The fourteenth annual University of California Transportation Center student conference is rolling into town January 31 through February 1 with more than 150 participants. To quote the UCTC website, “The University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) is a multi-campus research unit of whose theme is Transportation Policy and Systems Analysis. UCTC was established in 1987 to serve as the Federal Region IX University Transportation Center (UTC) and as the statewide UTC for California.” Initiated by students at UCLA, the UCTC conference was designed to bring students and faculty together to discuss and collaborate on current research. Students from all UC campuses are invited to participate, as well as those from other campuses in California. Currently, 6 campuses alternate in hosting the UCTC conference. Students and faculty from Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Jose State and USC as well as several practitioners, will join UCSB students and faculty for this year’s conference. Research interests all focus around transportation, but vary widely in their focus within the field: Topics range from travel behavior, to energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions research, to network performance analysis.
Each year, the conference includes a Mel Webber memorial guest lecture. This year’s guest lecturer is Dr. Mei-Po Kwan, an alumnus of UCSB Geography. Dr. Kwan received her masters in Urban Planning from UCLA and her PhD from our geography department. Her former advisor, Dr. Reg Golledge, stated, “Mei-Po Kwan was perhaps the most diligent, conscientious, and innovative student I ever had the pleasure of working with.” We are excited to have her as our guest insofar as she is a gleaming example of our department.
The conference will also be highlighted with presentations by a few of the most illustrious professors in our department. Dr. Reg Golledge and Dr. Rick Church will give presentations on Thursday night of the conference, and Dr. Mike Goodchild will present on Friday morning. In addition, Jim Kemp, director of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments will join us to give the keynote luncheon presentation. Other surprise guests will also speak at the conference.
If you would like to join us for the conference, please register at . We strongly encourage our students to participate by bringing a poster to present at the student poster session. This is a great opportunity to present research that has been conducted or will be conducted soon, and receive ideas and input to your research. This conference is designed to promote student collaboration, so please, don’t hesitate. Questions? Contact the conference organization committee: Jarad Beckman, Kate Deutsch, Nate Isbell, Pam Dalal, Seo Youn Yoon, Shaunna Burbidge or Dr. Kostas Goulias. (Article contributed by Kate Deutsch)
