CUTR News & Information
- CUTR is awarded $3.5M Grant
The University of South Florida’s National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) has been competitively selected as one of 22 national University Transportation Centers by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Click here for more information. - CUTR Featured in FDOT sponsored TAD video on YouTube
The Florida DOT sponsored the development, through a grant to CUTR, of GPS-enabled cell phones (Travel Assistance Device) that can guide transit riders with mental or cognitive disabilities when traveling on transit systems. FDOT and CUTR also developed an online, map-based Web page that gives the caretaker and travel trainer the means to monitor the transit rider's location when desired. Click here to view the video. - 2012 FDOT/FPTA/CUTR Professional Development Workshop
The FDOT/FPTA/CUTR Professional Development Workshop will be June 5-6, 2012 at the Embassy Suites-USF. The statewide Workshop offers a unique professional development opportunity for Florida’s public transportation professionals. This one-stop-workshop offers excellent opportunities to learn from industry experts, attend professional development training, and gather information about innovative industry research, and network with peers. For more information, please visit www.cutr.usf.edu/fpta. - New CUTR Director selected
After an extensive search, USF and CUTR are pleased to announce that Jason Bittner has accepted the position of Director of CUTR. Bittner was most recently Deputy Director of the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He assumed his new position on January 17, 2012. Click here for more information. - John W. Barr District 10 Transportation Achievement Award
The Florida Motorcycle Safety Coalition, housed at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida (USF), received the John W. Barr District 10 Transportation Achievement Award from the Florida Section Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Support for the Coalition continues through a grant from FDOT & NHTSA. - CUTR Establishes Unique Agreement With USDOT
CUTR has reached an agreement with the USDOT's Transportation Safety Institute which allows CUTR instructors to teach TSI classes and issue TSI certificates to participants. This is the first agreement that TSI has executed entrusting an outside organization to provide their course materials. - Malcolm Beard received 2011 CUTR Transportation Achievement
Award
Mr. Malcolm E. Beard, Senate President Pro Tempore, was selected to receive the 2011 CUTR Transportation Achievement Award. An award dinner was held in his honor on October 26, 2011 at the USF Marshall Center Ballroom. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the transportation industry in Florida. - Nayak & Sikder awarded 2011 Georgia Brosch Memorial
Transportation Scholarship
Nagesh holds a MS in Civil Engineering and will graduate with his PhD in Spring 2012. Sujan holds a MS in Transportation Engineering and will graduate with his PhD in December 2012. Both students are members of USF's Institute of Transportation Engineers, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, the American Society of Civil Engineers, among many others. They have been featured in multiple national publications, and won numerous awards for their work in engineering. Nagesh has been a graduate research assistant in CUTR’s TPEEA group since May 2011, Sujan has been a graduate research assistant with CUTR since April 2007. - CUTR Researcher Awarded Best Paper and Elected Vice President at the
ICTPA Conference
Dr. Pei-Sung Lin, Director of ITS at CUTR, Dr. Huaguo Zhou, and Enrique Gonzalez-Velez received an Excellent Paper Award at the International Chinese Transportation Professional Association's (ICTPA) 24th Annual Conference & NACGEA International Symposium on Geo-Trans held in May 2011, in Los Angeles. The paper, entitled “Development of an Integrated MOT Training Program for Incident Responders to Improve Traffic Safety and Mobility” was one of only five papers selected as an Excellent Paper. Dr. Lin was also elected Second Vice President of ICTPA. Currently, Dr. Lin is the President of ICTPA Florida Chapter. - CUTR Project featured in recent USDOT-RITA publication
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration, a division of the US Department of Transportation, featured one of CUTR's projects in the most recent issue of its Information Interchange newsletter. Please see the article for the complete story. - Florida Motorcycle Safety Coalition receives the Peter O'Rourke Special
Achievement Award from the Governors Highway Safety Administration
CUTR ITS Program Manager, Dr. Lin, and his team have been providing primary technical support to the coalition. It has been a tremendous partnership working with Florida DOT’s Safety Office. The award will be accepted on behalf of the coalition by the Chief Safety Officer of the Florida DOT, Ms. Marianne Trussell. - Chen awarded 2010 Transportation Scholarship
Hongyun Chen has been awarded the 2010 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship. Hongyun holds a MS in Civil Engineering and will graduate with her PhD in December. She served as president of the USF student chapter of ITE from May 2008-April 2009, is a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. She has been a graduate research assistant in CUTR’s ITS group since September 2007. - Ben Watts received 2010 CUTR Transportation Achievement
Award
Mr. Ben G. Watts, P.E., Former Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, was selected to receive the 2010 CUTR Transportation Achievement Award. The award dinner was held in his honor on October 27, 2010 at the USF Marshall Center Ballroom. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the transportation industry in Florida and the U.S. The Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, Stephanie Kopelousos, was the special guest speaker. For further information on this event, or please contact Lynn Federspiel. - Report Available: Innovative Approaches for Increasing Transportation
Options for People with Disabilities.
