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FACULTY IMPACTPaper on Engaging First-Year Engineering Students honoredAtaderoA paper titled “Creating Inclusive Environments in First-YearEngineering Classes to Support Student Retention and s/56/papers/12401/view) by Christina Paguyo, a postdoctoral fellow in the Collegeof Engineering at Colorado State University, and CSU MPCProgram Director Rebecca Atadero won two best paper awardsat the American Society for Engineering Education AnnualConference in Seattle, in June. Additional authors were WestVirginia University faculty member Karen Rambo-Hernandezand WVU graduate student Jennifer Francis. The paper wonBest Diversity Paper and Best Paper for the First Year ProgramDivision. The paper addresses the question: How do freshmenengineering students in traditional engineering courses identifywith engineering and perceive diversity in engineering?Ozbek is research coordinator for TRB committeeMehmet E. Ozbek, associate professor of constructionmanagement at Colorado State University, was appointedresearch coordinator for the Transportation Research Board'sStanding Committee on Maintenance and OperationsManagement which is concerned with all aspects of managingthe maintenance and operations of highway transportationfacilities.Kim is outstanding reviewer, twiceOzbekAn associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineeringat the University of Colorado Denver was honored by twopeer-reviewed journals in 2015 as an outstanding reviewer.Jimmy Kim was recognized by the American Society of CivilEngineering’s Journal of Bridge Engineering and by the Journalof Construction and Building Materials. Kim’s expertise isin structural engineering with an emphasis on sustainablestructural rehabilitation using advanced composite materials,bridge engineering, emerging materials and computationalmodeling.Kim2015 MPC Annual Highlights8

Wehbe elected Fellow of ASCENadim Wehbe, professor of civil and environmental engineeringat South Dakota State University was elected fellow of theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He was recognizedwith other newly elected ASCE fellows at the ASCE NationalConvention in New York City in November. Fellow statusis conferred upon members who have made celebratedcontributions to the society and developed creative solutionsthat change lives around the world. The prestigious honor isheld by less than 3.5 percent of members. Wehbe is also a fellowof the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the StructuralEngineering Institute (SEI).Wehbevan de Lindt9NIST awards 20M to CSU to study resiliencyThe National Institute of Science and Technology recentlyawarded Colorado State University 20 million to establishthe Community Resilience Center of Excellence over 5 yearsfocusing on resiliency to communities affected by disasters. TheCenter will be led by CSU professors of civil and environmentalengineering John van de Lindt and Bruce Ellingwood. van deLindt is an MPC researcher. They will be working with NISTresearchers and partners from nine other universities to developcomputer tools to help local governments decide how each canbest invest resources intended to lessen the impact of extremeweather and other hazards on buildings and infrastructuresystems, including transportation infrastructure. The Center alsowill address how to maintain social services and institutions— health care delivery, education, social services, financialinstitutions — as well as economic functions. The Center willinvestigate multi-mode transportation infrastructure, such asbridge and roadway networks, heavy and light rail, airports andport and maritime systems. MPC researcher Suren Chen fromCSU and colleagues from other universities will be conductingresilience research on transportation infrastructure.2015 MPC Annual Highlights

