SAFER-SIM presented excellence awards to recognize students' contributions to the work we do. An award was presented to 4 graduate students.
SAFER-SIM presented excellence awards to recognize students' contributions to the work we do. An award was presented to 2 undergraduate students.
Congratulations to Mdhasibur Rahman of University of Central Florida on winning the Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award for best Master's thesis in the field of science and technology in transportation studies. The CUTC National Annual Student Awards recognize outstanding scholarship in transportation research and education. Winners will be recognized at the CUTC Annual Awards Banquet in Washington DC on January 11. [+]
Join transportation safety researchers for the SaferSim Symposium hosted at UMass! SaferSIm is comprised of a multidisciplinary, synergistic team of researchers in human factors, engineering, computer science, and psychology who use innovative simulation approaches ranging from microsimulation to human-in-the-loop simulation to promote safety. Registration is free and the symposium will provide a great opportunity to network with students, transportation researchers, and learn about great research in the simulation field. [+]
David Noyce has been named a co-Chair of the ASCE's 2019 International Conference on Tranpsortation and Development. Dr. Noyce is the Director of the Traffic Operations and Safety (TOPS) Laboratory and Associate Director of SAFER-SIM. Congratulations, David![+]
A driverless shuttle makes its way along Linden Drive on UW-Madison campus last week. SAFER-SIM researcher John Riehl coordinated a public demonstration of an automated vehicle, (the Navia shuttle). The public was treated to free rides in a French-made driverless shuttle being tested at the Automated Vehicle Proving Grounds at UW-Madison. [+]
University of Iowa graduate Kayla Faust created a simulation to decrease the number of farming fatalities. Pictured, she operates the miniSim, one of only two such driving simulators in the world, at the National Advanced Driving Simulator in Coralville, Iowa. Designed to puts farmers on virtual roads and fields, the miniSim uses steering, pedals, shifters, and a seat from an actual tractor to replicate potentially dangerous driving situations. Faust hopes to find changes that need to be made in farming equipment to avoid accidents. [+]
Congratulations to Dr. Benjamin Colucci of the University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez for receiving the FHWA-USDOT Administrator's Public Service Award. This award recognizes outstanding leadership and accomplishments in advancing transportation education, research, and workforce development and strong partnership with the Federal Highway Administration. Dr. Colucci is a SAFER-SIM researcher, colleague, and friend to many. On behalf of the SAFER-SIM family and the extended transportation community, congratulations on this well-deserved honor![+]
Links to recording and presentation below.
Links to recording and presentation below.
Links to recording and presentation below.
Links to recording and presentation below.
One of the largest simulators in the world, the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) at the University of Iowa, was recently used to conduct a study of automated driving as part of a SAFER-SIM University Transportation Center research project. The Center is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary research using simulation techniques to address safety issues prioritized by the U.S. Department of Transportation.[+]
SAFER-SIM coodinator Jacob Heiden and local high school student Joseph Verry attended Hawkeye Caucus Day at the State Capitol in Des Moines. They spoke with over 50 state representatives, staffers, and other public individuals about how the University of Iowa positively affects communities within Iowa, specifically how our safety research and STEM collaborations are leading to safer roads and innovative education.[+]
Two groups of Lone Tree high school students toured the National Advanced Driving Simulator. The tours were designed to introduce various engineering careers to the kids. 25 students total from 10th grade participated in the tour, which included a discussion of safety research and emerging transportation technologies.[+]
"SAFER-SIM compliments the University of Iowa's unique, interdisciplinary approach to transportation safety. The center's innovative STEM-education activities, research, and workforce development will lead to safer roadways, and enhance Iowa's position as a national leader in ground transportation." - Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds.[+]
The Southeast Iowa STEM Region held the Washington County STEM Festival on November 30, 2016. This event exposed students to activities developed and presented by STEM experts from business, community, organizations, higher education, and informal education venues. Jacob Heiden exhibited on behalf of SAFER-SIM. 193 individuals - children and parents alike - test drove the distracted driving simulator. They experienced the dangers of texting and driving first-hand.[+]
Jacob Heiden and Alec La Velle were speakers at the 2016 STEM Institute for Young Scientists, which is organized to show children different STEM pathways and careers. They presented to 239 seventh grade students from 4 schools. The presenters discussed different safety issues that could be tested on a driving simulator, such as impaired driving or distracted driving. The children were able to sit in the driver's seat of a simulated vehicle and see the devastating effects of texting and driving first hand. [+]
