by Alicia Nguyen

In his quest for the solution for today’s environmental problems, Ted Buehler, M.S., Transportation Technology and Policy (TTP), 2008, turns to bicycles.

Buehler has been interested in environmental issues throughout his life. After getting his undergraduate degree in botany, Buehler became interested in regional planning at University of British Columbia (UBC), where he began his legacy of bicycle advocacy by starting the UBC Bike Co-op.

Drawn to Davis because of its prominence as a bicycling city, Buehler enrolled in the TTP program at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), where he wrote his thesis on the history of bicycling in Davis and the decline of the university’s cycling habits in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Buehler’s 2007 thesis was presented to a Standing Room Only audience at the Varsity Theater in Davis and helped launch the bicycle advocacy group DavisBicycles (now known as Bike Davis). Continuing his activism, he has, since then, moved to Portland, Oregon where he has been a co-chair of the bicycle advocacy group, BikeLoudPDX.

“We’re a grassroots membership-driven advocacy organization and we do media output, we talk to government officials, we reach out to other people in the bicycle constituency and we set out tables and encourage people to send postcards,” Buehler said. “With my background in transportation planning, I try to draw out proposals for what should be done. I don’t like to tell people what to do, but sometimes people do need a push in the right direction.”

“Ted Buehler (right) at Oregon’s Active Transportation Summit with BikeLoudPDX
co-chairs Emily Guise and Jessica Engelman (Photo credits: BikeLoudPDX)”

Buehler’s dedication to bicycle advocacy stems from his interest in trying to solve environmental issues. He believes that implementing biking policies and promoting bicycling can fix several environmental as well as social problems within communities.

“I’ve always seen bicycling as a unique silver bullet to environmental problems—especially transportation problems. There are a lot of cars in this world swallowing up fossil fuels and creating environmental instability,” Buehler said. “Bicycling is a good public health activity. It’s a very good social activity because it puts people face to face on the street. It gets rid of fossil fuel use and there are a lot of economic benefits to the biker. It cuts down noise pollution and air pollution. In the transportation world, some people study electric cars and some people study transit and all these things are fine. But one way we can cut all of these problems down is if we focus on bicycling.”

Buehler has found that bicyclists can face opposition and hurdles from the public when trying to enact bicycle-friendly policies. During his time with ITS-Davis, Buehler unearthed Davis’ long history of bicycle activism and social progress through interviews with older Davis residents who have lived in the college town for several decades. Despite that Davis is a small college town and its ideal geography for becoming a biking community, Buehler found that the citizens of Davis really had to rally together to turn it into the well-known biking town it is today.

“Bicycle advocates looked at Davis and thought their cities could never become like Davis, but that’s not a defensible theory. There are places that have the same geography as Davis, but those cities did not become places that had large numbers of people riding bikes,” Buehler said. “And so the real reason that Davis became a bicycle oriented city was because of the citizen advocates that lined up in the ‘50s and ‘60s and promoted bicycling and the university was behind them, enabling Davis to become a bicycling city.”

The sort of movement to push for bicycling that occurred in Davis is what inspires bicycle advocates in cities across the United States. Buehler wants to use this sort of inspiration to further push new bicycling policies as well as safer traffic policies in the city of Portland. Buehler hopes to change the public views on bicycle infrastructure and improve the image of cycling in the media. He is also involved in the movement to get Oregon to adopt a Vision-Zero Policy to significantly lower the state’s number of traffic fatalities. Buehler is also training his peers in BikeLoudPDX in transportation planning.

Buehler feels that both his research for his thesis as well as the instruction he got through TTP helped give him the skills he needed to pursue his passion for bicycle activism. He encourages students to take advantage of the resources that ITS-Davis provides and the environment of UC Davis in general.

“All of the faculty are very involved and very passionate about their research and are also very accessible. This was my third graduate program and the faculty was so much more available–something ITS-Davis students should really appreciate,” Buehler said. “I also encourage everyone to learn how to ride a bike when they go to Davis. There’s just a confluence of benefits from bicycling. And I might also add that bicycling is a lot of fun.”

View other AggiesAtWork stories:

• For MTC’s David Ory, People & Community are Key to Transportation Planning
• Nevada Department of Transportation’s Sondra Rosenberg: Shaping Policies in the Public Sphere
• Ben Sharpe’s UC Davis Doctoral Degree Leads to Research Career in International Transportation
• UC Davis Transportation Alums: Changing California, Changing the World

By Alicia Nguyen

Already known for excellence in transportation research and education, UC Davis now has its own WTS student chapter to help women network and advance their professional careers.