Project: Evaluating Transportation ResiliencyPI: Wesley E. Marshallwesley.marshall@ucdenver.eduMPC researchers at the University of Coloradolaunched a three-part research programexamining transportation resiliency and theability for a transportation system to maintainor return to a previous level of service aftera disruptive event such a drastic gas priceshock. The first part uses a multinomiallogistic regression mode choice model toderive resiliency scenarios of various drivingcost increases. Modal shifts are based on thesupposition that travel behavior will adaptwith increased fuel costs to be more like households with a similar percentage of householdincome being dedicated to transportation. We assess the influence that transit infrastructure, activetransportation, the built environment, land uses, and socio-economic status. The second part focusesin on city-scale resiliency by accounting for active transportation infrastructure in a detailed mannernot feasible at the regional scale. The research applies a “level of traffic stress” methodology thataccounts for both the presence and quality of bicycling, walking, and transit modal options as wellas the presence of barrier roads and highways. We measure the resiliency value of these multimodal transportation infrastructures – even if few people are using those facilities today. The thirdpart develops a Transportation Economic Resilience (TER) rating system. Lead investigator WesleyMarshall says the results illustrate that transportation choice helps create network redundancy andfacilitates adaptability under extreme conditions; alternatively, more suburban locations with fewertransportation options are far more vulnerable. While alternative fuels and improvements to the fueleconomy of vehicles would help reduce the long-term impacts, the most vulnerable householdsare already spending more than 30% of their income solely on transportation costs and would bethe least likely to benefit from technological improvements. Should an extreme event occur, themost resilient households will live in cities and regions that plan for and invest in diversifying andexpanding transportation choice. For more information, search for report MPC-15-279 at www.mountain-plains.org.2015 MPC Annual Highlights10

Project: Indian Reservation Safety ImprovementProgram: A Methodology and Case StudyPI: Khaled Ksaibati, khaled@uwyo.eduImproving roadway safety on Indian reservationsrequires a comprehensive approach, note MPCresearchers at the University of Wyoming.Limited resources, lack of crash data, and a lackof cross-jurisdictions coordination has madeit difficult for Native American communities toaddress their roadway safety concerns. Theresearchers developed methodology to improveroadway safety and successfully implementedit on the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR).Lead investigator Khaled Ksaibati and PhDstudent Debbie Shinstine say the key to the success of such a process is collaboration among safetystakeholders. With assistance from the researchers, the WRIR has successfully developed a strategicplan utilizing the available crash data, identified ways to improve reporting, and incorporated theirsafety improvement program into the strategic plan. The report from the project presents programsthat are specific to local reservations’ needs and culture. For more information, search for reportMPC-15-291 at www.mountain-plains.orgProject: A Sensor Fusion Approach to AssessPavement Condition and MaintenanceEffectivenessPI: Raj Bridgelall, raj.bridgelall@ndsu.eduMPC researchers at North Dakota StateUniversity developed an approach to enablesmart pavements. The embedded sensorsreport parameters to determine trafficloading characteristics, structural health, andthe ride quality pavements provide to thetraveling public. This technology will enableagencies to remotely monitor pavement assetscomprehensively, without regularly deployingexpensive field equipment and personnel.In addition to making the sensors more rugged so that they would last throughout the asset lifecycle, Raj Bridgelall, a researcher at NDSU’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, developeda new method that extended the capability of the sensors beyond an ability to measure justpavement loading and condition parameters. Specifically, the research linked the sensor output tocommon roughness indices. To maintain a high accuracy of measuring numerous pavement loadingand condition parameters throughout the life cycle of the pavement asset, an external method ofroughness measurement provided continuous calibration for the sensors. The connected vehiclemethod is a novel technique that utilizes regular vehicles with wireless connectivity to measurelocalized roughness.112015 MPC Annual Highlights

