MTC Asset Newsletter Winter 2008

Where are They Now: MTC Students of the Year

MTC Students of the Year are chosen for their outstanding research and scholarship. Each MTC Student of the Year has gone on to a successful career in transportation. They are making a difference, whether they chose a career in academia, industry, or government.

David J. White, 1999

Current position: Iowa State University geotechnical engineering faculty

Winning the award gave me a chance to travel to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting for the first time, which has since been an annual event for me.

I’m now heavily involved with TRB committees and networking with others interested in solving geo-infrastructure related problems.

Also, I had the opportunity to meet the Secretary of Transportation, which was a lot of fun.
The most exciting project I’m working on now is definitely intelligent compaction research in the Australian outback. It’s tough country but exciting for sure.

Jerry Shadewald, 2000

Current position: HNTB transportation consultant

Vanessa Amando, 2001

Current position: CMA Architects & Engineers, LLP, civil engineer, transportation department

The MTC allowed me to attend various student and national conferences. I met a wonderful role model, Dr. Sue McNeil, during one of the TRB annual meetings, who later sent me papers to review.

The most challenging project I’ve worked on is the traffic study of the urban interchange of PR-2 and PR-114 intersection in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The project requires a traffic study of the entire network for the before and future conditions, and I’m in charge of conducting the micro simulation study using TSIS/CORSIM.

David Veneziano, 2002

Current position: I am employed by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University as a research scientist.

There are a couple of ways in which the MTC helped to prepare me for my job. The first is, of course, through its role in funding some of the research projects I worked on throughout grad school. Those projects were what prepared me for what I now do every day as a researcher.

The second way is through the exposure to different aspects and subject areas of transportation, through activities such as the Transportation Scholars Seminar. That certainly helped me to narrow my focus in terms of what my interests are and subsequently guided my professional development and career path.

Jamie Tunnell Bents, 2003

Current position: I currently work for Snyder & Associates, Inc., Ankeny, Iowa, as a transportation planner.

I believe the Student of the Year designation helped me to step up my studies and research and also pushed me to better focus on my future career. The MTC allowed me to meet more professionals in the transportation sector and helped me decide how I wanted to fit into the sector after graduation.

The most challenging and exciting project I am working on now is the NW 26th Street Environmental Impact Statement in Polk County, Iowa. The project area includes many sensitive areas, yet the proposed project has the ability to benefit thousands in the metro area.

Justin Doornink, 2004

Current position: I am currently a bridge designer with T.Y. Lin International in Portland, Oregon.

I was able to submit a paper to and give a presentation in the Transportation Scholars Conference. Participation in this conference reinforced that both written and oral communication is an important part of the civil engineering profession.

The most exciting project that I have been involved with is the Sellwood Bridge Project in Multnomah County, Oregon. I helped develop the conceptual designs for the post-tensioned box girder approach spans for three alternative bridge types that are being considered to replace the existing Sellwood Bridge.

Hillary Isebrands, 2005

Current position: PhD, civil engineering (transportation engineering), Iowa State University, expected graduation date is August 2008

The continued support from MTC allowed me to contribute to multiple traffic and safety projects (local and national) while being a graduate student. Additionally, the MTC support was instrumental in allowing me to attend TRB and establish myself in the research community where I now sit on the TRB Roundabout Task Force.

I plan to continue with transportation (design, traffic, and safety) engineering projects in the arenas of research, technology transfer, teaching, and consulting.

My dissertation is titled “Quantifying Safety Impacts of Roundabouts at High-Speed Rural Intersections.” I also am working on

1. MnDOT/LRRB on a study looking at the impact of roundabouts on corridors
2. Iowa DOT - Roundabout Task Force and Roundabout Education
3. Pedestrian safety study with ISU
4. Iowa Large Traffic Events

Joshua Hochstein, 2006

Current position: PhD, civil engineering (transportation engineering), Iowa State University, expected graduation date is May 2009

My research interests include roadway design and traffic safety data analysis.

For my PhD dissertation, I will be helping the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) develop an expressway intersection safety design “toolbox” for use in determining the most effective solutions at existing problem locations which will potentially be incorporated into the Iowa DOT Design Manual.

Additionally, we will determine the top 10 or 20 expressway intersections across Iowa experiencing safety problems and develop a database including traffic data, geometrics, and crash data to determine potential safety improvements for each site and the most promising locations for deploying innovative rural expressway intersection designs.

After I graduate, I would like to continue doing transportation research in whatever capacity (as a full-time researcher or a university professor) in order to bring about safer, more efficient, and more affordable transportation for all Americans.