Founded in February by students in the ITS-Davis hosted Transportation Technology and Policy graduate program, the chapter’s formation was initiated by master’s student Sarah Strand with the goal of supporting young women interested in pursuing a career in transportation. After Sarah shared her vision, master’s classmate Albee Wei joined the cause to help other UC Davis transportation students create meaningful connections.

Founded as the Women’s Transportation Seminar 40 years ago, WTS is an international organization with chapters across the U.S. WTS is dedicated to building the future of transportation through the global advancement of women. WTS has more than 6,500 members, including both women and men, and offers professional networks, leadership skills, and educational opportunities to help women advance their careers.

“The driving mission behind WTS is to support women in the transportation industry because it is historically male dominated,” said Strand. “Currently 47% of the US workforce is comprised of women, yet only 13% of the transportation industry is. Women transportation professionals can expect to be paid less than 80 cents on the dollar for the same work completed by a man in the industry.”

The WTS UC Davis student chapter held its kick-off meeting in February soliciting feedback from interested members to help develop programs that directly respond to student needs and interests. Strand reported a great turnout with attendees spanning a broad spectrum of professional backgrounds, disciplines, and academic levels. Attendees expressed strong interest in career development and professional networking opportunities for transportation students, including resume-building workshops, mock interviews, project tours, and presentations from invited speakers.

WTS UC Davis is the fourteenth WTS student chapter founded nationwide and only the fourth in California—preceded by San Diego State University, Cal Poly Pomona, and UCLA. Both Strand and Wei were inspired to start the WTS student chapter after participating in WTS as professionals prior to attending UC Davis. Strand witnessed the formation of California’s first WTS student chapter while working as a regional transportation planner in San Diego three years ago.

“I worked with a couple of graduate students who founded the first student chapter in the state at SDSU and I saw what an excellent resource it was for young women and how fulfilling the experience was for my colleagues” said Strand, who became active with WTS in San Diego. “So two years ago—once I knew I’d attend graduate school at the Institute for Transportation Studies—I confirmed that there wasn’t a WTS student chapter or any similar organization on campus and made it a personal goal to bring this important resource to UC Davis before I graduated.“

Similarly, Wei shared that she first learned about WTS through colleagues while working for an engineering firm in Sacramento. “Many engineers and planners in my company are involved with the WTS Sacramento chapter and they have a great opportunity to get to know other transportation professionals, so I knew WTS was a great resource,” said Wei. “When Sarah said she wanted to start a WTS [student chapter] I was immediately onboard because I know members of our chapter will benefit from the professional and personal connections they form through WTS, both now and after they graduate.”

Strand recently participated in the inaugural WTS Sacramento Mentorship program and was awarded scholarships by the Sacramento chapter two years in a row. This academic year, she received the WTS Sacramento 2017 Leadership Legacy Scholarship and Wei was the honorary recipient of the Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship. In previous years, other UC Davis women transportation students have been similarly honored by WTS Sacramento.

In addition to developing new on campus resources for transportation students, Strand and Wei want to encourage greater student participation in WTS Sacramento and guide students to the many benefits and programs provided by their sister organization, including scholarships, mentorship programs, and networking opportunities. They also realized, however, that attending Sacramento chapter events can prove difficult for students who lack transportation or are unable to fit meetings into their academic schedules.

“As students here at UC Davis, we recognize some of the challenges to participating in Sacramento chapter events because they’re often held all over the region, so it’s limiting, especially if you don’t have a car,” said Strand. “And so we thought it would be valuable to have a resource here on campus that’s much more accessible to students at all levels.”

Both women hope that WTS at UC Davis will better connect students, faculty and researchers, and transportation professionals in the region. They believe the student chapter will help to advance young women in the transportation in the industry by reaching out to them early on in their careers.

“By joining WTS, students get an advantage that hopefully helps them to not only become leaders in the transportation industry, but also a lifelong WTS members,” said Strand. “Professionals who will continue to reach down to mentor other young women in transportation in the future.”