Field experiments validated the theory of using connected vehicles to measure pavement roughness,and in turn the ability to use those results as a means of calibrating the embedded sensors sothat they will maintain long-term accuracy of measuring and reporting a variety of parameters.Through continuous calibration, the embedded sensors will measure and report parameters thatallow agencies to characterize traffic conditions and to assess many aspects of pavement structuralhealth. Numerical simulations further revealed that a sensor placement interval of approximately onemeter will provide agencies with roughness measurement levels that are most significant in makingmaintenance decisions. Therefore, agencies can monitor roughness even when connected vehiclesare not providing similar information.Embedded sensors that remain operational throughout the life cycle of pavement assets will provideagencies with a remote means of monitoring the usage characteristics, health conditions, andservice level of pavements, without deploying expensive instrumented vehicles that can potentiallydisrupt traffic. When smart cities design and construct new pavements with the sensors alreadyembedded in the materials, those pavements will save agencies tens of billions of dollars byeliminating the need to regularly deploy expensive probing equipment and personnel.For more information, search for report MPC-16-306 at www.mountain-plains.orgProject: Utah State Research Will Help SmallCommunities Plan for BicyclesPI: Anthony Chen, anthony.chen@usu.eduBicycle mode share has been increasing inrecent years because of municipal efforts topromote alternative transportation. However,bicycles are often neglected in the travelforecasting modeling process. MPC research atUtah State University addresses this problemby developing bicycle network analysis tools forestimating bicycle trips in smaller communitieswith limited resources.Researcher Anthony Chen developed bicyclenetwork analysis tools that can perform the following functions: initial bicycle origin-destinationdemand generation, bicycle traffic assignment, and bicycle origin-destination demand adjustment.The analysis tools were used to estimate bicycle demand. First, bicycle data was used to develop aninitial bicycle demand matrix. The matrix was then allocated to the bicycle network by bicycle trafficassignment. Finally, the initial bicycle origin-destination matrix was adjusted so that estimated databetter matches the observed data. After the development of the network analysis tools, a case studyat the Utah State University campus was conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the tools.The case study revealed that the majority of estimated link flows matched observed link flows.Consequently, the bicycle network analysis tools developed may prove useful for planningapplications in communities with limited resources. There were, however, some estimated link flowsthat were significantly different from its corresponding observed link flows. These deviations arelikely due to a data inconsistency problem identified in the original travel survey. With more carefuldata collection, the tools developed in this research can be used to analyze bicycle demand andbicycle volumes on a transportation network.2015 MPC Annual Highlights12

The bicycle network tools developed in this study can help governing bodies determine efficientallocation of resources to achieve the regional planning goals. While the study will be relevant tothe Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and various Metropolitan Planning Organizations(MPOs), smaller communities may benefit most from the work because they typically do not havethe resources to develop and maintain a full-scale bicycle planning model.For more information, search for report MPC-15-285 at www.mountain-plains.orgProject: Guidelines for Effective LTAP Course EvaluationPI: Jim Dorward, jim.dorward@usu.eduMPC researchers at Utah State University looked at evaluations of the Utah Local TechnicalAssistance Program to assess how the program could strengthen course evaluation tools andprocesses to better facilitate effective instruction to meet course objectives for participants.The National LTAP program funded by the Federal Highway Administration and state departmentsof transportation provides training for both new and long-term local government employees to helpthem keep up to date with technologies and regulations encountered in their jobs. It is vital for thistraining to (1) be accessible to a wide variety of learners and (2) have an immediate impact on theparticipant’s ability to fulfill the essential functions of their job. To achieve the goal, it is necessary toprovide training opportunities that directly facilitate that end. Researchers Ann Heaslip and JamesDorward developed recommendations for developing and using strong course evaluations that couldguide revisions to training programs and help participants feel like they are provided with informationthat can help them better complete their job functions.For more information, search for report MPC-16-305 at www.mountain-plains.org.Project: Alkali-Silica Reaction When UsingRecycled Concrete Aggregate in New ConcretePI: Jennifer Eisenhauer Tanner,tannerj@uwyo.eduAlkali-silica reaction (ASR) is a global concretedurability problem that continues to plaguecertain aggregate sources. A long-term fieldsite was setup at the University of Wyoming toevaluate ASR and mitigation strategies for localaggregates.As shown in the photo, Wyoming wildlife madea home on one of the long term field-exposureblocks. While he rests, the research teamcontinues to provide solutions to make highperformance concrete for the state and beyond.For more information, search for report MPC-15302 at www.mountain-plains.org.132015 MPC Annual Highlights

