And the award goes to . . .
5/1/2019
Can you believe it? It’s the close of another successful semester, and with that comes the acknowledgment of the hardworking University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering students who go above and beyond in their research efforts at Illinois Center for Transportation each and every day.
Without further ado, let’s dish out some awards.
Sachindra Dahal, Erman Gungor and Watheq Sayeh
These three UIUC Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering doctoral students put ICT on the map by winning the Intelligent Transportation Society Michigan Scholar Award during the 2019 Global Symposium on Connected and Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation Region Five Center for Connected and Automated Transportation.
Dahal, Gungor and Sayeh presented “Automated Shuttle Service in Adverse Weather by Vehicle-Pavement Interaction” at the student competition, proposing vehicle-pavement interaction should be key in pursuit of vehicular connectivity.
The students promoted use of radio frequency identification reader sensors for the lateral positioning of automated vehicles in snowy, rainy, or foggy conditions, where computer vision becomes impaired.
Kumares Sinha, an Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson distinguished professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, presented the UIUC students’ first-place award for which they received $600.
Izak Said
The UIUC CEE doctoral candidate had an impressive semester, having been recently selected as a Mavis Future Faculty Fellow (MF3) for the 2019-20 academic year.
MF3 trains the next generation of engineering professors, concentrating in the areas of research, service, and teaching.
In return, Mavis Fellows will receive $2,000 during the next academic year.
In March, Said also received the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association’s (IAPA) scholarship. Since 1984, IAPA’s scholarship program has promoted hot-mix asphalts and pavements as well as enhanced its collaboration with engineering and construction schools to provide financial assistance to qualified students.
To date, IAPA has awarded over 200 scholarships.
Being honored by leaders in the transportation industry and becoming a Mavis Fellow all in one semester was a huge “honor” for Said.
“These people have recognized my practical pavement engineering skills, and that gives me motivation to work harder,” he said.
Zehui Zhu
The Harry Hanley Memorial Scholarship was given to UIUC CEE doctoral student Zehui Zhu at the 82nd annual IAPA Meeting.
IAPA promotes pavement construction improvement and advancement in Illinois, awarding students who hold an interest in asphalt and pavement design.
“Winning the scholarship is an honor,” Zhu said. “Such an award is much more than financial aid enabling me to continue pursuing my academic goals. It also encourages me to continue working hard to help build better asphalt pavements.”