first testing of full-scale bridge girders constructed with calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement, MPC researchers at Utah State University determined that the performance of CSA cement could be predicted by current load and resistance factor design specifications. The research results indicate...
- Dinesh Katti, professor of civil and environmental engineering and MPC researcher at North Dakota State University, will receive the 2020 NDSU Faculty Lectureship Award. The honor is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the university's awards and recognizes sustained professional excellence in...
- Marv Halling, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Utah State University and longtime MPC collaborator and principle investigator has been named MPC director for USU. He currently serves as head of the department's Structures Division. As director, he will coordinate USU's participation...
- The Mountain-Plains Consortium has approved more than 20 research projects at its seven collaborating universities so far in 2020. Projects include:
Effect of Deicing Agents and Environmental Conditions on Performance of Asphalt Pavements in Cold Regions at South Dakota State University
Visible...
- Results from an MPC research project designed to protect curved bridges from earthquakes were recently published in an engineering journal, shared at a meeting of civil engineers and published by an industry institute.
The project, "Self-Centering Buckling Restrained Braces for Curved Bridges" began...
- Researchers at North Dakota State University's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute developed a new modeling approach to more accurately predict the likelihood of accidents at highway-rail grade crossings, locations where a highway and railroad cross at the same elevation. The approach performs...
- The University of Utah and the Utah Department of Transportation hosted a seminar, "Control of Connected Autonomous Vehicles in Mixed Traffic: Modeling, Data Analysis and Field Experiments," at the UDOT Traffic Operation Center on January 28. The seminar was designed to facilitate collaboration between...
- Staff and students from MPC universities attended and presented at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Washington, D.C., Jan 12-16. Topics included, pavement management, railroad, crossing safety, evaluation of sign retroreflectivity, bridge rehabilitation, bicycling and...
- NDSU researchers used innovative modeling techniques to examine the public policy implications of proposed technologies for reducing truck fuel consumption and cutting operating costs.
"Policy implications of truck platooning and electrification" was recently published in the journal Energy Policy....
- Research at the University of Utah found that adoption of low-temperature tests for asphalt mixtures will result in pavements that are less susceptible to thermal cracking, thus increasing pavement life and reducing maintenance needs. In the state of Utah alone, more than $20 million dollars is spent...
- Research at the University of Utah will help road managers choose the best road maintenance treatments to extend roadway life and minimize long-term maintenance costs. The researchers studied 14 thin lift treatments (TLTs) over a five-year period to assess their performance. TLTs are the application...
- North Dakota State University transportation and logistics Ph.D. students Ihsan Khan and Yun Zhou have been named 2020 Traffic Safety Scholars. The award includes a $1,000 scholarship to attend the 38th annual Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, March 14-17, in Tampa, Florida.
Khan...
- Research at the University of Colorado Denver on reinforcing concrete members like bridge girders may lead to longer-lasting and safer bridges. The researchers developed an improved method for bonding carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) to structural concrete members to strengthen them. The method...
- Associate professor Caroline Clevenger has been named director of the construction engineering and management programs within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. Clevenger, who has been with the program since its inception in 2014, is thrilled at how much the program...
- A paper co-authored by MPC collaborator Pedro Romero at the University of Utah was awarded the Walter J. Emmons Award for best paper presented at the 2019 annual meeting of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists. The paper, "Balanced Mix Design Sensitivity to Production Tolerance Limits and...
- Research at the University of Wyoming into the development of a model to help local road managers select optimum sections of unpaved roads for chemical treatments for dust suppression was recently published online and will appear in the March issue of the Journal of Infrastructure Systems. Because Wyoming...
- By the end of September, Mountain-Plains Consortium universities had offered a total of 317 training sessions for the grant period that began in mid-2016. Trainings ranged from ADA Ramp Design to Work Zone Safety for Local Agencies. While many of the courses like Heavy Equipment Operation and Concrete...
- Researchers at the University of Wyoming have developed a pavement serviceability (PSI) model to provide a more realistic representation of county road conditions. They also tested smartphones (typically equipped with accelerometers, GPS receivers, and other sensors) as a cost-effective solution to minimize...
- Congratulations to Vanessa McEntee who was named MPC Student of the Year. She was recognized during the Council of University Transportation Centers annual banquet, held at the opening of this month's Transportation Research Board meetings in Washington, D.C. McEntee is an engineer with Reaveley Engineers...