Project: Development of an Alternative to theDouble Tee Bridge SystemPI: Nadim Wehbe, nadim.wehbe@sdstate.eduMany bridges on the South Dakota localhighway system need replacement due todeterioration or increased traffic demands.Local governments rely on the South DakotaDepartment of Transportation (SDDOT) tohelp replace them but, with limited resources,SDDOT can only help replace about 30 bridgesstatewide each year, causing a backlog of localbridges in need of replacement.Some commonly built bridges on the SouthDakota local highway system need replacementfar before their expected design lives. MPC researchers are looking for alternative bridge designsand developing repair techniques that may extend the lives of those bridges well beyond theirexpected life spans.Most replacement bridges on the South Dakota local highway system are double tee precast girderbridges because they have a relatively low construction cost, an outsourced design, and a shortconstruction duration. The bridges are expected to last 50 to 70 years, but some built less than40 years ago already need replacement. Longitudinal joints in the bridges become damaged overtime, most likely due to inadequate shear transfer between the girders, allowing water and debris toenter the joints. The joints begin to spall, creating a path for moisture to reach the prestressing steel,initiate corrosion, and degrade the structural capacity of the bridge.Routine maintenance of these bridges does increase the life span, but is not a feasible long-termsolution. The amount of routine maintenance required to keep the joints sealed is too costly for localgovernments. Other methods, such as asphalt overlays, are also expensive and can cause increaseddamage over time by trapping moisture that eventually reaches the prestressing steel.South Dakota State University researchers led by Nadim Wehbe are investigating the performance ofthe currently used longitudinal joint detail and to assess the adequacy of a proposed new joint detailfor use with double tee girders and are looking at alternatives to the double-tee precast bridge. Intheir research, they conducted fatigue and strength testing of two full-scale girders, one representingthe as-built conditions and the other representing a modified joint detailing. Results revealed thatthe current joint detailing is severely inadequate if the bridge is to last for 50 years or more, while themodified joint detail provided adequate performance under fatigue loading equivalent to more than70 years of service.2015 MPC Annual Highlights14

Project: Re-Use of Mine Waste MaterialsAmended with Fly Ash in TransportationEarthwork ProjectsPI: Christopher products from mining and burningcoal may be valuable as a base material forbuilding or repairing roads MPC research atColorado State University indicates. Leadinvestigator Christopher Bareither is evaluatingthe mechanical, hydraulic and environmentalbehavior of mixtures of mine tailings, minewaste rock, and fly ash to assess potentialapplications in transportation earthworkmaterial. They hope to develop recommendations for using the materials that will enhance thedurability of transportation infrastructure, reduce disposal concerns, and reduce the amount of soiland gravel that must be mined and moved for road construction. The researchers are using tailingsfrom a Colorado garnet mine and fly ash collected from coal-fired power plants in Colorado andNorth Dakota. Additionally, a synthetic mine tailings blend was created from commercially producedmaterials (silica sand, silica flour, and Kaolinite) to compare mixture behavior to specimens withactual mine tailings and also to results on fly ash-amended soils in literature. Samples are beingsubjected to various mechanical tests to determine strength and durability. Preliminary resultssupport the test methods and show good comparison to previous research.152015 MPC Annual Highlights

OUTREACH/WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENTTechnical TrainingMPC’s technical training program is having a major impact in the region. Online modules, shortcourses, webinars, and on-site/videoconferencing events are reaching state and local transportationdepartment employees and tribal transportation planners. By harnessing the capabilities of the fourLTAP centers located at the MPC universities and the multimedia capabilities of the TransportationLearning Network (which was founded and is partly funded by MPC) more than 76 technical trainingevents were offered in the second half of 2015. These training modules and short courses are criticalto transportation agencies that need to improve or renew the skills of engineering technicians andother frontline workers. Many MPC courses or training events result in the certification of workers.Even when certification is not required, TLN’s online learning management systems allow employeesand employers to set learning goals and monitor progress towards these goals.Graduate StudentsAltogether, 185 undergraduate and graduate students are working on MPC research projectsunder the tutelage of faculty researchers. These graduate students

NDSU celebrates National Transportation Week For National Transportation Week in 2015, staff at North Dakota State University's Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute mailed activities such as coloring pages, word finds and crossword puzzles to elementary schools across North Dakota to teach students about the importance of transportation.