|
july
2005
A Publication of the
National
Institute for
Advanced Transportation
Technology
NIATT Director
Michael Kyte
Editor
Judy B. LaLonde
|
Sustainable
Transportation Conference Scheduled for September 2005
NIATT,
along with UI President Tim White, is sponsoring a two-day conference on
Sustainable Transportation: On Campus and in the Community, scheduled for
the
UI campus September 22 and 23rd. More than just a conference, however, the
two days will include 5 working groups to consider the following questions:
- How can we make transportation to
and within the University of Idaho campus more sustainable and
environmentally-friendly?
- How can we design and build a
Sustainable Energy Laboratory and Transit Facility?
- How can we integrate sustainability
into our curriculum?
- How can we use sustainability
concepts in land use and transportation decisions within the Moscow
community and region?
- How can we develop a biodiesel fuel
production facility on the Palouse?
Each workshop will begin with onei or more presentations highlighting the
topic and the assigned problem or task, the process by which the problem or
task will be tackled, and a set of possible outcomes for the workshop. Our
focus is on learning and producing tangible results that can be carried
forward.
|
|
Keynote speakers for the opening day include Will Toor, author and former director of the Environmental
Center at the University of Colorado, and Eva Matsuzaki, principal architect
and contributor to green building designs. Registrations are now being accepted.
For more details, visit
http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/sustainable_transportation/
Toward Zero Deaths
Last year over 250
people were killed and more than 14,000 people were injured in crashes on
Idaho’s highways. The economic and personal costs of these deaths and
injuries, along with the more than 28,000 collisions that occurred
throughout the state, amount to more than $1.7 billion.
On October 19 and 20,
2005, Idaho will hold its first “Toward Zero Deaths” workshop on the campus
of Boise State University.
More than 125 senior local, state, and federal government safety
professionals, law enforcement officers, and private sector experts will
spend two days working together to prepare a comprehensive plan to reduce
these terrible losses that occur each year. The partnerships that will be
formed and the ideas generated during this workshop will provide the basis
for how we all can work together to improve the safety on our Idaho’s
highways.
Purpose
- To bring together leaders around the
state who have an interest in improving the safety on Idaho’s state’s
highways and roads.
- To educate these constituencies on
each others interests, perspectives, and programs, and on the state of
the art and practice in highway safety
- To identify ways that these
organizations can work together to more effectively promote and improve
transportation safety in the state.
Sponsors
Idaho Transportation Department
Idaho State Police
Federal Highway Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Idaho Traffic Safety Commission
Local Highway Technical Assistance Council
Idaho Technology Transfer Center
Boise State University
University of Idaho
For more information, visit
http://www.webs1.uidaho.edu/highway_safety/
Road Trip to
Michigan for Buff, the Hydraulic Truck
 Michael Shurtliff and Eric Hake gave NIATT's
hydraulic hybrid 1988 Ford F350 a real test this summer, driving it from
Moscow, Idaho, to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The two were members of a senior design
team supported by NIATT who created a hydraulic launch assist system that
could be placed into large refuse vehicles to improve fuel economy in a
feasible and affordable method.
The road trip gave the undergraduates a
chance to discover a few bugs and get the truck into shape before they
showed the vehicle to representatives of EPA. The following is an excerpt
from Michael's diary of the trip:
| We made it to Detroit
about Midnight Sunday night and then proceeded to clean the truck and
put the hydrostat driveline back on. We found a problem with the u-joint
where there wasn't any support to keep it in place. We tried to
keep it secure but noticed that it came out. We had a wire for the
throttle position indicator come loose during our drive so we traced
that and reconnected it. We arrived [at EPA in Ann
Arbor] a few minutes
early and we were very warmly welcomed. Eric quickly installed a
new
u-joint and secured it the best he could with the EPA folks on their way. At least 30 people come out to see the truck,
which one of the guys said was the most interest that he
has seen when it comes to having vehicles out in the parking lot. Ron Kepner and John Brevick from Ford
had come with us.
Everyone was very impressed
with the vehicle, they had questions and often asked for schematics and
other such data that we could provide. Charles Gray, who is the director
of EPA in the area, spent some time with us. We loaded the truck
with the administration of EPA and drove them around. They were
fascinated and commented on the smooth drive and seemed to enjoy it. We went
back twice picking up more people.
On our last round we made it 3/4 the
way and the u-joint placement gave out and it was a little worse this
time and broke the driveline to the hydro-stat. Rather than being an
embarrassment, it became interesting as the guys in the truck were
excited and when we made it back, everyone was trying to get under the
truck to see what had happened. They commented that this is what
testing is all about and relayed their own stories of things like this
happening. |
The team's website can be viewed at
http://seniordesign.engr.uidaho.edu/2004_2005/dumpsterdivers/index.htm
FOCUS on NIATT
people
- Lei Wu
spent some time away from her graduate studies this summer, as she
and her husband Hua Wang welcomed a new baby girl into their family.
Born June 1, Weitong weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. Since Lei and Hua have
both attended NIATT's Traffic Signal Summer Workshops, we're
considering reserving a spot in TSSW XXVI for Weitong!
- NIATT
undergraduate Guillermo Madrigal, who spent his 2004 summer working
on the Third Avenue Bridge in New York, took off for Boston
this summer after receiving his second DOT/FHWA Summer
Transportation internship. We look forward to hearing about his
Big Dig adventures.
- Congratulations to these graduates heading off to new engineering
positions this summer and fall:
Manoj Annaji--DKS Engineering
Garth Appainaitis--DKS Engineering
Ryan Barduhn--WSDOT
Jesse Birchman--The Transpo Group
Mario Candia-Martinez--Kittelson & Associates
Yuri Meresczak--Kittelson & Associates
Brent Orton--City of Caldwell
|