- MPC research at the University of Utah will improve understanding of the safety performance related to of different left-turn signal light phase indications. Transportation engineers will use the results to model future crash frequencies and guide selection of left-turn phase indications by site, and...
- The need for improved bicycle facilities in rural communities is becoming more apparent, but the standard national bicycle design guide is aimed at larger urban communities rather than smaller rural communities. MPC researchers at the University of Wyoming used current design guides to develop a resource...
- Findings from MPC research at the University of Wyoming are expected to help transportation managers and policy makers decide on management strategies for highway facilities carrying a large percentage of trucks. The benefits for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, as well as other agencies that...
- Researchers at South Dakota State University developed two rehabilitation methods for girder-to-girder joints on double-tee bridges. One of the methods, which costs 70% less than bridge superstructure replacement, will extend the service life and eliminate the need for replacement of many existing double-tee...
- Tribal communities recognize the need to improve roadway safety. A five-step methodology has been developed by the Wyoming Technology Transfer (WYT2) Center to improve roadway safety on reservations. This methodology, initially implemented on the Wind River Indian Reservation, led to the Wyoming Department...
- Researchers using a driving simulator at the University of Utah found that driving safety, as reflected by driving errors, was strongly associated with driving self-awareness. The findings suggest that performance and performance awareness go hand in hand. Participants who drove well in the study tended...
- In a multi-year study at the University of Wyoming, MPC researchers developed cost-effective maintenance strategies that will reduce maintenance costs and dust emissions from unpaved roads. Using field data and comprehensive analysis, researchers examined the effectiveness of various dust suppressants....
- MPC researchers at the University of Utah developed a sampling method utilizing machine-learning techniques to suggest the location and frequency of sampling of roadway assets to determine maintenance needs. This high-dimensional clustering-based stratified sampling method is designed to choose the proper...
- About 24 percent of all reported U.S. motor vehicle crashes are related to adverse weather conditions. By improving their understanding of driver behavior in these conditions, MPC researchers at the University of Wyoming hope to develop and implement more weather responsive traffic management strategies...
- In traditional seismic analyses of bridges, traffic is typically ignored, but the reality is that bridges experiencing earthquakes will likely have normal traffic on them. MPC researchers at Colorado State University developed an analytic method of modeling the response of complex bridges to seismic...
- MPC researchers have developed new testing modules to more rapidly assess the safety and operational performance of continuous flow intersections and diverging diamond interchanges. The modules will cut planning time and costs for implementing the intersection designs. It is estimated that the use of...
- Existing bridge seismic analyses examine the inertial forces applied on bridge structures during earthquakes, but do not fully consider the interaction between earthquake motions, bridges and the traffic on those bridges. Long-span bridges often carry a significant amount of traffic and many vehicles...
- More trees and larger tree canopies in the "clear zone" near urban streets were associated with fewer injury/fatal crashes as well as fewer crashes overall in research conducted by MPC research at the University of Colorado Denver. That's contrary to 50 years of standard design practice which emphasized...
- MPC research at University of Utah indicates that circular concrete filled steel tube (CCFT) columns with partial design concrete compressive strength can be used for accelerated bridge construction because the relatively low decrease in strength is offset by the reduced seismic loads for this temporal...
- MPC researchers at North Dakota State University developed and evaluated an automated symptom screening system for railroad tracks and equipment. The system located and characterized possible track surface abnormalities by analyzing the inertial dynamics of a hi-rail vehicle or in-service rail vehicles...
- The Wyoming Department of Transportation is using results from MPC research to quantify the benefits of safety countermeasures in Wyoming. The work helps them allocate resources where they will have the largest impact in reducing the frequency and severity of crashes.
In 2010, the American Association...
- To develop data that could help improve the design of bridge girders, MPC researchers at Utah State University investigated the amount of strain typical vehicles caused in the bottom of each girder as they travel across the bridge. This research also examined the maximum strains in the bridge girders...
- MPC researchers at the University of Utah conducted a survey to examine the relationship between consumers' beliefs about automated vehicles, their knowledge of automated vehicles, and their views about technology. The researchers investigated how knowledge of self-driving vehicles, perceived knowledge...
- MPC researchers at South Dakota State University developed a visual load rating method for double-tee bridges that maximizes the use of existing double-tee bridges while providing safe travel and preserving the bridge investment. They reviewed more than 370 inspection reports to determine the frequency...
