Final Report on the University of Missouri Technology Transfer Project

Transcription

1 Report # MATC-MU: 183 FinalWBS:Report Final Report on the University of Missouri Technology Transfer Project Charles Nemmers, P.E. Director Transportation Infrastructure Center University of Missouri 2013 A Coopertative Research Project sponsored by U.S. Department of Tranportation-Research, Innovation and Technology Innovation Administration The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.

2 Final Report on the University of Missouri Technology Transfer Project Charles Nemmers, PE Director, Transportation Infrastructure Center University of Missouri A Report on Research Sponsored by Mid-America Transportation Center University of Nebraska-Lincoln October 2013

3 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No Title and Subtitle Final Report on the University of Missouri Technology Transfer Project 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. 5. Report Date October Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) Charles Nemmers, PE 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Mid-America Transportation Center 2200 Vine St. PO Box Lincoln, NE Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Research and Innovative Technology Administration 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, D.C Supplementary Notes 8. Performing Organization Report No Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 11. Contract or Grant No. 13. Type of Report and Period Covered September 2012-October Sponsoring Agency Code 16. Abstract 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement 19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified 20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified 21. No. of Pages Price ii

4 Table of Contents Disclaimer... vi Chapter 1 Description of Project and Explanation of Objectives (Conception and Goals)...1 Chapter 2 Description of the Actual Event/Activity/Program (Approach and Implementation)...2 Chapter 3 Conclusion (Results and Benefits)...9 iii

5 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Transportation scholars in Prague and the Alps...5 Figure 2.2 Award-winning students at TEAM conference...6 Figure 2.3 Andrew Robertson displaying his conference poster...7 Figure 2.4 MU attendees at the National Academy of Science s TRB annual meeting. Front: Lei Fang. Left to right: Yi Hou, Andrew Nam, Henry Brown (faculty), Andrew Robertson, Sawyer Breslow, Charlie Nemmers (faculty), Jalil Kianfar, Massoud Nasrollhai, Eric Zhu...8 iv

6 List of Abbreviations Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) v

7 Disclaimer The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation s University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. vi

8 Chapter 1 Description of Project and Explanation of Objectives (Conception and Goals) Dates: 9/16/2012 through 10/31/2013 Location of the Activity: Columbia, MO and various other locations University of Missouri The project was carried out in support of MATC s regional mission to cultivate transportation professionals (i.e., graduate and undergraduate civil engineering students studying transportation who we refer to in this report as Transportation Scholars); to conduct challenging engineering research that generates useful technologies; and to transfer these technologies across the state, region, and nation by collaborating with MATC s partnering institutions (e.g., MoDOT and others who provide matching support for our initiatives). A specific MATC project at MST, the UMC Technology Transfer project, conducts, coordinates, manages, facilitates, and reports on the entire MATC set of projects at Missouri. Charles Nemmers, P.E., serves as PI for this initiative. The matching funds for this work were provided mostly by the MU College of Engineering through their salary/benefits support for Mr. Nemmers. MATC funding was $20,501, with MU matching funds of $23,499, for a total project amount of $44,000. 1

9 Chapter 2 Description of the Actual Event/Activity/Program (Approach and Implementation) In addition to broader program support, there were six areas where we focused our efforts: 1) Participate in the Development and Implementation of the MATC Spring Transportation Seminar Series: For the 15 th year in a row, the University of Missouri joined with Iowa State University in hosting the Spring Transportation Seminar Series. Charles Nemmers coordinated the program, made the local arrangements, invited five speakers, and handled the arrangements/logistics. This year, with MATC support, our participating schools also included the University of Nebraska, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Our class at MU included 30 students from both Engineering and Geography (GIS). The following speakers presented at MU: Josh Doerhoff, Emery Sapp and Sons - Accelerated Bridge Construction Project on I-44 Deb Miller - Cambridge Systematics - The Evolving State DOT Enterprise Steven A. Buckley, P.E., Kansas State Highway Safety Engineer - The State of Safety in the State of Kansas Michael Parks, Safety Supervisor Columbia Regional Airport Challenges of Smaller Regional Airports John Craig, HDR Consultants, Oregon s Bridge Project a DOT within a DOT 2) Support for Transportation and Engineering Opportunities for K-12 Students: The year 2012 saw many activities in support of STEM/transportation initiatives, three of which are highlighted here: 2

10 a) The MU Engineering Open House, held in March during Engineering Week, attracted and encouraged over 1,000 high school students to explore engineering careers and concepts. Transportation scholars and faculty actively participated, hosting tours of our transportation research labs and facilities. b) At the request of Black & Veatch (Kansas City Area), Charles Nemmers presented for the Explorer Post in Overland Park, Kansas. The program exposed high school students to various disciplines of engineering through presentations, hands-on activities, tours, and community service. Mr. Nemmers s presentation included a history of his career, an overview of civil engineering (with a focus on transportation), and a Q&A session during which he discussed the topics of how to become a civil engineer, career paths in civil engineering, etc. c) For the second year in a row, MATC participated in support of the student chapter of ASCE s Kids Day activities. The event was attended by 4 th and 5 th graders, who participated in building bridges, retaining walls, hot wheel highways traffic systems, and more. Along with pizza and ice cream, the students learned that engineering is fun and exciting. 3) Coordination with MATC Universities in Technology Transfer activities: The Transportation Infrastructure Center at the University of Missouri participates in a project with MoDOT in which the center operates the State Transportation Library, providing technology transfer within MoDOT, throughout the state via our partnership with the State Library, and throughout the region through our participation in the Midwest Knowledge Network as well as being linked in and active at the national level. Charles Nemmers (PI) and 3

