Student Spotlight: Nicholas Puczkowskyj, Portland State University

Jul 13, 2022

Nick Puczkowskyj is a graduate research and teaching assistant at Portland State University's College of Urban and Public Affairs. He is a current Urban Studies PhD candidate, and has served as past president of Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning (STEP), PSU's transportation student group. He has also worked as a teaching assistant and research assistant at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Nick's research specializes in transportation equity, focusing on mobility justice, transgender mobility, queer mobility, gender disparities, and marginalized communities. He earned his master's degree in community and regional planning from the University of New Orleans.

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn or view his PSU profile.

Follow Nick on Twitter @NickPuczkowskyj

Tell us about yourself?

Currently I'm a 5th year urban studies Phd candidate. Originally from Chicago, I also call Portland and Hong Kong home. Off campus, you can find me on the rugby pitch with the Portland Lumberjacks RFC or foraging Oregon’s forests for mushrooms.

What (or who...

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PSU Planning Students Seek to Improve Safety for Houseless Pedestrians

Jun 29, 2022

In 2022, a PSU Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) team made headlines with their strategies to improve safety for houseless pedestrians. Cities across the U.S. are facing alarming increases in traffic fatalities, especially among the number of pedestrians who are struck and killed by drivers. In 2021, 70 percent of all pedestrian fatalities in Portland were of people experiencing houselessness. The MURP team Street Perspective, made up of Peter Domine, Nick Meusch, Asif Haque, Angie Martínez, Sean Doyle, and Meisha Whyte, investigated how to reduce the risk of being hit and killed specifically for unhoused people. 

As the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is updating the city's Vision Zero Plan, the team provided PBOT with recommendations to reduce the risk of pedestrian fatalities among the city's vulnerable houseless communities.

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Meet the 2021/22 NITC Scholars of Portland State University

Mar 15, 2022

Ten Portland State University students have been awarded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) scholarships for the 2021/22 academic year. We're very proud to acknowledge their hard work and dedication. The NITC Scholarship program recognizes outstanding students working on transportation projects. Financial support for students helps to develop the workforce by directing talented individuals toward research and practice, raising the number and caliber of graduates in transportation. 

Meet the NITC Scholars of PSU:

Cameron Bennett, Master in Civil & Environmental Engineering

Cameron Bennett is a first-year masters student in transportation engineering. He was the recipient of...

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Celebrating Three New PSU Transportation Scholars

Feb 16, 2022

We are proud to recognize three new transportation scholarship recipients at Portland State University for the 2021/22 academic year. Congratulations to Cameron Bennett, Kyuri Kim, and Trevor Luu!

With an emphasis on learning by doing, PSU students work on real transportation system projects with partners in our community. Through scholarships, we can support students in overcoming barriers to funding as well as acknowledging those who go above and beyond in advancing transportation. Applications are currently open for next year's transportation scholarships. Apply by March 2. 

Funding for our TREC scholarships come from a variety of key partners. Several of those scholarships are specifically earmarked from our Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI) program. Learn more about funding opportunities at PSU.

Cameron Bennett, Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Recipient of the Walter H. Kramer Fellowship

...

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Three Oregon Students Earn Prestigious WTS Portland Scholarships

Feb 01, 2022

Three students from partner universities in the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) have been awarded WTS Portland scholarships. Congratulations to Caroline Crisp of Portland State, and Cynthia Roe and Caroline Schulze of Oregon Tech!

The WTS Portland Chapter, established in 1985, offers six annual scholarships to high school seniors, junior college, undergraduate, and graduate students to support women seeking leadership opportunities and pursuing transportation careers. This is a highly competitive scholarship with applicants from colleges and universities throughout Oregon and Washington.

All of the WTS Portland scholarship awardees will be honored in a formal awards ceremony via Zoom on February 10, 2022 (5 - 6 PM Pacific).

Caroline Crisp, Portland State University

2021-2022 WTS Portland Beverley Swaim Leadership Legacy Graduate Scholar

...
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PSU Masters Student Cameron Bennett Receives Eisenhower Fellowship

Jan 20, 2022

We are proud to congratulate Portland State University engineering masters student Cameron Bennett, who has been awarded a Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship presented by the U.S. Department of Transportation at this year's annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

Connect with Cameron on LinkedIn.