- Child pedestrians deserve particular attention when considering traffic safety. This means identifying locations where child pedestrians are at particular risk as well as taking a more proactive safety approach to find out where their trips are being suppressed specifically due to road safety concerns.
Pedestrian...
- MPC researchers at the University of Denver are developing a tool to measure the effectiveness of safety culture within a company or industry. The researchers administered the Safety Culture Assessment Scale to employees of a large regional railroad at two separate times. Results demonstrated the reliability...
- Work shifts that place shortline railroad workers at risk for fatigue-related injuries as well as strategies for avoiding those injuries were identified in MPC research at the University of Denver. A sample of work schedules and sleep diaries were obtained from the shortline railroad industry and analyzed...
- MPC researchers at North Dakota State University want to better understand the relationships between roadside inspection data and safety performance data for large trucks. The researchers used data mining techniques and statistical analysis to examine data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's...
- Considerable research has focused on the seismic performance of bridges, but embankments are also subject to damage during earthquakes. That damage may prevent the proper functioning of transportation networks that will be essential for rescue workers, repair teams and disaster relief efforts. MPC researchers...
- The fatigue life of rebar in reinforced concrete beams could be doubled or tripled through the use of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP), MPC researchers at Colorado State University found. The researchers studied the effect of externally bonded CFRP on slowing or arresting fatigue crack growth...
- An airborne remote sensing method called LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is a promising method for collecting data on highway assets such as bridges and culverts, according to MPC research at Utah State University.
The researchers found that airborne LiDAR is much faster in data collection than...
- MPC researchers have developed an improved approach to highway maintenance and rehabilitation that better integrates the selection and scheduling of projects. A goal of the approach is to select and schedule projects to maximize their benefit or effectiveness while minimizing the traffic impacts of work...
- Vanessa McEntee, a graduate student at the University of Utah, was selected to present findings from her research for the U.S. Senate in Washington D.C. on May 14 at the University Transportation Center's Spotlight Conference. For the past two years, McEntee has been studying seismic retrofit methods...
- UGPTI researcher Raj Bridgelall and NDSU transportation and logistics doctoral student Leonard Chia presented papers at the SPIE 26th Annual International Symposium on Smart Structures and Material Systems + Nondestructive Evaluation in Denver, CO, in March.
Bridgelall presented "Sensor System Benefits...
- Chris Pantelides, an MPC researcher at the University of Utah was recently honored for mentoring students and was selected as an Outstanding Reviewer for 2018 by the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering.
Pantelides was selected by students as the Outstanding Mentor of the Year for 2018-2019 in the...
- Md. Daulat Hossain, a Ph.D. student in transportation and logistics, was recently elected President of the NDSU Graduate Student Council. Among other duties, the president presides at all meetings, approves appointments to committees, approves the council's budget and serves as a liaison between the...
- MPC research at the University of Colorado Denver explores an optimization system designed to identify optimal trade-offs between two important transportation objectives of minimizing greenhouse gases and air pollution emissions and total travel time while meeting preferences and convenience of business...
- MPC research at the University of Wyoming provides WYDOT, as well as other transportation agencies nationwide, the necessary models to estimate resilient modulus (a measurement of material stiffness under various conditions) of granular crushed road base materials. Understanding this characteristic is...
- Although bicycling is considered to be ten times more dangerous than driving, the evidence continues to build that bike-friendly cities are not only safer for bicyclists but for all road users. This report looks to understand why this is the case.
Based on 13 years of data from 14 major U.S. cities...
- Many laboratory studies have shown erratic flexural strength among replicate fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) specimens, leading to unreliable claims about the performance of certain fiber reinforced concrete elements in the field.Experimental average residual strength values obtained in this study confirms...
- Couplers are not allowed to be used in bridge column plastic hinges in high seismic regions. This prevents their use as a precast column connection, a potential use that would facilitate accelerated construction. This ban is because of a lack of systematic test data on the coupler performance, limited...
- MPC researchers found that agent-based simulation (ABS) for modeling agricultural transportation demand provides a greater level of detail for transportation planning efforts. This level of detail enhances the ability to accurately project investment needs and target infrastructure investments.
North...
- Xianfeng (Terry) Yang, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah has been named outstanding reviewer by three transportation journals. Outstanding reviewers offer expertise and professional service to support journals as they work to maintain the high quality...
- Yail (Jimmy) Kim, University of Colorado Denver professor of civil engineering, received the 2018 Excellence in Research and Creative Activities Award. The award recognizes exemplary work at the university and recipients are chosen by a selection committee comprising previous award winners. Kim has been...