11 Renee McHenry (librarian) have presented to the MoDOT field offices, CMITE, LTAP, and to transportation scholars on the value of technical transportation library services and searches. MU students and faculty participated somewhat limitedly in the MATC webinar program, as the schedule conflicted with class schedules. However, we were able to utilize the MATC archival system to make the webinars available to faculty and students. An excellent example of the coordination within MATC can be seen in the research training initiative webinar, jointly developed, produced, and presented by Dr. Genda Chen and Dr. John Myers from MS&T with Dr. Glenn Washer from MU. The webinar on structural health monitoring & non-destructive evaluation was held August 6, 2013 in Rolla, MO, with 32 participants. 4) Assistance to PIs on MATC Research Projects in Technology Implementation: Dr. Carlos Sun was the featured program speaker at the October meeting of the Central Missouri Institute of Transportation Engineers. Dr. Sun, who is both an engineer and a lawyer, spoke on incentive and disincentive clauses in transportation construction contracts. MU transportation scholars were guest members of the ITE chapter. Dr. Glenn Washer traveled to Jefferson City, MO for the October meeting of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers, where he gave the keynote address describing his MATC research on non-destructive inspection and evaluation of bridges. Dr. Praveen Edara gave a series of newspaper, TV, and radio interviews on the operation of the newly constructed J turns in mid-missouri and a diverging diamond interchange in Columbia, MO. MATC/MoDOT sponsored research is supporting the operational evaluation and safety analysis of these state-of-the-art designs. Our transportation scholars are participating with Dr. Edara in this research. 4

12 5) Assisting Students in Research Posters/Presentations and Related Activities in Transportation: MATC funding was used to support travel for Yi Hou in September 2012 to the national IEEE ITS conference in Anchorage, AK, where he presented his paper, A Genetic Fuzzy System for Mandatory Lane Changing. Dr. Hou participated in workshops on the video detection of pedestrian and bicyclists and data management. He also attended several technical sessions involving automatic driving technology, vehicle lane keeping technology, and traffic simulation. He was also able to visit Denali NP while in Alaska. While no direct MATC funding went into the MU Study Abroad class on Transportation in Austria, the class was led by Mr. Nemmers (MATC Associate Director), and provided transportation scholars/students with an exceptional experience. They toured tunnels in the Alps and transit systems in Viena, Prague, and Budapest; visited three intercity railroads; reviewed transportation research at the Technical University of Vienna (the largest transportation project under construction in Europe); explored the Vienna train station; and more. Below, students are pictured at the Lennon Wall in Prague and at a bridge under construction in the Alps. Figure 2.1 Transportation Scholars in Prague and the Alps Dr. Edara transported eight transportation scholars to the fall TEAM Conference in St. Louis, MO. TEAM is St. Louis s ITE chapter. Three of these transportation scholars submitted 5

13 entries to the conference poster competition. MU graduate students claimed the top three prizes. Sawyer Breslow won first prize for his poster on J-turn evaluation; Andrew Nam won second prize for HSM Calibration in Missouri, and Eric Zhu won third prize for Alternative Merge Sign in Work Zones. Below, the scholars are pictured receiving the award alongside TEAM host Tom Bright from MoDOT s St. Louis District office. Figure 2.2 Award-winning students at TEAM conference (from left to right: Bright, Zhu, Nam, Breslow) Four MU transportation scholars submitted posters at the Missouri Traffic and Safety Conference competition. Andrew Robertson won first place at the 64 th annual Traffic and Safety Conference. He evaluated methods to determine the effectiveness of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in work zones. 6

14 Figure 2.3 Andrew Robertson displaying his conference poster 6) MATC Support for Transportation Scholars to Attend the TRB Conference in Washington, D.C. Eight transportation scholars from the University of Missouri attended the National Academy of Science s Transportation Research Board annual meeting this year in Washington, D.C. The students reported that it was awesome to get to hear, see, and occasionally meet the people they cite in their research. The networking opportunities at TRB were and are almost overwhelming, and several students made connections that were impactful to their research and careers. Two students, Yi Hou and Jalil Kianfar, presented posters, and three students, Eric Zhu, Lei Fang, and Jalil Kianfar, gave podium presentations on their research. 7

15 Figure 2.4 MU attendees at the National Academy of Science s TRB annual meeting. Front: Lei Fang. Left to right: Yi Hou, Andrew Nam, Henry Brown (faculty), Andrew Robertson, Sawyer Breslow, Charlie Nemmers (faculty), Jalil Kianfar, Massoud Nasrollhai, Eric Zhu 8

16 Chapter 3 Conclusion (Results and Benefits) The $20,000 in UTC funding provided through the Mid-America Transportation Center was able to leverage a significant amount of value to the education of transportation students from 4th graders to high school students furthering their educations in transportation. Most importantly, the funding benefitted MU s transportation scholars, that is, actual students conducting research, preparing posters and papers, and working to improve the state of transportation. Further, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of having students participate in the TRB Conference. MATC helped to make this all possible. A final example: Ms. Ann Ahlvers visited the University of Nebraska to participate in a MATC-sponsored workshop for students considering graduate school. With the information, networking, and guidance she received there, she decided during the workshop to attend graduate school, and is now enrolled in the civil engineering graduate program at the University of Minnesota. Thank you, MATC. 9