Bennett is also the recipient of a 2021 Walter H. Kramer Scholarship, and current president of PSU student group STEP (Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning). His work focuses on promoting and facilitating the use of active transportation as a tool for equity, livability, and economic development. At TRB this year, he presented a poster: How E-Bike Incentive Programs Are Used to Expand the Market (PDF). He also helped to develop an online tool to track e-bike incentive programs in North America.

"I'm very excited to have received the Eisenhower award this year and I'm honored to be presenting at TRB. John...

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Student Spotlight: 2021 NITC Student of the Year - Kelly Rodgers, Portland State University

Jan 06, 2022

Kelly Rodgers is a Portland State University PhD student in Urban Studies who is studying the use and influence of health indicators in transportation plans. In 2021, Kelly was named the NITC Outstanding Student of the Year. Kelly has been awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship three times and twice named a NITC Student Scholar. Kelly is also the Executive Director of Streetsmart, a non-profit research synthesis and resource clearinghouse for integrating health, climate, and equity into transportation. Kelly is the vice-chair of the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Health and Transportation Standing Committee, a member of the Transportation Research Board's Transportation and Public Health Committee, and is an advisory board member of the American Public Health Association's Center for Climate, Health, and Equity. 

Connect with Kelly Rodgers on LinkedIn

Tell us about yourself?

After a decidedly non-urban upbringing, I was delighted to find urban planning at Miami University as an undergraduate. After graduating, I moved to Oregon sight unseen—all I knew about Oregon was that there were forests and...

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Introducing the 2021 - 2022 STEP Leadership Board

Nov 17, 2021

Studying transportation, or even just curious about it as a career? We encourage currently enrolled Portland State University students to join the on-campus Students in Transportation Engineering & Planning (ITE-STEP) group!

STEP engages PSU students in transportation issues through field trips, speakers, projects, and social events. The group works to build relationships and a shared understanding between transportation students from different disciplines, both within PSU and with other universities. Within STEP, students can also take on leadership roles in cultivating community and education around the transportation issues important to them. STEP is also home to PSU’s ITE student chapter, to help students stay connected to the local professional organization Oregon ITE (Institute of Engineers).

Join the STEP mailing list through which STEP leadership and transportation faculty send out announcements on transportation scholarships, jobs, internships, and events.

Introducing the 2021 - 2022 STEP Leadership Board

A warm welcome to the new leadership board for STEP:

  • President - Cameron Bennett (MS Civil Engineering)
  • VP of Finance & Conferences - Asif Haque (MURP)
  • VP of Events - Nick Meusch (MURP)
  • VP of Communications - Christian Galiza (BS Civil Engineering)
    • ...
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PSU Masters Student Frank Boateng Appiah Works to Improve Bicycle Crossings at Unsignalized Intersections

Nov 16, 2021

An increasing trend in the number of bicycle crashes in the U.S since 2009 has been a major challenge to safety. A new PSU masters thesis in civil engineering offers insights: "Improving Bicycle Crossings at Unsignalized Intersections through Pavement Markings: Analysis of the City of Portland Innovative Strategy" by Frank Boateng Appiah of Portland State University.

For a deeper dive into this research, read BikePortland's coverage of the study. For more on the researcher, read our 2020 interview with Frank.

The City of Portland, Oregon has experimented with an innovative treatment to improve bicycle crossings at unsignalized intersections. This treatment, termed a high visibility cross-bike, was installed at crossings of neighborhood bicycle greenways with busy roadways. The marking is similar to a zebra-striped pedestrian crosswalk but with green pavement markings rather than white. Although the cross-bike marking does not currently require motorists to yield for bicycles waiting to cross the roadway, it was hypothesized that the presence of the marking...

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PSU Transportation Students Kick Off Fall Term at Urban Center

Oct 19, 2021

Last week, we celebrated a return to in-person learning on the Portland State University campus with a welcome-back-to-school luncheon for transportation students. The gathering, held Wednesday Oct 13 on the rooftop of PSU's Urban Center building, was intended as a reboot for the Students in Transportation Engineering and Planning (STEP) student group. Around 40 people attended for lunch, greetings, and introductions to some of the core transportation faculty. TREC director Jennifer Dill gave an overview of some of the ways TREC can support students in their transportation careers (for example, funding for attending trainings and conferences.) Transportation students can also apply for scholarships through TREC – see some past PSU transportation scholars.

ELECTIONS FOR STEP LEADERSHIP BOARD

The next order of business will be to...

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