- University of Utah master's student Nuzhat Azra received the 2018 Ellis L. Mathes Scholarship from the Intermountain Section of the Institute of Traffic Engineers at the group's annual meeting in Jackson, WY. Two $2,000 scholarships are awarded annually to students in engineering with an emphasis in...
- The recipient of the 2018 Nevada Medal for Distinguished Graduate Student Paper in Bridge Engineering is Ruoyang Wu, a doctoral student at the University of Utah.
The Nevada Medal is an annual award given to a graduate student paper that has made significant contributions to the state-of-the-art in...
- NDSU and the University of North Dakota have received a patent for technology that integrates energy-storing capacitors into the body or other large components of manned and unmanned aircraft systems, known as UAS."This capacitor technology, which will supplement batteries, will allow for greater range...
- NDSU Transportation and Logistics Ph.D. student Bukola Bakare has launched an innovative portable vegetable garden project to help low income families and new Americans in the Fargo-Moorhead area eat healthier food. The project was funded by a grant from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Bakare, left...
- Those attending the 2018 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition in Salt Lake City will have a unique opportunity to visit the UDOT Traffic Operations Center where Utah Department of Transportation leaders will describe technologies in which UDOT has become a national...
- Chris Pantelides, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah was elected an active member of the Academy of Civil Engineers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO. The induction ceremony for Pantelides and 11 other honorees was April 19 in Rolla....
- Matt Shatzkin, who earned his PhD in transportation and logistics from NDSU in 2014 has joined NDSU as an adjunct professor. Shatzkin has been a U.S. Army logistics practitioner for 27 years, achieving the rank of colonel. He is the author of the book, "Understanding the Complexity of Emergency Supply...
- Five NDSU students presented research at the 59th Annual Transportation Research Forum April 10-11 in Minneapolis. The event was an opportunity for transportation professionals, academics, students, and graduates to present their work, discuss the latest research, debate contemporary transportation issues...
- MPC researcher Chris Pantelides, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah, discussed the safety and widespread use of accelerated bridge construction in an interview with KUTV, Salt Lake City channel 2. He was interviewed in the wake of the collapse of a pedestrian...
- NDSU researchers Ying Huang, Pan Lu and Raj Bridgelall presented their paper, "Road sensor network for smart city applications," at the Conference on Nondestructive Characterization and Monitoring of Advanced Materials, Aerospace, Civil Infrastructure and Transportation. The event was organized by SPIE...
- NeTia Bauman, tribal program outreach coordinator for the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University, is serving on the 2018 National Transportation in Indian Country Conference (NTICC) planning committee. She will assist with reviewing submissions from potential presenters...
- Chris Pantelides, Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah, was recently named to the editorial board of the Journal of Construction and Building Materials. He has authored or co-authored over 100 technical journal papers. He has been a professor at...
- Nadim Wehbe, John M. Hanson Professor and head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at South Dakota State University, was named the 2017 Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Outstanding Researcher. Wehbe was recognized at the Celebration of Faculty Excellence banquet held at SDSU...
- The Tribal Transportation Scholarship at North Dakota State University will recognize outstanding Native American Students who will be enrolling at NDSU with an interest in engineering, economics or agriculture. Funding for the $2,000 scholarship will be provided by the Mountain-Plains Consortium through...
- South Dakota State University master's student Peng Dai won the first place student poster award at the Eastern South Dakota Water Conference held in November in Brookings. Dai's poster title was "Escherichia Coli Removal from Stormwater in Steel Chip Filters." His advisor is Dr. Guanghui Hua, assistant...
- Researchers and students from MPC universities presented more than 60 papers or posters at the 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) earlier this month. The meeting is the world's largest gathering of transportation researchers and professions.
The TRB Annual Meeting was Jan....
- Dilip Mistry, a doctoral student in Transportation and Logistics within the College of Business at NDSU was named the Region VIII Mountain-Plains Consortium Student of the Year, Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C. Each year, the U.S. Department of Transportation honors an outstanding student for achievement and...
- Dr. Yufen Zhou, a former MPC Ph.D. student at Colorado State University, was recently named a Rising Star by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Zhou is a wind engineer at SOH Wind Engineering LLC focusing on wind-induced vibration of critical...
- The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University celebrated its 50th Anniversary by hosting an interactive outdoor event featuring heavy trucks, emergency response vehicles, transportation safety exhibits and highlights of the Institute's history. Visit the Institute's...