Both Strand and Wei emphasized that, despite the name, WTS at UC Davis does not restrict membership to women. In fact, they strongly encouraged men to get involved in the chapter. “Men who are sensitive to women in the workplace help make a better environment for everybody,” said Wei. “And employers who see potential in women will get more benefits because there’s a whole pool of talented women out there.”

Strand and Wei expressed appreciation to National Center for Sustainable Director, Professor Susan Handy, who will be acting as their faculty advisor, as well as to the WTS Sacramento chapter for providing financial support and helping to navigate the WTS chapter formation process.

“The WTS Sacramento Chapter has been our sister chapter throughout the entire process, championing us every step of the way and helping to make us successful,” said Strand.
The WTS UC Davis student chapter held their first official board meeting on March 3 and will hold back-to-back events in late-April:

• Career Exploration Panel on Friday, April 28 bringing transportation professionals to campus to share their career experiences with students.
• “Bike Social” inviting interested members on a Saturday, April 29 bike ride around Davis, followed by refreshments.

You can follow the new UC Davis WTS chapter at https://www.facebook.com/wtsucdavis/

To contact the chapter: wtsucd@gmail.com.

UC Davis Engineering Professor Deb Niemeier has been elected as a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Professor Niemeier, who serves on the ITS-Davis faculty, was one of two UC Davis professors in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to receive the honor—“among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer,” noted NAE in its announcement.
Professor Niemeier was recognized for her work “developing groundbreaking tools to characterize the impact of transportation emissions on air quality and environmental justice.” On faculty at UC Davis since 1994, her work combines studies of vehicle emissions, air quality, transportation modeling and the impacts of air pollution on communities. Niemeier is founding director of the Sustainable Design Academy at UC Davis and has served as editor-in-chief of Transportation Research, Part A and Sustainable Cities and Society.

The two UC Davis NAE honorees, Professor Niemeier and Professor Ross Boulanger, will be feted at a March 20 reception hosted by the UC Davis College of Engineering. They bring the total of current or retired UC Davis faculty who are members of NAE to 13.

“The academy’s induction of professors Boulanger and Niemeier shines a much deserved spotlight on their phenomenal work to make the world a better place,” said Interim Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter. “Their achievements exemplify the university’s public service commitment at its best, with discoveries that help us better understand and mitigate the effects of life-threatening earthquakes and air pollution in California and beyond.”

Niemeier and Boulanger were among 84 new members and 22 foreign members elected by NAE. Elected members will be formally inducted at NAE’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 8, 2017.

By Alicia Nguyen

Four ITS-Davis graduate students have received prestigious awards to pursue their transportation research and studies in the current academic year.

Autumn Bernstein was awarded a Switzer Fellowship, Sarah Strand a Women in Transportation Seminar (WTS) scholarship, and Calvin Thigpen and Dillon Fitch-Polse were recipients of Eisenhower Fellowships for the second consecutive year.

Transportation Technology and Policy (TTP) master’s student, Autumn Bernstein received the Switzer Fellowship for her research on regional transportation agencies and their role in advancing California’s climate change and sustainability mandates. The one-year fellowship is offered by the Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation to highly talented students whose studies and career goals are directed towards environmental improvement.

Bernstein has a long history of involvement in environmental activism, as a grassroots organizer for 15 years as well as a policy advocate in several communities throughout California. Her research focuses on the interactions between state and local transportation agencies to achieve California’s groundbreaking climate change and sustainability mandates.

“California leads the nation with ambitious policies to make our transportation system more sustainable, but most transportation decisions are made locally,” said Bernstein. “I want to understand how we bridge the gap between state policy and local action, and I’m grateful to the Switzer Foundation for supporting that effort.”

TTP Master’s student Sarah Strand was awarded the Leadership Legacy Scholarship by WTS. This prestigious WTS scholarship is awarded to young women studying transportation who have demonstrated leadership skills and are committed to community service. As part of her commitment to leadership, Strand said that she plans to help establish the first WTS-UC Davis Student Chapter in the near future.

“I’m deeply honored to receive the 2017 Leadership Legacy Scholarship and proud to announce that I am actively working with the WTS Sacramento Board and Dr. Susan Handy to initiate the first WTS Student Chapter at UC Davis and the fourth in the State,” said Strand. “The WTS-UCD Student Chapter will help strengthen and reinforce connections between transportation professionals in our region and valuable research being conducted at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, and will equally connect students to the excellent networks and resources provided by WTS, which I myself have benefited greatly from over the past year.”