The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc. in partnership with The Able Trust, sponsored a CUTR research project designed to determine how to increase and improve the quality and quantity of transportation services available to people with disabilities. The summary report was recently released. - CUTR faculty and students recognized at FSITE annual meeting
At the Annual Meeting of the Florida Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (FSITE), held Nov. 3-8 in Tampa, several CUTR faculty and students were recognized with awards:- Transportation Professional of the Year: Karen Seggerman, CUTR Senior Research Associate
- Florida ITE Newsletter/Magazine Outstanding Paper Award: Dr. Pei-Sung Lin, CUTR Program Manager, and Aldo Fabregas, CUTR Research Associate, “The Effect of Detection and Communication Failures on Traffic Signal Performance”
- Florida Section Student Chapter of the Year Award: USF Chapter - CUTR Graduate Research Assistants Enrique Gonzalez-Velez (President), Meeta Saxena (Public Relations Chair), Dr. Pei-Sung Lin, Faculty Advisor
- Florida Section Student Poster Competition, Second Place: Enrique Gonzalez-Velez, “Evaluation of Roadway Lighting Illuminance Using an Advanced Lighting Measurement System”
- Saxena awarded 2009 Transportation Scholarship
Meeta Saxena, a USF Civil Engineering graduate student, has been awarded the 2009 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship. She is an officer of the USF student chapter of ITE, a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, and a Young Member of TRB's Committee on Access Management. She has served as a research assistant at CUTR since October 2007. Saxena was recognized at the 2009 CUTR Transportation Achievement Award Dinner on October 28. - Senator Hargrett received 2009 CUTR Transportation Achievement Award
Senator James T. "Jim" Hargrett, Jr., Chairman of the Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, was selected to receive the 2009 CUTR Transportation Achievement Award. The award dinner in his honor was held on October 28, 2009 at the USF Marshall Center Ballroom. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the transportation industry in Florida and the U.S. The Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, Stephanie Kopelousos, was the special guest speaker. For further information on this event, please contact Lynn Federspiel. - Cell phone app provides custom emergency alerts
CUTR researchers have developed an application for cell phones to provide custom alerts in emergencies such as hurricanes. Recently featured on WTSP Channel 10, developer Sean Barbeau noted that the app could be used to direct people to the nearest special-needs or pet-friendly shelter or tell people where the nearest gas station w/fuel is in a shortage, when their location is in immediate danger, or how and when they can return to their home after a disaster. The app is expected to be available in 2010. - Gonzalez-Velez awarded ITS Florida scholarship
CUTR Graduate Research Assistant Enrique Gonzalez-Velez has been awarded the prestigious 2009 Anne Brewer Scholarship by ITS Florida. The scholarship is sponsored by PBS&J and notes the company's strong commitment to education. It was established to encourage bright and promising students to consider ITS and Traffic Engineering as a career path. The $2,000 award will be presented to Gonzalez-Velez at the ITS Board of Directors meeting in Orlando on April 14. - USF Urban and Regional Planning Program newsletter published
USF's new Urban and Regional Planning Program, part of the Department of Geography, recently published its first newsletter. Information about the program and for potential applicants is included. - CUTR publication wins 2008 TBITE award
CUTR's "Transportation Concurrency Best Practices Guide" was awarded the 2008 Project of the Year Award from the Tampa Bay Institute of Transportation Engineers. Principal researchers on the project were CUTR researchers Kristine Williams, Karen Seggerman, and Pei-Sung Lin, with outstanding graphic design by Wendy Teague. The project was sponsored by the Florida Department of Community Affairs. - J. Bond wins FDOT Travel Choices Leadership Award
Julie Bond, CUTR Senior Researcher and Executive Director of the New North Transportation Alliance, received the FDOT Travel Choices Leadership Award at the 2008 Commuter Choice Summit in St. Petersburg on December 5, 2008. The award honors "a Florida individual who has made outstanding contributions to the public transportation industry. This award may be conferred upon a public transportation policy maker or private citizen who has made outstanding contributions at the local or state level to public transportation.” - Pinjari receives Wootan Award
Dr. Abdul Pinjari, new transportation faculty in the USF College of Engineering, has been selected to receive the Council of University Transportation Centers' Wootan Award in Policy & Planning Studies. The award is given for the best dissertation in transportation policy among U.S. universities and will be presented at the CUTC annual awards banquet in Washington DC in January. - A. Bond elected APA Regional Planning Vice Chair
Alex Bond, CUTR Research Associate in the Planning & Corridor Management Program, was elected Vice Chair of the American Planning Association’s Regional and Intergovernmental Planning Division. - Seggerman elected ITE Florida Transportation Planning Council Chair
Karen Seggerman, CUTR Senior Research Associate in the Planning & Corridor Management Program, was elected Chair of the Florida Transportation Planning Council of Florida ITE. - Polzin named to HART Board of Directors
Steve Polzin, director of CUTR's Mobility Program, was recently appointed by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners to the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation (HART) Board of Directors. He previously served on the Board from 1999 to 2005. He also continues to serve as a member of the Hillsborough County Transportation Task Force.
