New Paper on Bus Route Forecasting Published

Our paper "Real-time bus route state forecasting using particle filter and mesoscopic modeling" was just published in Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Volume 61, December 2015, Pages 121-140. You can download it free until January 2016. Special thanks to my friends and collaborators at ENTPE: Etienne Hans, Nicolas Chiabaut and Ludovic Leclrecq for a great experience developing this paper!

IPAM Workshop: Decision Support for Traffic

The Institute for Pure and Applied and Mathematics (IPAM) at UCLA kindly hosted a long program in New Directions in Mathematical Approaches for Traffic Flow Management. I was pleased to be a member of the organizing committee (with Alexandre Bayen, Serge Hoogendoorn and Laura Wynter) of Workshop IV: Decision Support for Traffic, held at UCLA November 16-20, 2015. On November 17, 2015 I chaired the afternoon session and also gave a presentation, "Multimodal Transportation System Simulation Manual (TSSM) Framework: From Theory to Practice." It was great to have this opportunity and my thanks to IPAM and my co-organizers for their support.

Dr. David Lovell Visits Cal Poly

We were honored to have Dr. David Lovell, University of Maryland visit Cal Poly from November 11-15, 2015. Dr. Lovell presented to the ITE student chapter, discussing his research aimed at improving air transportation systems. He also spoke about air traffic operations management to the CE 321 Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering class. His primary mission was to participate in the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) West Coast Regional Conference hosted by the Cal Poly EWB student chapter.

Ray LaHood Book Signing

I had the pleasure of attending former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's book signing for his memoir, Seeking Bipartisanship: My Life in Politics, held at Bloomberg in Washington, D.C. on November 4, 2015. Having served under Secretary LaHood at the U.S. DOT from 2009-2011, I was happy to see the former Secretary as well as many wonderful members of the DOT team. Having read the book on my trip back west the following evening, I was particularly struck by the section describing LaHood's work in Congress on civility. I knew that he had spoken about the importance of civility in politics but did not know about the broader initiatives he had led. I admire Ray LaHood immensely - he is a true leader, who treats people well in all environments and situations. The civility portion of the book particularly resonated with me, having also strived to improve communication, collaboration and integrity in my work. It was an honor to serve under Ray LaHood and work with the amazing DOT team, and reading this memoir further cemented my respect, admiration and appreciation for this great leader.

Cal Poly Chi Epsilon Civil and Environmental Engineering Honor Society Participates in Pacific District Conference

I was asked to accompany the Cal Poly Chi Epsilon Civil and Environmental Engineering Honor Society to the Pacific District Conference held at San Jose State University November 6-8, 2015. Five Cal Poly students, including Carley Burford, Jason Hsia, Carley Thomas, Elizabeth Coffey and Jonathon Centofranchi participated, and through their efforts earned third place (out of 14 universities) in the Pacific District Cup Competition! My congratulations to the team for a job well done! As a former president of the Cal Poly Chi Epsilon chapter (c. 1987) I was especially proud!

9th University Transportation Center (UTC) Spotlight Conference on Connected and Automated Vehicles November 4-5, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

I was honored to be invited to serve on the organizing committee for the 9th University Transportation Center (UTC) Spotlight Conference on Connected and Automated Vehicles November 4-5, 2015, in Washington, D.C. Held at the National Academy of Sciences, the meeting was sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation (OST-R) and organized by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), under the leadership of Dr. Melissa Tooley, I chaired the plenary session and breakout session on Modal Applications of connected and automated vehicles, along with John Maddox of the University of Michigan. We had a great session with speakers from Carnegie Mellon, Texas Transportation Institute, NREL and Zipcar. Conference proceedings will be published later. Special thanks to TRB and OST-R staff Rich Cunard, Freda Morgan, Robin Kline and Thomas Bolle for their support.

CE321 Field Trip to Los Osos Valley Road Interchange Project

We had a great field trip hosted by Kyle Rowland from the City of San Luis Obispo at the construction site of the Los Osos Valley Road Interchange with U.S. 101 on October 31, 2015. The CE 321 Fundamentals of Transportation Engineering class learned about all of the issues involved with building a new bridge across U.S. 101, extending a multiplate superspan triple culvert on San Luis Creek, construction of retaining walls, traffic control, stormwater management and more. Thanks to Kyle for a great experience!

CE424 Public Transportation Field Trip to Santa Barbara

Thanks to Eugene Jud for arranging his traditional Amtrak trip to Santa Barbara as a field trip for CE 424 Public Transportation on Saturday October 24, 2015. We are grateful to colleagues at the MTD, and UCSB for their wonderful hospitality. We rode the train, electric trolley, express bus, local bus as well as bicycles on this multimodal trip! We also experienced bicycle roundabouts and several highway roundabouts, all working smoothly! We saw a few skateboards, surfboards and sailboats as well!