Other winners of WTS scholarships were TTP master’s student Yishu (Albee) Wei and Civil and Environmental Engineering doctoral candidate Rosaria Berliner, who were honorary recipients of the Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship and the Leader Legacy Scholarship respectively.

For the second time, TTP doctoral candidates Calvin Thigpen and Dillon Fitch-Polse were awarded Eisenhower Fellowships, having both initially received the honor in the 2015-16 academic year. For 2016-17, Fitch-Polse received the full fellowship award of $35,500.

Each year, Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowships are awarded nationally to approximately 150-200 students pursuing degrees in transportation-related disciplines. With the help of the fellowship, both Thigpen and Fitch-Polse were able to present their research at the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) 95th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. in January.
Thigpen presented his dissertation research, which studies how young people are affected by “mobility capital,” determined by their own travel experiences. Thigpen has also had two of his papers published and received a National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST) dissertation fellowship.

“I feel fortunate to receive an Eisenhower fellowship for a second time. It’s even more helpful this year, because I will be applying for postdoctoral and faculty positions over the next several months,” said Thigpen. “I have continued making progress on my dissertation, which I’m planning to submit by the end of next summer.”

Since receiving the Eisenhower award renewal, Fitch-Polse has bolstered and deepened the research of his dissertation, a study of how road environments influence bicyclists. He believes that his research’s use of both basic and applied sciences were its greatest strengths.

“I was ecstatic to learn that I was awarded the Eisenhower award this year. I always consider the Eisenhower award a long shot because of the national pool of students that apply, and when I received the largest available award I was astounded,” said Fitch-Polse. “I’m hopeful that my dissertation will help researchers understand how the road environment shapes bicycling behavior, but also help practitioners build more sustainable urban plans.”

By Alicia Nguyen

After graduating from the UC Davis, Zhen (Sean) Qian (Ph.D., Civil Engineering, 2011) is today pursuing his passion: teaching, conducting research and studying transportation data as an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Qian has a long history of research that dates back to his time with ITS-Davis, during which he was active at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) and studied civil engineering under faculty adviser and resident UC Davis professor Michael Zhang. While at Davis, Qian started a research project that has since expanded into an ongoing project on dynamic parking systems. Following graduation, Qian pursued a master’s degree at Stanford University while working as a post-doctoral researcher in Stanford’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Professor Qian working with a student at Carnegie Mellon University.

“I went to Stanford and got my master’s degree in statistics because that was something I really wanted to pursue as part of my career, in terms of research,” Qian said. “A lot of the work I did at Stanford those two years consisted of some joint work with Stanford and UC Davis on transportation systems.”

Qian currently leads CMU’s Mobility Data Analytics Center, which conducts several projects that study transportation data gathered through several different agencies, such as city public works, state departments of transportation, and the Pennsylvania turnpike in order to create a platform that integrates this information for research. Qian is particularly interested in the way this data relates to how human society interacts with transportation systems.

“My primary research interest is in mobility data analytics and the two words I’m going to use to explain this are networks and data,” Qian said. “In the recent 5-10 years, there has been a lot more access to data. Part of my research is gathering data from different parts of transportation so we can look at data in a very holistic way and take a look at mobility transportation. In networks, I’m more interested in how the policy or pricing or infrastructure change is going to bring change to the entire network. For example, let’s say you’re decreasing the transit fare—how would that type of infrastructure or pricing or policy have a network impact on passenger flow or transportation flow in terms of spatial and temporal dimensions?”

Despite his primary background in civil engineering, Qian emphasizes that he is able to fully pursue his passions in transportation research due to his exposure to a wide breadth of disciplines. Qian explains that this access to an interdisciplinary researching skill set is what makes ITS-Davis a great research institution.

“When you try to learn about transportation you really get to learn a lot about the engineering, supply, and demand, but you also really have to have your hands on several disciplines to have a real understanding of transportation,” Qian said. “I not only experienced the engineering side, I also got a lot of experience with the data mining, sensing, economics theory, policy of transportation and that all together makes me unique and well-prepared to do research.”

Qian advises students to take advantage of ITS-Davis’ interdisciplinary nature and broaden their views of transportation. He emphasizes the importance of trying something new in graduate studies and talking to various students, faculty and researchers at ITS-Davis. An international student from Tsinghua, Beijing himself, Qian especially extends this advice to other international students, encouraging them to open their eyes and explore in order to better learn about themselves.

