Zachary Horowitzís M.S. project report, ìFreight Railroad Capacity Alternatives in the Pacific Northwest: An Analysis of Class I Cooperation in the Columbia River Gorgeî won the Neville A. Parker Award for Outstanding Non-thesis Master’s Degree Paper in Policy and Planning from the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC). He is the first student from the state of Oregon to win a CUTC award. His project, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Monsere, examined the impact of freight railroad traffic volumes in the Pacific Northwest, which are rapidly increasing toward capacity. Using OpenTrack, a railroad simulation software application developed at the Swiss Institute of Technology in Zurich, he explored the potential benefits of a directional operating strategy in which the two railroad companies, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific, would combine their track and communication infrastructure. The results of the simulation model showed that the cooperative directional operating strategy has the potential to substantially increase capacity in the Columbia River corridor. Mr. Horowitz completed a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Portland State University in 2007. While at PSU, he studied traffic capacity analysis on Oregon highway 217 and presented his original research at TRB, ITE, and TransNow conferences. He also took on a number of student leadership roles, including co-organizing the 2006 TransNow student conference and serving as fundraising coordinator for the 2005 ITE District 6 Annual Meeting. Mr. Horowitz now works for David Evans and Associates as a transportation planner on the Columbia River Crossing project. Mr. Horowitz is a member of the Sears Armory Citizen Advisory Committee and previously served as the Chairman of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association. He lives in SW Portland with his wife, Sonya, and one-year old daughter Avital.