University of Washington

STUDENTS, TEACHERS VISIT PACTRANS STAR LAB This June, 19 incoming first year women pre-engineering University of Washington students and high school science teachers had the unique opportunity to visit the PacTrans STAR Lab. As part of the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) UP Summer Bridge program, participants learned about the lab's work in intelligent transportation systems, data science, detection and data collection technologies, and conventional transportation engineering issues. Graduate student Kristian Henrickson presented an overview of STAR Lab, while John Ash explored DRIVENET, and Ruimin Ke demonstrated unmanned aerial vehicles. The WiSE UP program allows young women to explore engineering majors, gain a better understanding of STEM professions, and prepare for academic success at the collegiate level. PACTRANS STAR LAB PARTICIPATES IN UW ENGINEERING DISCOVERY DAYS The University of Washington College of Engineering held its annual Engineering Discovery Days April 24 – 25, 2015. Engineering Discovery Days draws thousands of students from the region's elementary, middle and high schools. These visitors explore exhibits and demonstrations that showcase the work and research done by UW engineering students and faculty. The PacTrans STAR Lab demonstrated the exhibit "Beyond Red Light, Green Light," explaining how modern technology is improving transportation planning. PACTRANS AND WSTIP FORM RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP The Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP) consists of 25 Washington public transit agencies that pool their resources in order to provide and purchase insurance coverage, manage claims and litigation, and receive risk management and training. Nearly $7 million a year is paid for third party property damage and bodily injury claims against WSTIP members. In order to mitigate transit related collisions and enhance traffic safety, WSTIP and PacTrans are establishing a collaborative research partnership to test transit vehicle collision avoidance systems. As part of this effort, Mr. Jerry Spears, Deputy Director of WSTIP, invited PacTrans Director, Professor Yinhai Wang, to attend the WSTIP Board's Executive Meeting on March 26. Dr. Wang delivered a speech at the Work Session to introduce PacTrans and its past and active research on transportation safety. There is a clear need for WSTIP and PacTrans to partner for transit related safety research. Dr. Wang's introductory presentation helped the WSTIP board understand PacTrans and its research strengths, and laid a foundation for future collaborative activities. 26 Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium

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