Qian credits UC Davis with giving him the tools he needed to succeed, reminiscing not only about ITS-Davis and its prestige in the field of transportation, but also about the university’s nice weather and the college-town environment, which he fondly misses.

As to future prospects, Qian hopes to continue on the academic track, explaining the flexibility in research and projects that a faculty job provides. He plans on pursuing his passion in data and infrastructure systems for a long while.

“I’m going to keep going on this faculty track and it’s quite a mission. My goals are to educate the next generation and conduct cutting edge research on transportation planning and operations. In the future—in the next 5, 10, or 20 years, I hope to be more influential in this area with more theories and research to improve the quality of life. That’s my ultimate goal.”

The #AggiesAtWork series is done in partnership with the UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association.

View other AggiesAtWork stories:

• For MTC’s David Ory, People & Community are Key to Transportation Planning
• Nevada Department of Transportation’s Sondra Rosenberg: Shaping Policies in the Public Sphere
• Ben Sharpe’s UC Davis Doctoral Degree Leads to Research Career in International Transportation
• UC Davis Transportation Alums: Changing California, Changing the World

Renewed Funding for UC Davis-led National Center for Sustainable Transportation

By Stephen Kulieke on December 5, 2016

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced its selection of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation, led by the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, to receive a five-year grant totaling approximately $14 million ($2.8 million in the initial year) to advance a more sustainable transportation system.

The NCST is one of only five national transportation centers awarded under the University Transportation Centers program reauthorized by the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. It is the only national transportation center focused on environmental preservation and the only one in California.

The award solidifies UC Davis’ prominence as the nation’s leading university on sustainable transportation, where researchers develop scientific solutions for today’s most daunting transportation problems.

Other members of the NCST consortium include University of California-Riverside, University of Southern California, California State University-Long Beach, Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Vermont.

“I applaud the U.S. Department of Transportation for its investment in reducing the effects of the transportation system on our natural resources, including energy, climate, air, water, and land,” said UC Davis Professor Susan Handy, director of the NCST. “Despite considerable progress, transportation’s impacts remain substantial and fall disproportionately on society’s most vulnerable. Our challenge is to reduce impacts while meeting the mobility needs of our nation, fostering healthy communities and supporting economic growth.”

Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who represents the UC Davis community, supported the effort.

“Transportation comprises over a quarter of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Garamendi said. “Climate change is real, and sustainability must be a major consideration in how we rebuild our infrastructure. I’m thrilled that the National Center for Sustainable Transportation can continue its work in this area. I was glad to do my part to support their important mission. In Washington today, five years of dedicated funding is a precious commodity.”

Since its founding in 2012, the NCST has mobilized innovative and accomplished research teams, published studies and policy briefs on an array of 21st century transportation issues, and partnered with influential leaders and stakeholder groups to provide national leadership for advancing an environmentally sustainable transportation system.

With this new grant, the NCST plans to build upon early successes, strengthen existing programs, and add important new initiatives, including research in the critical areas of sustainable freight, new mobility and environmental review.

“We are proud and pleased to gain recognition as the premier university center on sustainable transportation,” said UC Davis Professor Dan Sperling, director of ITS-Davis. “We look forward to intensifying our efforts at addressing the growing environmental challenges facing the transportation sector.”

The approach of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation is to:

• Mobilize a network of leading universities to generate new knowledge and tools that address environmental sustainability in transportation;
• Design and evaluate real-world strategies that contribute to the mitigation of the environmental impacts of transportation and enhance system resiliency; and
• Deliver knowledge and tools through an innovative engagement program with the U.S. DOT, state DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and other public- and private-sector stakeholders to support implementation of these real-world strategies.

The NCST also draws on its research in providing education and workforce development programs designed to meet the world’s growing needs for qualified transportation professionals.

Click here for the UCD News article.

Mobility Quest Annually Takes UC Davis
Transportation Grad Students on a Multi-Modal Adventure

By Alicia Nguyen
Transportation Technology and Policy grad students and MobQuesters Sarah Strand and Jamey Volker also contributed to this article.