SOLARIS Advisory Board, University of Nevada Reno

I am grateful to Prof. Zong Tian for the invitation to serve on the Advisory Board for the Safety and Operations of Large-Area Rural/Urban Intermodal Systems (SOLARIS) Institute which is a Tier 1 University Transportation Center (UTC) based at the University of Nevada Reno. SOLARIS focuses on safety as the strategic focus area, supported by a broad spectrum of other transportation-related fields. I had the opportunity to visit the Institute and meet with the other advisory board members, faculty and staff on October 16, 2015. An exciting year of research, education and outreach surely lies ahead!

North America PTV Vision User Group Meeting, Portland, Oregon October 13, 2015

I appreciated the invitation to deliver one of the keynote presentations at the North America PTV Vision User Group Meeting, Portland, Oregon October 13, 2015. I was asked to speak about the new Transportation Research Board Task Force on Transportation System Simulation and our efforts to create a Transportation System Simulation Manual. I especially enjoyed seeing former PSU students Ning Zhou (City of Portland), Chengxin Dai (HDR), Matt Dorado (Clark County, WA), and Joe Kirkland (HDR). Thanks to PTV for the invitation!

Two New Transportation Research Circulars

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics (TFTC)found several ways to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of the TFTC in 1963. The first was a workshop held January 12, 2014 at the TRB 93rd Annual Meeting that focused on traffic and transportation simulation. The workshop provided a means to explore the history, current status, and future of traffic simulation. The results are documented in TRB’s Transportation Research Circular E-C 195: Traffic and Transportation Simulation - Looking Back and Looking Ahead: Celebrating 50 Years of Traffic Flow Theory.  The second was Standing Committee on Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics Summer Meeting and Symposium, August 11–13, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. Presentations covered fundamental diagrams, traffic flow models, traffic control, freeway traffic analysis, calibration, empirical observations of traffic analysis, networkwide modeling and control, and other paper and poster presentations. Presenters reflect on the fifty years of traffic flow theory and include an analysis of pedestrian flows and the incorporation of autonomous vehicles into traffic theory. The results are documented in TRB E-Circular 197: Celebrating 50 Years of Traffic Flow Theory. Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped organize these fantastic events!

Transportation Research Board Task Force on Transportation System Simulation (AHB80T) Inaugural Meeting

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently established a special Task Force on Transportation System Simulation (AHB80T), with Calvin Leggett, North Carolina Department of Transportation as chair. The main task of this task force is to develop a Transportation System Simulation Manual (TSSM). The task force members held their inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C. on September 17, 2015. We are looking forward to a lot of exciting work and progress ahead! Thanks to all who participated!

Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) Deployment Coalition Meeting

I was pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the meeting of the Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) Deployment Coalition hosted in Denver by the Colorado Department of Transportation, on September 9-10, 2015. Formed earlier this year, the V2I DC includes the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). I am co-chairing the V2I Technical Working Group 2: Deployment Research with Greg Larson of Caltrans.

Handbook of Transportation Published

I am pleased to be a co-author with a number of colleagues and students on two chapters (Pedestrian Transportation and Bicycle Transportation) in the new Routledge Handbook of Transportation, published in August 2015. Sincere gratitude to co-authors Chris Monsere, Matt Downey, Todd Borkowitz, Nick Foster and Sirisha Kothuri!

Gary Riggins Completes Cal Poly Visit

Gary Riggins, a master's student from the Lehrstuhl für Verkehrstechnik (Chair of Transportation Technology) at the Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich, Germany) completed his 5 month visit to Cal Poly where he was working as a research assistant on the Oregon Department of Transportation project to evaluate the new variable speed limit system on Oregon Route 217. We appreciate all of Gary's contributions to our department and will miss him! We wish him well in his next endeavors!

Nora Chin Master's Defense

Nora Chin successfully defended her Master's project, "Investigating the Correlation Between
Freeway Traffic Levels and Freeway Service Patrol Assists," on August 13, 2015. The project is a partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and their Freeway Service Patrol program. This was the subject of some of my early research back in the 1990s, so I particularly enjoyed re-visiting the topic. I was pleased to serve as a member of her committee along with Dr. Anurag Pande, and committee chair Dr. Cornelius Nuworsoo. Best wishes to Nora as she begins her career!

