NDSU Student Wins Intelligent Transportation Systems Essay Contest

NDSU graduate student Jerilyn Swenson was one of two students selected as winners in the ITS America Student Essay Competition.

Swenson is a masters student in civil engineering and an associate research fellow in the Advanced Traffic Analysis Center, part of NDSU's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.

The competition is designed to encourage student interest and future participation in the development of intelligent transportation systems. Intelligent transportation systems encompass a broad range of communications-based information, control and electronics technologies integrated into the transportation systems to help monitor and manage traffic flow, reduce congestion, provide alternate routes to travelers, enhance productivity and improve safety and efficiency.

The two winning essayists, Swenson and Virginia Tech student Tushar Awar presented their winning essays at ITS America's 14th Annual Meeting and Exposition, April 26-28, in San Antonio, Texas. They received transportation, hotel accommodations, complimentary registration, and up to $150 in expenses to attend the meeting.

Swenson won for her paper responding to the question: "Which ITS technologies are the most important to integration of mobility, safety and security, and what are the best current implementations of these technologies?"

Swenson's essay examined six major areas of intelligent traffic systems, ranging from advanced transportation management systems to advanced vehicle control and safety systems and their impact on mobility, safety, and security.

The winning essays will be published in the show's CD-ROM.

DOTSC Expanding Programs

In its relatively short history, the DOT Support Center (DOTSC) has already earned a reputation for developing students with the technical knowledge and experience to be valuable in the field.

"We're working now to build on that strong foundation," says DOTSC director Kurt Johnson. "We want to round out our students more and more to build a strong selling point of experience for our students to the DOT and consultancy firms."

DOTSC and UGPTI are developing joint programs with Bismarck State College. Jon Mielke, retired executive secretary of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, is heading that effort and will teach at BSC. "We anticipate that students will take entry-level courses there and then come here to NDSU for more advanced work," Johnson says.

Part of the NDSU experience is working as part of a student design team on actual DOT projects. Johnson says that effort will be expanded to include experience in materials testing and other areas that will give students a head start as design engineers.