- The Institute of Transportation Engineers, Western District, recognized Dr. Cathy Liu with its Outstanding Educator Award at the 2017 Annual Meeting in San Diego in June. The award recognizes one educator who has shown extraordinary creativity in teaching, taken exceptional measures to spark student...
- The National Summer Transportation Institute at South Dakota State University increased awareness and stimulated interest in transportation among participating high school students. The week-long program in August hosted 18 students and was a cooperative program of SDSU, the SD Department of Transportation...
- A new online transportation and logistics course will be offered at NDSU for the spring 2018 semester focusing on transportation technology. The course, TL 757: Intelligent Transportation Solutions, will introduce graduate students to transportation solutions that leverage technology to help move people...
- Pedro Romero, faculty in Civil Engineering at the University of Utah was presented with the Utah Department of Transportation Trailblazer Award during the 2017 UDOT research meeting. The award was given in recognition of his contributions toward "excellence in transportation research." For years, Romero...
- Nick Ferenchak, Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado Denver will present "Redefining the child pedestrian safety paradigm: identifying high fatality concentrations in urban areas" at the International Walk 21 Conference in Calgary, Alberta Sept. 19-22. The research was part of MPC project 515...
- Bukola Bakare, a transportation and logistics PhD student at North Dakota State University, was chosen to participate in the Tri-College NEW Leadership Development institute in May. Bakare was one of only 45 participants chosen from among the 109 applicants. The New (National Education for Women's) Leadership...
- Colonel Matt Shatzkin, a U.S. Army logistics expert and graduate of NDSU's Transportation and Logistics Ph.D. program presented a lecture on emergency supply chains Monday, May 8.
His presentation, "Understanding the Complexity of Emergency Supply Chains," defined a framework for emergency supply chains...
- Abu Sufian Mohammad Asib, a Ph.D. candidate in transportation under the supervision of Dr. Romero, received an award recently from the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association. The award was presented during the association's annual meeting and recognized his work in creating a more "sustainable road surface...
- Transportation and Logistics Ph.D. student Amin Keramati recently won the 2017 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials GIS for Transportation Student Paper Contest. Kerimati will present the paper, "Solving the log-truck routing problem while accounting for forest road maintenance...
- Six NDSU Transportation and Logistics Ph.D. students will present their research at the Transportation Research Forum's 2017 Annual Forum April 20-21 at the University of Illinois in Chicago. The Transportation Research Forum is an independent organization of transportation professionals dedicated to...
- The Safe, Healthy and Resilient Communities (SHRC) PhD program at the University of Colorado Denver is a US Department of Education-sponsored Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) PhD fellowship program focusing on interdisciplinary training of fellows in areas of transportation engineering...
- Researchers and students from MPC universities presented more than 60 papers or posters at the 95th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) earlier this month. The meeting is the world's largest gathering of transportation researchers and professions.
The TRB Annual Meeting was Jan....
- Holly Lloyd, a December 2016 graduate of Utah State University's master's program in civil engineering, was named the 2017 Student of the Year for USDOT's Region 8. Lloyd's master's project involved the analysis of the safety effectiveness of the diverging diamond interchanges in Utah. Her advisor was...
- Precast double-tee bridge deck systems are currently used for local roads in South Dakota. Alternative durable precast or prefabricated bridge systems are needed to provide more options to local governments when designing a new bridge.
MPC researchers Dr. Nadim Wehbe, Dr. Mostafa Tazarv, and graduate...
- The MPC will receive about 2.5 million per year for the next five years under the U.S. Department of Transportation's University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program. MPC's proposal focuses on preserving the existing transportation system. The MPC, led by the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute...
- An MPC doctoral student at North Dakota State University is among 40 graduate students from across the country selected to participate in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's new Health Policy Research Scholars program. Bukola Bakare, a doctoral student in the interdisciplinary Transportation and Logistics...
- Four North Dakota State University undergraduate students were recently awarded $1,500 scholarships funded by the MPC. Agribusiness students Brooks Larson and Jordan Alvin Rolstad received the Paul E.R. Abrahamson Transportation Scholarship. Larson is from Cando, ND. Rolstad is from Sisseton, SD. The...
- MPC Director Dr. Denver Tolliver recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute Advisory Council for his long-term achievements as an educator and researcher. He has been director of the UGPTI since 2012. Under Tolliver's leadership, the MPC has...