15 Boy Scouts from Troop 120 and their parents visited the National Advanced Driving Simulator. Tim Brown presented information about engineering and traffic safety to the individuals. He also led them on a tour throughout the facility. The scouts discussed simulation as a tool, drove scenarios on the miniSim, and even performed a traffic density experiment. These scouts are closer to the Engineering and Traffic Safety Merit Badges because of this tour.[+]
Franklin Middle School in Cedar Rapids held a career speaker day to interest students in different career pathways. SAFER-SIM discussed the Engineering pathway and explained how simulation is used as a tool for safety research. 76 students learned about the different skills and coursework needed for a career in engineering.[+]
SAFER-SIM presented to 60 girls at Girls Tech Career Day in Iowa City. The career day is organized by the Iowa Tech Chicks and is designed to empower girls and show them fun career options from local women in technology. The girls formed a hypothesis, tested stopping distance on a driving simulator, recorded data, and analyzed their findings. These 11-14 year old children were exposed to the research process and formed a new excitement for technology and safety.[+]
Dawn Marshall and Jacob Heiden led high school students on a tour of the National Advanced Driving Simulator. 55 students visited the facility and went behind the scenes at one of the nation's premier transportation safety research centers. The students were from Cedar Rapids Prairie, Solon, and West Branch high schools. They are involved in Project Lead The Way, a nonprofit organization that provides transformative learning experiences for K-12 students and teachers. This tour showed the students how STEM concepts are used in the real-world to solve problems.[+]
SAFER-SIM exhibited at the Cedar Valley STEM Festival on Thursday, November 10. The goal of this festival was to promote, inspire, and engage youth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-related activities and to introduce children and parents to STEM careers. The event was organized by the Northeast Iowa Region Governor's STEM Advisory Council. 2779 individuals attended the festival. 366 K-12 students and their parents interacted with the SAFER-SIM distracted driving simulator.[+]
SAFER-SIM hosted a booth at the Johnson Country Career Fair. 5 schools participated in the career fair with over 100 students from grades 10-12. They learned about careers in the rapidly-changing transportation industry as well as skills and education needed.[+]
A local pack of Cub Scouts toured the National Advanced Driving Simulator. 19 scouts visited the facility and stopped at five different stations within the building: NADS overview presentation, miniSim drives, NADS-1, control room, and garage. These children and their families learned about simulation as a tool and transportation research. [+]
SAFER-SIM researchers attended the Girl Scout STEM Event at the University of Iowa. About 150 Girl Scouts from Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois participated. The event focused on a relevant, real-world, age-appropriate problem or “mystery” that would meet the following Girl Scout’s STEM impact goals—increasing girls’ interest in STEM, increasing girls’ confidence in their STEM-related abilities, educating girls about STEM careers, and exposing girls to STEM professionals. These Girl Scout Brownies earned a STEM Badge as a result of their experiences on this day. SAFER-SIM presented a driving science demonstration where the Girl Scouts collected and analyzed data on different driving surfaces. 35 Girl Scouts formed a hypothesis, graphed data, and discussed their findings.[+]
Dawn Marshall and Jacob Heiden presented at Harding Middle School in Cedar Rapids. They presented to three 7th grade classes to enhance the students' career awareness. They also had the students brainstorm problems simulation could solve and plan experiments based on their problem. 55 students participated in this event.[+]
The Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival is a community-wide partnership led by Northeast Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. The event was hosted on Thursday, October 20, 2016, at the Community Plaza in Oelwein. The free event attracted 648 people of all age groups. Attendees encountered 26 hands-on exhibits throughout the evening including the SAFER-SIM portable miniSIm. Jacob Heiden and Alec LaVelle showcased the dangers of texting and driving to the individuals, which included over 200 distracted drives by children.[+]
Matt Ellefson and Jacob Heiden visited the Howard H. Cherry Scout Reservation near Central City, IA to exhibit at the Boy Scout Council Camporee. They set up the SAFER-SIM portable driving simulator to show the scouts the texting and driving demonstration. Around 500 kids age 8-16 drove the simulator and experienced the distracted drive.[+]
SAFER-SIM hosted 10 Job Corps students from Otumwa, IA on October 6, 2016. Job Corps is a technical training program that helps young people improve their quality of life through career and academic training. The students that toured the facility are training to be professional bus and truck drivers, and they learned how SAFER-SIM researches different transportation safety issues.[+]