Each year, just before fall quarter begins, incoming ITS-Davis students embark on the annual road trip, Mobility Quest (MobQuest), led by some of their seasoned peers. They took a six-day, multi-modal adventure—travelling by van, streetcar, bus-rapid transit, bike share, and on foot—from Davis to Portland, Oregon, and back. MobQuest has always been an important way for incoming students to get a sense of ITS-Davis’ interdisciplinary style of integrating all fields of transportation. Since its inception, this ITS-Davis tradition has become a critical opportunity for new ITS students to connect with their peers and dive into real-life transportation policy, and experience first-hand the West Coast’s expansive transportation network.

To kick things off, students were introduced to the transportation planning and policy sphere of California through a meeting on campus with a panel of local, regional and statewide transportation policy experts and leaders—including Janet Dawson (Chief Consultant, California State Assembly Transportation Committee), Chris Ganson (Senior Planner, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research), Kacey Lizon (Planning Manager, Sacramento Area Council of Governments) and Chris Dougherty (Transportation Program Specialist, City of West Sacramento). Students also met Professor John Harvey, Chair of the Transportation Technology and Policy graduate group, who introduced the event. The meeting provided a robust overview of the key California policies and projects to keep an eye on. They include federal and state funding streams, shifting policies to better accommodate non-vehicular modes, planning for automated vehicles, understanding the recently adopted Metropolitan Transportation Plan, and getting a sneak-peek at anticipated streetcar and bridge construction in the coming years. The kick-off event showcased the extensive network of transportation professionals that ITS-Davis has cultivated over its 25 year history.

Shortly after, they hit the road. MobQuesters made their first stop in Eugene, Oregon, where they learned about local planning efforts from city staff, rode the nationally acclaimed Emerald Express bus rapid transit system, and enjoyed a comprehensive bike tour led by the University of Oregon-based active transportation student advocacy group, LiveMove.

As they made their way from Eugene to Portland, MobQuesters pit-stopped at Seneca Sustainable Energy to learn about how a local sawmill produces and sells energy by harnessing woody-mass by-products as biofuel.

Once in Portland, the ITS-Davis students visited Daimler Trucks North America, where they received a presentation from the director of the Concept Vehicles Group on the Freightliner SuperTruck Challenge—the original 50% freight-efficiency goal, achieving an overall 115% freight-efficiency. Students also watched CEO, Martin Daum bury a time capsule at the site of the company’s new Portland facility, including License Plate 001, for the first licensed automated truck in the United States. (And yes, Daimler showed pictures of the Transformers truck.)

Following a tour of the Port of Portland, MobQuesters embarked on an epic multi-modal, educational scavenger hunt. Teams hunted through parks, redevelopment projects, transit-oriented developments, Union Station, and the Pioneer Courthouse Square by foot, took Portland’s newly minted BIKETOWN bike share for a spin, and rode the Portland Streetcar. Along the way, they stopped at famous Portland landmarks such as Voodoo Donut and Powell’s City of Books, where the ITS-Davis students had no trouble finding Director Dan Sperling’s magnum opus—2009’s acclaimed book, “Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability.” In addition to their multimodal transportation tour of the city, the scavenger hunt provided a fun-filled team-building and bonding experience for students. The adventure came to a close over a well-earned dinner at the BridgePort Brewery.

Following Portland, final MobQuest stops included a tour of the Old Mill District, a mixed-use development of Bend, Ore, and Crater Lake National Park, where students marveled at sweeping views of the deepest caldera lake in the nation. Mobility Quest 2016 was brought to a ceremonious close with a sustainability tour and dinner at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co in Chico, California. The brewery boasts innovative closed loop approaches to the production of beer, food, and energy, ranging from methane recapture, solar power, carbon dioxide recycling, onsite water treatment, composting, local sourcing, and organic gardening. The Sierra Nevada tour helped expand the reach of transportation curriculum to consider resources systems on a broader scale, considering the transport of goods but also the use of various resources along the way. To celebrate the end of a successful trip, MobQuesters raised their glasses to the lasting friendship built among the newest ITS family members.

Mobility Quest provides incoming students with an unforgettable transportation experience and serves as a catalyst for friendships and professional connections that serve students well into the future—for some, a lifetime. Its tours, presentations, and site visits, offer students fresh inspiration to pursue innovative research, refine their course plans through mentorship with continuing students, and make critical connections to assist them in navigating their graduate school journey in the coming years. Mobility Quest illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of ITS-Davis, bringing together engineers, planners, policy makers, and other skilled learners from broad and varied backgrounds to innovate sustainable solutions for the next century of transportation.

