The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU will honor three transportation leaders at its 15th Annual Awards Banquet Oct. 7 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fargo.

Jill Hough, director of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute’s Small Urban and Rural Transit Center, is chair of the planning committee for the 19th National Rural and Intercity Bus Conference to be held October 24-27, 2010, in Burlington, Vermont. The conference theme is "Big Ideas – Bold Challenges: Rural and Urban Synergies."

Tools like iPads, Facebook, and Twitter will be used to gather public input on transit in the Fargo-Moorhead area as part of a research project at North Dakota State University. The project is part of a nationwide effort by the Federal Transit Administration explore innovative ways to improve public participation in transportation planning. The UGPTI project is unique in its emphasis on technology.

The Transportation Leadership Graduate Certificate (TLGC) program is a new, online certificate program being offered to professionals and post-baccalaureate students interested in expanding their transportation knowledge. Students will be able to take classes taught by leading professionals from across the country.

The anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the discovery of an alleged terrorist plot in New York City have prompted a flurry of media appearances for an NDSU faculty member.

Four transportation leaders will be honored Oct. 8 when the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute holds its annual awards banquet at the Fargo Holiday Inn. Honorees include Steve McCormick Sr., executive vice president of Northern Improvement Co.; Delta Daggett, longtime leader in the trucking industry and former head of Daggett Truck Line of Frazee, Minn.; David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota Adjutant General and former North Dakota director of transportation; and Terry Placek, comptroller proponency program manager and chief, Comptroller Proponency Office in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Army.

Dennis E. Jacobson, a North Dakota National Guardsman and NDSU alumnus, was recently promoted to major general and will begin a twoyear assignment as the U.S. Forces Korea deputy chief of staff for Restationing and Tour Normalization Facilities. Maj. Gen. Jacobson is one of two active major generals in the North Dakota National Guard.

NDSU’s Graduate School added new graduate programs that will be available for the 2009-10 academic year. The Transportation and Logistics Program in the College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies now offers two new graduate degrees and two new certificate programs. The programs will focus on urban transportation systems; linkages between transportation, land use, the environment, emergency response and logistical delivery systems; coordinated planning, operations and security; and the spatial dimensions of urban systems.

Jarret Brachman, associate research fellow at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, served as a local media resource throughout Roxana Saberi's detention. Local radio networks, including KFGO, MOJO 104 and AM 1100 featured multiple on-air interviews with Brachman for expert analysis and updates on the situation.

NDSU's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute earned global media exposure in November with the publication of a new article by one of its staff about terrorism in South Asia.

A researcher with NDSU's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute was on the agenda of a national security conference in Washington, D.C., Sept. 11 and 12. Jarret Brachman attended the "DNI Open Source Conference 2008," hosted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

An administrator from the Federal Transit Administration and officials from several national transit organizations gathered at NDSU on Sept. 10 to discuss programs of the university's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center.

Alan Abeson, a national advocate for rights for the disabled, will present a seminar on transportation, disability and public policy Monday, Sept. 8.

UGPTI Hosts Statewide Discussion on Mobility and Transportation. Since March, the Institute has hosted eight regional workshops. A state-wide conference was held in Mandan May 1. Nearly 600 people attended the sessions. A summary of the discussions will be presented to the North Dakota Legislature's Interim Transportation Committee at a meeting in Fargo June 19.

Robert Pieri, professor of mechanical engineering, and Subhro Mitra, research assistant for the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, were featured speakers at an international workshop at Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India, on Feb. 21-22.

Guest speakers address transportation students. Chris Dager, a national expert on water and barge transportation rate analysis and Colonel Kevin Shwedo, Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Training Center, Fort Jackson, SC, were guest lecturers for students in the Master of Military Logistics Program and the Ph.D. program in Transportation and Logistics.

Briggs presents at conference. Charles Briggs, a Ph.D. student in transportation and logistics, presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences Feb. 22-24 in Las Vegas.

The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU will host a regional trucking conference in June to facilitate an exchange of ideas and information among trucking companies and state departments of transportation.

Subhro Mitra, transport engineer with the UGPTI, has been invited to present information on applications for geographic information systems in transportation at a seminar in India.

NDSU Student Honored at National Transportation Meeting. Natalie (Beck) Easterday was named an Outstanding Student of the Year by the U.S. Department of Transportation University Transportation Center program.

Students from NDSU's Master of Military Logistics (MML) program, toured the Bobcat Company production plant in Gwinner, ND, Friday, Nov. 16. The students saw Bobcat's receiving procedures, planning and forecasting cells, and dispatching procedures.

The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI) at North Dakota State University will hold its annual awards banquet Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Fargo Holiday Inn. Awards at the banquet will recognize Jon Mielke, UGPTI researcher and former executive secretary of the North Dakota Public Service Commission; Dennis W. McLeod, former UGPTI board member and retired railroad executive; and former North Dakota Governor George Sinner. Four NDSU students will also be awarded scholarships at the banquet.

With the opening of its office in Bismarck, the institute will enhance its ability to provide transportation assistance to state and local agencies and other transportation related clientele across the state.

Kim Vachal and Doug Benson led the team the conducted analysis for the 20th edition of Transportation in America.

Featured speakers at the Summit were U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA, Tom Dorr, Congressman Dennis Cardoza, Congressman Jim Costa, and Congressman Baron Hill, members of the House Agriculture and Energy Committees. The UGPTI was a co-sponsor and will be posting presentations on the conference website.

Xinyu (Jason) Cao recently received the Charley V. Wootan Memorial Award from the Council of University Transportation Centers. Cao is an associate research fellow with the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center. The national award recognizes a student in transportation for an outstanding Ph.D. dissertation in policy and planning.

During the week of Nov. 6-10, the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute and the Department of Civil Engineering will observe "Railroad Week" to raise the awareness of the importance of freight railroad transportation in the United States and draw attention to potential careers in the railroad industry.

The conference is aimed at emergency planners and responders, transportation agencies and private transportation firms. The conference will identify and increase awareness of the safety and security risks in the state and region.

With help from the UGPTI, the Fargo District of the North Dakota DOT received advice on its snow removal routes from students at NDSU while the students received a real-world introduction to applications for the theories they're learning in class.

Jill Hough, an associate research fellow with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at NDSU, recently was named to the advisory board of the National Transit Institute at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

In recognition of North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad's efforts on behalf of transportation in the region, the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University is giving him its highest award. Conrad will receive the John Agrey award Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the Institute's awards banquet in Fargo.

Improving freight movement in the region stretching from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest is the focus of a new research and outreach center at North Dakota State University, Washington State University and the University of Washington.

Kimberly Vachal has been an associate research fellow with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute for more than 10 years. Her work focuses on promoting a healthy, competitive logistical system that will enhance the position of rural regions' products, and especially agricultural goods, in both domestic and export markets.

Architecture Students Apply Creativity to Fargo Bus Shelters Community Transportation magazine details what happened when staff from the UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center asked North Dakota State University architecture students to develop innovative designs for bus shelters.

Gene C. Griffin, director of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI), has received the S.S. Steinberg Award from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

The transit director for Wells, Sheridan and Stutsman counties has been selected for an international trip to study transit in Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador.

An official of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration will outline the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program at NDSU at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28.

Ray Zink, retired chief engineer for the North Dakota Department of Transportation will receive the John M. Agrey Award from the UGPTI. The award recognizes significant contributions to transportation.