Jacob Heiden exhibited SaferSim's portable simulator to over 200 students at the DMACC campus in Boone, IA. He displayed the texting and driving demonstration to show the students the dangers of distracted driving. The students enjoyed the hands-on experience, and some teachers even incorporated it into their class. Jacob presented to classes including Introduction to Business, Business Law, Psychology, and College Experience. Many students were interested in driving safety as well as advanced driving technologies.[+]
Congratulations to Cara Hamann and Chris Schwarz! Their paper "Safe Overtaking of Bicyclists and the Presence of Shared Lane Markings" will be presented in a breakout session at the upcoming UTC Spotlight Conference. Their work was selected out of an immense number of submissions for this conference, which will focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety. The breakout discussion sessions are an integral part of the success of the Spotlight Conferences. Attendees meet, discuss, and plan future research needs. [+]
The National Advanced Driving Simulator welcomed guests from the University of Iowa and the community at an Open House. The Open House was organized by the University to welcome our new president Bruce Harreld and to offer a behind-the-scenes experience to our facility. 73 individuals attended this event. They were able to demo the miniSim, tour the NADS-1 simulator, view the control room, walk around the simulator bay, and learn about the advanced safety features on the Volvo XC90.[+]
Researchers from the University of Iowa attended the 2016 Hawkeye Safety Conference. Dan McGehee, the director of the National Advanced Driving Simulator, lead a discussion about advanced safety features in cars during a breakout session. Other researchers exhibited displays including information about new safety technologies, texting and driving demonstration, and views of a the Volvo XC90 research vehicle. Over 500 individuals attended the conference with almost 100 individuals participating in our events.[+]
Three visiting scholars from Japan toured the National Advanced Driving Simulator. They saw the NADS-1 simulator, the Volvo XC90 with advanced safety features, and drove the miniSim. They learned about the exciting safety research taking place at the University of Iowa and the interdisciplinary skills and knowledge to perform this work.[+]
Joseph Kearney, Co-Director of the Hank Virtual Environments Lab, traveled to Massachusetts to present research to fellow SAFER-Sim colleagues at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. He discussed the results of experiments examining how texting pedestrians cross streams of traffic and compared two different approaches of Vehicle-to-Pedestrian communication technologies. The experiments were tested in the Hank Lab's Pedestrian Simulator, which is one of the most advanced and immersive such simulators in the world. A link to the abstract about this work is located below. Dr. Kearney also visited Volpe and had the chance to see and even drive some of their simulators. His visit is a great example of how collaboration can lead to new ideas and innovation. [+]
SAFER-Sim employees attended and presented at the 2016 Iowa State Fair. Jacob Heiden, Alec La Velle, and Matt Ellefson exhibited the SAFER-Sim miniSim in the UI booth on August 14. Attendees of the fair were able to drive the texting and driving demo and see the dangerous effects of taking your eyes and attention off the road. 3000-5000 people visited the UI booth, with 150 individuals driving the simulator and 1000 individuals viewing the demonstration. [+]
Please save the dates October 9 – 11, 2016. [+]
Katie Hudson and Jacob Heiden exhibited the SAFER-Sim texting and driving demo at the NGA Summer Meeting in Des Moines. They spoke with Governor Terry Branstad, Senator Chuck Grassley, and even showed the dangerous consequences of texting and driving first hand to Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. Governors from across the nation were in attendance.[+]
Mark Rosekind, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, visited the National Advanced Driving Simulator. His visit included tours, meetings, and even a test drive of the NADS-1. He is passionate about following NHTSA's safety mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing crashes. While at the University of Iowa, Administrator Rosekind attended and presented at the nation's first drowsy driving summit. This summit was held at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health building and included legislators, researchers, and law enforcement.[+]
