Portland State University is committed to supporting research that is both regionally focused and globally relevant. This fall PSU has published a brochure featuring some of its exemplary research including OTREC sponsored projects by researchers Madeleine Pullman and Jennifer Dill. Dr. Pullman's research addresses the logistical issues raised by the rising demand for locally produced foods. She has studied supply chain success stories like that of Country Natural Beef, a cooperative family business committed to environmental responsibility, as well as other enterprises that have been slower to adopt such values, in order to better understand the impediments to change. Dr. Dill's research team has given GPS devices to bicycle commuters and collected rider surveys in order to collect data about the routes cyclists take, gender differences in riding and other information that can help cities better understand cyclistsí infrastructure needs. This regionally aimed research creates universal models of environmental responsibility and sustainability from which other cities can benefit.
The proceedings from January 2008 OTREC Sponsored Building Future Leadership Seminar are now available.
This unique workshop aimed at sharing knowledge with future leaders in transportation attracted over 100 transportation professionals from regional public and private agencies. Guest speakers and panel members from TriMet, Metro, David Evans and Associates, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, and the City of Portland shared their passion for the Portland transit story with those who will be developing the transportation systems of tomorrow.
The Sixth Annual Region X Student Conference was held on November 7, 2008 in Seattle Washington. Twenty students from PSU, fifteen from University of Washington, eight from OSU, five from University of Idaho, three from UO and one from Reed College participated in this conference. Of the ten student presentations given at the conference six were from OTREC Partner Institutions PSU, UO and OSU! Student presenters included Tim Brass (UO) on Using Mobile GIS for Assessing Accessibility of Pedestrian Facilities / OU Bike Loan Program Raul Avelar (OSU) on Low-cost Data Collection and Estimation of Roundabout Traffic Volumes, Wei Feng (PSU) on Transition Features Near a Freeway Congestion, Alex Bigazzi (PSU) on Adding Sustainability Performance Measures to a Transportation Data Archive and Meead Saberi Kalaee (PSU) on Evaluation the Data Accuracy of Loop Detectors in Adaptive Signal Control Systems.
Christo Brehm, University of Oregon, is currently pursuing a concurrent graduate degree in Community and Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Oregon. He holds an undergraduate degree in Planning, Public Policy and Management and has spent many years working in the field of affordable housing. While a University of Oregon student, Christo has designed one of the nation's first assessment tools of the emerging "Complete Streets" concept. He has traveled across the country (MD, VA, and MN) leading community assessment workshops using this Complete Streets tool that works within a mobile GIS environment. Christo co-authored a paper for the 2009 TRB national conference and has presented his work at the national Pro Bike / Pro Walk conference. He has been asked by leaders in two Oregon state agencies to describe and share his work with smaller Oregon communities and is a founding member and director of a campuswide, interdisciplinary transportation and livability student group at the University of Oregon called LiveMove. During this time, Christo has worked with Dr. Marc Schlossberg and has been a truly exceptional student researcher and leader. Congratulations Christo!
The Initiative for Bicycle & Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI) has published it’s 2007-2008 Annual Report. IBPI is an exciting new center for research and learning that is focused on bicycle and pedestrian travel. IBPIís goal is to advance bicycling and walking as integral elements of the transportation system in Oregonís communities. It’s programs include research, education, and information-sharing across sectors, interests, and institutions that will enhance policies, programs, and projects focused on promoting bicycle and pedestrian transportation. Portland State Universityís Center for Transportation Studies houses IBPI. The initiative also draws on the resources of its partner institutions at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University and is funded by OTREC and PSU.
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has chosen to honor the University of Oregon’s OTREC supported designBridge program as a Champion of Sustainability in Communities. UO’s designBridge program, a student-run organization that offers environmentally friendly, community-based design-build services to the local area, was named as one of four honorable mentions. designBridge utilizes resources from the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts, other campus departments and Eugene/Springfield community businesses to work on a variety of service projects, including a seedling greenhouse for Northwest Youth Corps and a bike shelter for Edison Elementary School in Eugene. Assistant Professor of Architecture Nico Larco currently supervises students Drew Hastings (project manager), Nick Wallace, Kent Wu, Truc Bui and Vito Cerelli on the project. Last fall students Patrick Hannah (project manager), J. Ho Lee, Kelley Stewart, Lucas Gray and Paul McBride worked on the designBridge project.
Dr. Larco (left) is pictured standing in a renewed and re-invigorated bicycle parking area at Edison Elementary school in Eugene. designBridge worked with kids, parents, and school administrators to completely re-design this area over the course of the last year. So far this year, bike ridership has doubled and the kids and parents are loving the design work that Nico’s students have done.
OTREC staff, PSUís research and sponsored projects (pre-award), and researching accounting (post-award) staff traveled to Corvallis on October 1, 2008 to meet with our institutional partners at Oregon State University. Faculty members spoke about the progress of their research and education projects. OSU administrators provided additional suggestions for streamlining our processes. OSUís staff received presentations and updates from OTREC’s Program Manager Hau Hagedorn, Director Robert Bertini and Tina Frost finished with a review of the master subcontract. Thank you to our OSU colleagues for hosting this productive meeting!
OTREC staff, accompanied by PSUís research and sponsored projects (pre-award) and research accounting (post-award) staff, traveled to Eugene on September 24, 2008 for a productive meeting with our institutional partners at the University of Oregon. Key UO faculty members provided updates on their research and education projects, and UO departmental and campus-wide administrators provided feedback on the past three RFP rounds and suggestions for further streamlining our processes. Research Program Manager Hau Hagedorn provided the group with information regarding project status updates. Director Robert Bertini reviewed some of the lessons we at OTREC have learned over our past two years of operation as well as looking forward to some of our future plans. Tina Frost wrapped up the presentation by speaking about the master subcontract. We appreciated the opportunity to visit our UO colleagues!
Prof. Anthony M. Rufolo, an OTREC faculty member in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning at Portland State University has accepted a position as a Visiting Scholar at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Secretary during a portion of the 2008-09 academic year. We look forward to hearing about this fascinating experience and important partnership between OTREC and USDOT.
OTREC was pleased to welcome Dr. Melissa S. Tooley, Director of the University Transportation Center for Mobility at Texas A&M University to Portland on September 18, 2008. We appreciated the opportunity to hear more about UTCM and compare notes on research, education and technology transfer accomplishments.