University of Washington

Education Transportation education and workforce development are high priorities for the PacTrans institutions and are key components of the mission and plans for the consortium. Our five universities educate the majority of transportation professionals working in Region 10 and have won awards for innovative and effective engineering education efforts. Three of our universities have been honored with the top designation of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. PacTrans' activities in education and workforce development emphasize cultivating future leaders and professionals through education on the systems approach to safe and sustainable transportation solutions. PacTrans provides educational and workforce development activities in several different areas centered on four themes: enhancing student learning through an adoptable curriculum, increasing student experiences with real-world transportation issues, increasing the recruitment of students through expanded university outreach programs, and improving regional collaboration in education and workforce development. Each year PacTrans provides scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, and internships to students at the PacTrans universities. As part of our mission to bring talented professionals into the transportation field, PacTrans provides funding to students seeking transportation-related degrees. Students and faculty in the PacTrans universities are directly involved in transportation research and education, and have developed strong relationships with state transportation departments and other regional organizations. Region 10 Student Conference Transportation students in Region 10 gather every year at the Region 10 Student Conference. The conference was hosted by Portland State University in 2012 and will be at the University of Washington in 2013. This tradition started over ten years ago and will continue to serve as an excellent venue for Region 10 students to share research and develop professional connections. Annual Transportation Research Board (TRB) Meeting The Annual TRB Meeting is an information-packed program that attracts approximately 10,000 transportation professionals from around the world. The meeting is held in January in Washington, D.C., at the Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, and Hilton Washington hotels. PacTrans reimburses a portion of conference travel expenses for students who are the primary presenter/author of a paper accepted for presentation at the meeting. At the 92nd Annual Meeting of the TRB (January 13–17, 2013), more than 30 research papers were presented by PacTrans graduate students as primary authors. Outreach Activities to New Entrants into Transportation All five consortium members sponsor educational and recruitment activities for high school students, under-represented minority and women students, military veterans, and K-12 student populations to encourage their interest in transportation science and technology. The current PacTrans research project "Educating Teenage Drivers in the Pacific Northwest Regarding the Dangers of Distracted Driving" involves a great deal of outreach to high schools in all four Region 10 states. Graduate Student Conducts Outreach at Local High Schools Teenage drivers are one of the most vulnerable driving populations; they exhibit greater crash risks compared to drivers in other age groups. This group also is more likely to engage in distractive activities while driving. In response to this epidemic, all five universities within PacTrans, led by David Hurwitz of Oregon State University, have collaborated over the past school year to develop and implement an outreach program to educate teen drivers in the Pacific NW regarding the dangers of distracted driving. The meeting program covers all transportation modes, with more than 2,800 presentations in 500 sessions addressing topics of interest to all attendees—policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. Every year, PacTrans honors the center's Student of the Year by sponsoring full travel costs and awarding $1,000. The Student of the Year is nominated by transportation faculty for excellence in academic achievement and overall contribution to the transportation community. The Student of the Year is officially recognized by CUTC at the awards banquet held in conjunction with the TRB meeting. 24 Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium UW graduate student Erika Miller making a presentation to students at Eastlake High School in spring 2013 in Sammamish, WA.

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