Road safety is one of the most complicated topics pertaining to the transportation sector and involves many interdependencies, and so a sufficiently thorough analysis of roadway safety requires a novel system-based approach in which the associated feedback relationships and causal effects are given appropriate consideration. To this end, this project investigated common issues related to traffic accidents by considering the major causes and influences associated with such accidents and their complex relationships with climate change and with certain economic parameters. The factors affecting accident frequency and severity are highly dependent on economic parameters and weather conditions. The economic factors and/or impacts involved in roadway accidents and fatalities, including property damage costs and injury-related costs, have always been strongly affected by various road safety concerns and, conversely, by efforts to improve road safety and/or to reduce the likelihood of future traffic accidents. However, the environmental factors related to roadway safety, though not always accounted for as well as they should be, also interact very strongly with the transportation sector in terms of environmental causes and effects alike. You can view this webinar by following the link below.[+]
Dawn Marshall, Kathy Holeton, and Jacob Heiden attended the 2016 CUTC Summer Meeting held on the USC Campus in Los Angeles, California. This professional development included presentations on transformational technologies, managing and marketing a UTC, and included tours of Hyperloop and Los Angeles. In addition, our staff was able to collaborate with fellow UTC researchers from across the nation.[+]
The University of Wisconsin - Madison hosted the 4th SAFER-Sim Symposium on June 2 - 4, 2016. This event took place in Madison, Wisconsin on the University's beautiful campus. Students, faculty, and site directors from each SAFER-Sim consortium site attended this symposium. The approximately 60 attendees, 30 being students, collaborated at the symposium events that included networking dinners, a poster session, and presentations by students and transportation professionals. This collaboration within SAFER-Sim and across engineering and social sciences fields will build relationships that will drive future improvements in simulation research and road user safety. [+]
Anthony Foxx, the US Secretary of Transportation, declared that pedestrian and bicyclist safety is a priority for the USDOT. He believes the deployment of connected vehicle technology will significantly address the safety for these vulnerable road users. In his statement, he references our SAFER-Sim project that is researching methods for connected vehicles to deliver timely warnings to pedestrians. Links to the Secretary Anthony Foxx's statement and our research project can be accessed below.[+]
As part of an ongoing weekly event throughout the summer, the Carver College of Medicine organized "Science Thursday" for University of Iowa employees to eat lunch outside and experience a scientific demonstration. SAFER-Sim was the scientific demonstration this week, as Dr. Tim Brown and Jacob Heiden exhibited the texting and driving demo on the miniSim. Over 100 individuals were able to see the devastating effects of distracted driving in a simulated and safe environment.[+]
Over 30 county leaders from across the nation traveled to Iowa to discuss innovations in transportation and technology. SAFER-Sim Director Dawn Marshall led these individuals on a tour of the National Advanced Driving Simulator. She discussed the latest research breakthroughs and the future of transportation.[+]
Creating driving simulator scenarios from scratch is a task becoming more common as research requirements call for realistic scenarios. The task of creating these scenarios can be a challenge especially for those without prior experience in the creation of 3D models. Often, the software tools required to create these scenarios appear to be impossible to learn and if not handled or understood properly can significantly delay project delivery time. As a result of recent collaboration between the University of Wisconsin and the University of Iowa, the presenters have learned which areas of scenario creation process that can be automated, which can be streamlined, and which require extensive attention-to-detail. Discussion will entail some of these best practices to streamline the process of creating driving simulator scenarios that facilitate collaborative research across different platforms. This webinar will be geared toward an audience without significant 3d modelling experience but who have skills typical of a recent engineering college graduate. You can view this webinar by clicking the link below.[+]
90 students from Iowa City West High School visited the National Advanced Driving Simulator as part of their career day. They toured the facility and saw the NADS-1, NADS-2, and even drove the texting and driving miniSim. They were also introduced to advanced safety features by the MyCarDoesWhat team.[+]
SAFER-Sim team members traveled to Norwalk to present to 8th grade science students. Dr. Tim Brown, Jacob Heiden, and Alec Lavelle discussed interpretation of graphs, friction, and texting and driving with 232 students. The students created a driving plan to replicate the graphs presented, brainstormed the stopping distances on different road surfaces (e.g. dry road, wet road, and icy road), and saw the consequences of texting and driving. They were able to test their ideas on these topics by driving the SAFER-Sim miniSim.[+]
Mark your calendars! The National Advanced Driving Simulator will be exhibiting at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday, August 14. The exhibit will feature SAFER-Sim's miniSim and will be located in the University of Iowa Booth.[+]
SaferSim displayed the Texting and Driving Simulator at the 3rd Annual STEMFest at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa. Over 800 individuals attended this event.