Cal Poly SLO ITE Student Chapter - Victorious at International Level

The Cal Poly SLO ITE Student Chapter has recently won the International Student Chapter Award (second year in a row, out of 157 student chapters mostly in the U.S., but also abroad) as well as the 2015 International Collegiate Traffic Bowl, at the ITE International meeting held in Hollywood, Florida. According to President Kevin Carstens, "in the first round, Cal Poly squared off against Auburn and University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. After some initial hesitation, we racked up a significant lead, entering the final question at 2400 to UPR's 1300. After the final question (something related to pedestrian safety scores) which all teams missed, we won with 2100 to the other teams' 0 (each). The second and third rounds saw the University of Manitoba and Purdue University defeating the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Pennsylvania State University, Iowa State University, and University of Texas at Austin. In the final round, Cal Poly ITE took off with a failed launch, falling to -300 versus Manitoba's 700. However, we staged a slow comeback throughout the game, reaching the final question with a slight lead at 1600, against Manitoba's 1300 and Purdue's 1000. The final answer was given (paraphrased: "A lane marking that tells drivers to expect bikes and cyclists where to ride"), and all teams correctly responded "what is a sharrow?" Purdue bet all and ended with 2000, Manitoba bet 701 and ended with 2001, and Cal Poly bet 1001 and ended with 2601." Congratulations to the whole team!

Cal Poly SLO ITE Student Chapter - Victorious at Western District Level

The Cal Poly SLO ITE Student Chapter was victorious at the recent Western District Annual Meeting held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Out of 35 student chapters in the Western District, Cal Poly SLO was selected as the top chapter for the second year in a row, receiving the Student Chapter Award. In addition, the Cal Poly SLO team won the Western District level of the Collegiate Traffic Bowl, moving on to the national championship. There was a wonderful representation with about 18 Cal Poly students in attendance at the Western District Annual Meeting. Congratulations to all! Photos show all members in attendance; current officers (Karl Schmidt, Alex Chambers, Bobby Sidhu, Kevin Carstens, Krista Purser and Kelsey Littell); current/past presidents including Krista Purser, Kevin Carstens, Kaylinn Roseman, Travis Low, and Cameron Shew).

2015 Study Abroad: Sustainable Transportation in the Netherlands

PSU students are arriving in Delft, the Netherlands for the 2015 edition of the Study Abroad:Sustainable Transportation in the Netherlands, in partnership with Prof. Peter Furth and Northeastern University. Initiated in 2011 by Peter Koonce, this is the fifth year that PSU students have participated in this adventure focusing on pedestrian, bicycle and public transport planning and design in the Netherlands, and the fourth year I have led or co-led the program. Follow our ten student blogs below as the course unfolds:

• Ray Atkinson
• David Backes
• Katherine Burns
• Kevin Carstens
• Drew DeVitis
• Simeon Jacob
• Darryl Michaud
• Dan Peirce
• Kaylinn Roseman
• Alex Sandoval

Tour de France Grand Depart - Utrecht 2015

Mobil.TUM Conference Munich, Germany

I had the pleasure of participating again in the mobil.TUM 2015 International Scientific Conference on Mobility and Transport, with the theme Technologies, Solutions and Perspectives for Intelligent Transport Systems, held June 30 & July 1, 2015 in Munich, Germany. In addition to serving on the International Scientific Committee, I also had the opportunity to present a paper: "Development of a Multimodal Transportation System Simulation Manual: From Theory to Practice," co-authored with Brandon Nevers, George List and Mehdi Mashayekhi. I also presented two posters: "Preparing a Roadmap for Connected Vehicle/Cooperative System Deployment Scenarios: Case Study of the State of Oregon, USA," co-authored with Haizhong Wang and Kevin Carstens; and "Toward Understanding the Benefits of Transit Signal Priority: Case Study Using High Resolution Transit and Traffic Signal Data," with co-authors Wei Feng, Miguel Figliozzi and Kevin Carstens. Finally, I moderated a distinguished panel on "Cyber Physical Transport Systems – ITS On the Move Towards the Internet of Things" with Christian Carstensen, Bastian Chlond, Vito Mauro, and Matthias Althoff. Much appreciation to Prof. Fritz Busch and his team at the Chair of Traffic Engineering and Control from the Technische Universitat Munchen for the excellent and enjoyable event.

Seminar at University of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich, Germany

I had the pleasure to visit the University of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich, Germany, on June 29, 2015 where I presented a seminar entitled "Variable Advisory Speed System: Performance Measures and Outlook" at the Institute for Transport and Regional Planning, led by Prof. Klaus Bogenberger. I appreciated the opportunity to exchange ideas with Prof. Bogenberger's brilliant team! And not to mention the incredible Bavarian BBQ!

Commencement 2015

I admit: I love commencement. Seeing the huge smiles on the faces of students, parents, friends, partners, supporters is a wonderful way to end the academic year.

Simon Qin (left) and Kevin Carstens (right), class of 2015. Will add more student photos as I receive them!

Transportation Planning Dual Degree Commencement 2015

Several dual degree master's students (MCRP/MS) in transportation planning participated in commencement on June 13, 2015, including Nick Bleich, Ricky Williams, Fabian Gallardo and Shannon Baker (also Nora Chin, not pictured). We all spent a lot of time together in classes and working on projects this past year, and I'll miss seeing and working with them! I know they will all go on to great things through their work in the transportation planning field. Congratulations, good luck and please keep in touch!