- The Mountain-Plains Consortium has updated the "About Us" section of its website. The clickable map is your link to key information, projects, faculty, research, publications, and resources at each of the MPC member universities. The website also integrates transportation facts about the region and about...
- NDSU transportation and logistics doctoral students Yuan Xu and Mingwei Guo presented papers at the 2016 Midwest Academy of Management annual meeting, Oct. 6-8 in Fargo. The professional organization is a forum for the latest management theory and research by members.
The NDSU College of Business was...
- Dr. Gaofeng Jia has joined the MPC faculty as an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Colorado State University. He has expertise in natural hazard risk assessment and mitigation, robust analysis and design of complex engineering systems and high performance structures, risk-informed...
- Dr. Richard Porter, associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Utah, was a keynote speaker in the open plenary session of the 2nd Serbian Road Congress in Belgrade Serbia, June 9-10. Porter's presentation was, "Substantive Safety Analysis: Tools for Practitioners." The event is intended...
- Repair of damaged bridge columns following an earthquake is a good alternative to replacement. Benefits include cost savings, reduction in construction time, and decreased interruption of emergency services. Dr. Chris Pantelides, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah...
- The University of Utah Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter received the Student Chapter Award Honorable Mention at the Western ITE Region meeting July 12 in Albuquerque, NM. A total of 29 student chapters competed for the award and for the second year in a row, University of...
- MPC faculty member Wesley Marshall, associate professor of civil engineering at University of Colorado Denver, will receive the campus-level 2016 Excellence in Research and Creative Activities Award. The award recognizes University of Colorado Denver tenured and tenure-track faculty who have demonstrated...
- The newest MPC faculty member at South Dakota State University, is a familiar name. Dr. Jonathan Wood, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was MPC's 2013 Outstanding Student of the Year. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from the University...
- Students enter bridge design/build competition at SDSU
In June, 36 local middle and high school students participated in the week-long Youth Engineering Adventure (YEA) Camp at South Dakota State University. Bridge engineering was the focus of one of the camp's activities. In a hands-on exercise, participants...
- Jill Hough, associate professor of transportation, at North Dakota State University's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute was named president of the Council of University of Transportation Centers (CUTC) at the group's annual meeting in June in Los Angeles. CUTC provides a forum for transportation...
- Three journal papers featuring MPC research at Colorado State University conducted by MPC principal investigator Suren Chen and his collaborators were recently published:
Chen, F., Chen, S. and Ma, X. "Crash frequency modeling using real-time environmental and traffic data and unbalanced panel data...
- Utah State University student Holly Lloyd recently won first place in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Intermountain Section Student Paper Competition. The competition was part of the annual section conference in Jackson Hole, WY, in May.
The paper featured her master's project focusing on the...
- NDSU's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI) celebrated transportation in May with activities on campus and outreach to more than 250 elementary schools across North Dakota.
NDSU students Jessica Murray and Ali Rahim Taleqani were selected to win gift cards to the NDSU bookstore for displaying...
- A current MPC student and a former MPC student, both from the University of Utah, were recently chosen to be part of the Eno Future Leaders Development Conference in Washington, D.C., in June.
Ivana Tasic, a Ph.D. in civil and environmental Engineering at the University of Utah, is the winner of the...
- MPC will be offering a webinar on Joint Detailing for Improved Performance of Double Tee Bridge Systems. This MPC research project (MPC-439) at South Dakota State University provides for reduced maintenance of sealed joints between girders and also allows for continuous beam behavior. The webinar is...
- Kate Ferguson, a Ph.D. student in NDSU's Transportation and Logistics Program, was recently named Director of Business Development for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. She is the first point of contact for companies pursuing domestic and international trade opportunities and also coordinates business...
- A mix of pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers on busy streets may seem like a dangerous mix, but some of the most bicycle-friendly cities around the world are also the safest for all road users - motor vehicle drivers and pedestrians included. University of Colorado Denver researcher Wesley Marshall is...
- A paper titled "Creating Inclusive Environments in First-Year Engineering Classes to Support Student Retention and Learning" by Christina Paguyo, a postdoctoral fellow in the College of Engineering at Colorado State University, and CSU MPC Program Director Rebecca Atadero won two best paper awards at...
- North Dakota State University will lead a consortium of eight universities focused on transportation research under a $3.5 million grant awarded this week by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The grant was one of 22 awarded in the University Transportation Centers Program administered by the DOT's...
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