With the 2016-17 academic year now well under way, we look forward to watching how ITS-Davis students, new and returning, will continue to lead ITS-Davis into the future.

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The ITS-Davis interdisciplinary education program is training a new, dynamic generation of leaders, dedicated to the future of low-carbon transportation. Nearly 300 of our Ph.D. and master’s graduates—mainly from the Transportation Technology and Policy (TTP) Graduate Group and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, but also Economics, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and others as well—hold diverse and influential positions around the world, in the public and private sector.

Perhaps nowhere are our graduates making their mark more than right here in California, working at state agencies that are fostering global-leading policies on sustainable transportation, renewable energy, and emission reduction. Two such alums profiled here — Ryan McCarthy and Rachel Carpenter — provide a closer look at the impact they’re having, locally and globally.

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Air Resources Board’s Ryan McCarthy: Helping California
Set a Global Standard in Environmental and Climate Policy

By Alicia Nguyen

As California continues to set the standard in environmental and climate policy worldwide, UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) alumnus Ryan McCarthy, Ph.D. (Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2009) plays a major role in representing the state’s vision on a statewide and international scale.

McCarthy has taken an active role in state transportation and environmental policy and politics since his first position as a state legislative fellow in 2009. McCarthy currently works at the California Air Resources Board (ARB) as the Science and Technology Policy Advisor to the Chair. His current project is devising and implementing a strategy to cut short-lived climate pollutants, also known as super pollutants, such as black carbon (soot), methane, and fluorinated gases such as refrigerants.

“For the last two or three years, I’ve focused on the vision that the state has laid out for greenhouse gases through 2030 and the goals Governor Brown has established, so it’s been great to see that come to light,” McCarthy said. “We’re promoting the future vision, especially in California, where we continue to be on the leading edge by talking about significant amounts of renewable energy and getting off of petroleum as the next big hurdle.”

In September 2015, McCarthy participated in a meeting hosted by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in Paris, a program sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme. McCarthy’s efforts, along with those of several other California government officials, are playing a huge part in driving California and the rest of the world forward.

“What I was able to present at that meeting was the culmination of a couple years of work here in California that I’ve been really involved in,” McCarthy said. “California has been a great example in setting goals and in its accomplishments, and now the world looks to us for ways to lower emissions while promoting the economy.”

As California works to confront climate change, ITS-Davis research continues to contribute to the state’s policy-making process, McCarthy notes. He praises the Institute’s work on policies such as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, its research on transportation and fuel technologies and land use, and its diverse Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS) program. And he gives a nod to the new ITS-Davis freight initiative, which is attempting to tackle one of the last big air quality trouble spots, the complex world of heavy-duty transportation.

“What ITS is doing is a great example of how you can bring people on the transportation side and technology side to work with people who are on the planning side – and I think ITS gets these cross-This approach, he said, helps “all these pieces just fit together.”

McCarthy attributes ITS-Davis’ success to its persistence in tackling relevant, cutting-edge issues even as needs change.

When McCarthy was applying to graduate school, he was attracted to Davis’ unique program, even though he initially wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduation.

“I think it was a combination of gut instinct, luck, and whatever else you want to call fate or divine intervention. I had always been interested in energy and environmental issues, but I wasn’t particularly interested in transportation at the time,” McCarthy said.

The ITS-Davis program, with its nexus in renewable energy and transportation, was compelling, he says.

“I did what I thought was right and interesting and it turned out well. I got a lot of good guidance from my advisors on finding practical issues to tackle and working on them in practical ways.”

McCarthy says he found the experience he gained from ITS-Davis and STEPS invaluable. He also praises the exposure that Davis gives its students in terms of connections, not only to the academic world, but also to business and government spheres.

“It’s the combination of analytical training, relevant issues, and exposure to researchers, policymakers, and business that contribute to ITS. I think there’s the open-mindedness with the people there, too, and the access to issues and looking at them in a way that’s new to you. There’s no better place to explore new technology and policy than ITS-Davis and it’s a good opportunity to create something you want to create,” McCarthy said.

“You can change the world with what you’re doing at ITS. That may sound kind of hokey, but what they come up with may be the next new policy idea.”

Like many students who come and go through town, McCarthy has left and returned — and he now calls Davis home with his family. Away from the office, his two children, Renan and Riona, keep his wife Erica and him busy, but he adds that they also offer him a lot of perspective in his work.

