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Finding his interest progressing from bridges to pavement
and finally to traffic engineering, Phil Rust (second from
right) had an important decision to make as he was
completing his undergraduate degree in civil
engineering—where would he go to graduate school? His
professor/mentor at Washington State University convinced
Phil he was “Masters’ material.” His offer from the
University of Idaho included the promise of a research
assistantship, working on a specific project, and the
opportunity to study under Michael Kyte, director of NIATT
(right).
The University of Idaho was unique in two other ways that
appealed to Phil. He liked the location—the UI campus is
located in Moscow, Idaho, an attractive university town in a
rural setting. And he had heard from other UI students that
he could expect to work closely with the transportation
engineering faculty. Phil’s grad school experience got a
jump-start when he attended NIATT’s first Traffic Signal
Summer Workshop (then called "camp.")
As he entered the end of his first year of graduate
school, Phil emphatically states that he would make the same
choice. “I’m glad to be doing research,” Phil says. “I’m
getting to see some meaningful results.”
Phil worked with Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Rahim (, left) on an ITS
project, modeling possible detour routes that will optimize
the movement and safety of vehicles during freeway
incidents. Phil is also working on a project for Ada County,
involving freeway and arterial operations in Boise, Idaho,
during freeway incident detours. Phil has contributed to two
traffic-related service projects for small cities in Idaho
through the student chapter of ITE and NIATT’s Idaho
Technology Transfer Center.
Phil was been an active leader in the UI student chapter
of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He held both
secretary and vice president positions and is currently
serving as public relations liaison.
Phil was a member of the winning team at the 2001 Student
Traffic Bowl competition in Portland, Oregon. He was
recipient of the Coral Sales Company/Douglas P. Daniels
Scholarship in 2001. Phil completed an internship with
Whatcom County Public Works near Bellingham, Washington, in
2000, assisting a traffic technician. In the summer of 2001,
he interned at Six Mile Engineering in Boise working on
intersection and ITS design projects, and in summer 2002,
held an internship at the Federal Highway Administration
Headquarters Office of Travel Management working on a
freeway ramp management and control handbook. |
Philip Rust
2003 Student-of-the-Year
Outstanding
Graduate Students
2007--Matthew Benke
2006--Nathan Bradbury
2005--Yuri Meresczak
2004--Dan Cordon
2003--Philip Rust
2002--David Alexander
2001--Geoffrey Judd
2000--Dan Gerbus
1999--Paul Coffelt
1998--Andrew A. Miller
1997--Matthew Zoll |
