University of Washington

Technology Transfer PACTRANS STAR LAB A strong ITS research program and its corresponding supporting laboratory are indispensable resources for high-quality training of ITS professionals and for solving traffic problems in the Puget Sound region. Following Dr. Yinhai Wang's proposal in June 2003, the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering in the University of Washington College of Engineering and PacTrans' predecessor, Transportation Northwest (TransNow), USDOT University Center for Federal Region 10, decided to establish a laboratory for Smart Transportation Applications and Research (STAR) to enhance the strength of ITS research and education at the University of Washington. Major objectives of the STAR Lab are: support advanced ITS research, cultivate ITS professionals, explore effective solutions to transportation problems, provide hands-on training instruments and software applications for students in ITS classes, and construct a bridge between the UW and agencies of transportation practice. The STAR Lab is located at More Hall 101 on the UW Seattle campus. Over the past ten years, the STAR Lab has gained broad support from both transportation agencies and private industry, and developed numerous practical tools and technologies in traffic sensing, sensor data analysis, traffic simulation, and other areas. For example, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has decided to make the STAR Lab a remote training center and provides live traffic data and traffic operation software for research and training activities. Leading companies in the ITS field also provided great support to the STAR Lab. For further information about the STAR Lab, please contact Dr. Yinhai Wang: TEL: 206-616-2696 FAX: 206-543-5965 EMAIL: yinhai@uw.edu WEBSITE: www.pactrans.org TWITTER: @PacTransUTC PacTrans is committed to a program of technology transfer directed toward researchers, transportation professionals, public policy makers, and the general public. As such, technology transfer is integrated in all research projects from beginning to end. At the proposal stage of research, PIs submit an implementation plan describing their intentions for disseminating the results of their research. A representative from transportation agencies or private industry participates in the monitoring panel for each multi-institutional project to ensure the potential practical value and facilitate the possible technology transfer activities of the research products. TEENAGE DRIVERS AND DISTRACTED DRIVING New Video Inexperienced drivers are at particular risk for distraction from factors within and outside of the car. PacTrans conducted a large outreach project to increase teenage driver awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. In this new video from PacTrans, Dr. David Hurwitz and Dr. Linda Ng Boyle discuss driver distraction, their outreach work with young drivers, and making the road safer for everyone. Watch it at http://bit.ly/PacTransDistracted In the Media This study, recently published in the Journal of Transportation Safety and Security, has received attention from a wide range of media outlets. NPR spoke with Dr. David Hurwitz, assistant professor at Oregon State University, about the findings, which included that teens sometimes change clothes and do homework while driving. The good news is that fewer teens reported texting while driving than in previous studies. The Onion, a news satire organization, had a less-than-serious take on the study in the humorous American Voices column. The PacTrans Region 10 Transportation Conference scheduled on October 16, 2015, offers a great platform for people from the practice side to talk to researchers for technology transfer opportunities. Additionally, through peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, other scientific arenas, and through social media, PacTrans researchers share the results of their PacTrans-funded research projects and seek for partners for technology transfer. PacTrans newsletters and annual reports also serve as vehicles for outreach and technology transfer. People can access publications through the PacTrans website (www.pactrans.org) or via e-mail. To take advantage of receiving publications via e-mail, contact pactrans@uw.edu. 27 2014-2015 Annual Report

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