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ITS-Davis Alumna Rachel Carpenter finds the “Perfect Fit”:
Chief of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety at Caltrans

By Alician Nguyen

Although new to her position as the Chief of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Branch, UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) alumna Rachel Carpenter (M.S., Civil Engineering, 2009), already plays an important role in ensuring traffic safety in the state.

In March, Carpenter took the reins of a position, located in Sacramento, that hadn’t been permanently staffed in over a year. Her background prepared her well for her new role. Most recently, she worked in Caltrans’ Oakland office, where she assisted local and regional agencies in Napa and Marin counties to secure state and federal funding. She gained a thorough understanding of the funding programs available for transportation improvements to increase safety, mobility and access for all modes of travel. Before joining Caltrans, Carpenter was with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. While part of their Livable Streets subdivision, she was the project manager and design engineer for multiple bicycle, pedestrian, traffic calming, and school area safety projects.

“I was lucky that I had the opportunity to work in the Bay Area, at both the local and state level, on the design and funding of active transportation projects,” Carpenter said. “But I knew that eventually I’d like to return to my hometown. When this position with Traffic Operations was advertised, it seemed like the perfect fit.” She’s excited to be working in Sacramento’s downtown and enjoying commuting by bike through the revitalized midtown area.

Her highest priority is to implement separate pedestrian and bicycle safety improvement programs for the State Highway System. Since March, she’s provided presentations regarding pedestrian and bicycle safety to Caltrans Headquarters staff, and provided technical advice in response to District questions regarding pedestrian and bicycle safety and operational issues.

“Recently, I developed a training module about pedestrian traffic control devices such as roadway signs, marking, and traffic signals such as pedestrian hybrid beacons. We’ll be providing this training to our district staff. It will be useful as part of their regular traffic investigations, and also for the future pedestrian safety improvement program,” Carpenter said.

“I’m working with SafeTREC researchers—ITS-Berkeley affiliated staff—to finalize the pedestrian safety improvement program. Up next is the development of a bicycle safety improvement program” she said, acknowledging that she’s an avid bicyclist herself.

Carpenter said she has always been interested in transportation and traffic, particularly sustainable mobility. She was influenced by her upbringing in one of Sacramento’s most livable neighborhoods and also by one particularly passionate professor—Eugene Jud—during her undergraduate years at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (CalPoly).

“Civil engineering opens the door to many different aspects of the built environment, for example structures, water resources, transportation, etc.,” Carpenter said. “I concentrated my upper division coursework in transportation and traffic and I was lucky enough to be offered a spot in the ITS-Davis’ program for graduate studies.”

Through ITS-Davis, Carpenter was able to participate in research commissioned by the CalEPA through an Executive Order that assessed the traffic impact of the Fix I-5 “Boat Section” reconstruction project along the Central Sacramento riverfront and synthesized lessons learned on traffic management and travel behavior. She was awarded the 2009 ITS-Davis Outstanding Thesis Award for her portion of this study, which analyzed the impact of the Fix I-5 project closures on bus transit ridership. She found her research with ITS-Davis integral to recognizing the importance of a multi-modal transportation system.

“Through my coursework, and through research in UC Davis Professor Michael Zhang’s lab, I gained a good understanding of transportation systems operations, traffic flow theory, and traffic control. My master’s degree program provided the foundation for the work I do now,” Carpenter said.

“ITS-Davis is a leading research center on sustainable transportation. Faculty work in various disciplines and their research conclusions inform policy decisions. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been part of ITS-Davis.”

Carpenter looks back on her time at Davis fondly, citing the Institute’s wide reach in transportation and helpful faculty as high points of her experience. ITS-Davis offered opportunities to publish and present her work, and to work with government contacts that she may not have otherwise had.

She also enjoyed and learned from Davis’ bike-friendly and walkable transportation system. Now, she’s motivated to make her mark on pedestrian and bicycle safety in California.

The #AggiesAtWork series is done in partnership with the UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association.

View other AggiesAtWork stories:

• For MTC’s David Ory, People & Community are Key to Transportation Planning
• Nevada Department of Transportation’s Sondra Rosenberg: Shaping Policies in the Public Sphere
• Ben Sharpe’s UC Davis Doctoral Degree Leads to Research Career in International Transportation