24 students from the 7th grade class at Solon Middle School visited the National Advanced Driving Simulator. The students learned about the exciting transportation research taking place throughout the University and also had a chance to drive the miniSim. [+]
SaferSim Director Dawn Marshall and Dr. Tim Brown gave a tour of the National Advanced Driving Simulator. 12 Students from an Ergonomics class within the College of Engineering and from the Institute of Industrial Engineers organization attended the tour. They were given the opportunity to drive the NADS-1 and the miniSim.[+]
Roadside vegetation provides numerous environmental and psychological benefits to drivers. Previous research has shown that natural landscapes can effectively lower crash rates and cause less stress and frustration to the driver. However, the same vegetation has the potential to increase the severity of resulting crashes. For example, run-off-the-road crashes resulting in a collision with a tree are twice as likely to result in a fatality. The nature of this contradiction underscores the need to examine behavioral and safety effects associated with the placement of vegetation within proximity to the roadway. This proposed research study will explore the relationship between the clear zone design and the presence of roadside vegetation on driver speed, lateral positioning, and hazard anticipation in a driving simulator environment. Additionally, field data and a crash data analysis will be integrated to validate the findings of the driving simulator study. You can watch the webinar by following the link below.[+]
As part of a SaferSim education project, the University of Iowa College of Education and the National Advanced Driving Simulator partnered to develop a science-based curriculum using a driving simulator. The students involved with this project demonstrated their ideas in class to 20 pre-service teachers while collecting feedback and data throughout. [+]
SaferSim researchers participated as judges at the University of Iowa's 14th Annual College of Engineering Research Open House. This event had over 100 student posters showcasing the innovative research being done at the University. [+]
Transportation researchers and industry professionals from across the nation, which included over 50 separate universities, attended the Second Annual Safety Summit of USDOT University Transportation Centers. 9 safety-themed UTCs were represented, including SAFER-Sim. Dawn Marshall, SAFER-Sim Director, presented at this summit. A link to her SAFER-Sim presentation can be accessed using the link below.[+]
Alec LaVelle and Jacob Heiden of the National Advanced Driving Simulator attended Career Day at Mount Pleasant Middle School. 3 Masters Students in Secondary Science Education and a University of Iowa Professor also attended this event. They shared their experiences working in a STEM career and also exhibited the Texting and Driving Simulator to 85 students.[+]
Kelvin Santiago of the Wisconsin Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory created amazing video lessons on how to make a driving scenario. The 10-part video playlist is an excellent resource for current and future computer engineers so they can harness the power of tools like a driving simulator for improving transportation system safety, performance and efficiency. Check out Kelvin's videos following the YouTube link below.[+]
Dr. John Gaspar of the National Advanced Driving Simulator participated in a training event at Elizabeth Tate High School in Iowa City. He performed mock interviews with 3 students to assist in their transition from high school to adult life.[+]
Pedestrian injuries and deaths caused by collisions with motor vehicles are on the rise in the U.S. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2013). One factor that may increase the risk of such collisions is pedestrian mobile device use. The goal of this project is to use connected vehicles technology to deliver warnings to pedestrians via their mobile devices. Professor Joe Kearney, Department of Computer Science, and Jodie Plumert, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, discuss the bicycle and pedestrian simulator research at the Hank Virtual Environments Lab. Learn more by following the link below.[+]
On March 7 and 8, the texting and driving simulator was exhibited at the DMACC campus in West Des Moines. Over 50 people had the chance to drive the simulator and see the consequences of distracted driving.[+]
Dr. Tim Brown and Jacob Heiden visited Bettendorf Middle School on March 1 with the SaferSim traveling simulator. They presented 3 topical themes to the 8th grade science students: interpretation of graphs, effects of friction on the road, and distracted driving. The simulator allowed 145 students to visualize the science topics in a unique and engaging way. [+]
Jacob Heiden displayed the Texting and Driving Simulator at the Cedar Rapids STEM Festival on Tuesday, February 23. Over 800 individuals attended this event from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Attendees includes children from Pre-kindergarten to 12th grade and their families. 80 people drove the Texting and Driving Demo while many more gathered and watched the devastating consequences of distracted driving.[+]
SAFER-Sim was an exhibitor at Pearson's Health and Safety Fair on January 14, 2016. Pearson employees learned about the important work being done by SAFER-Sim in conjunction with the National Advanced Driving Simulator to further motor vehicle and driver safety. Over 100 employees viewed the exhibit. 30 individuals gained hands-on experience of the dangers of texting and driving through the use of the simulator.[+]
Kali Carroll was presented with the Outstanding Student of the Year award from SAFER-Sim during the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) awards banquet at TRB. Congratulations Kali!
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will give the keynote address at the CUTC Annual Awards Banquet, on Jan. 9, 2016, at the Marriott Marquis Washington, in the Nation’s Capital. The Center of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) recognizes the outstanding contributions and accomplishments of students, faculty and industry professionals in the field of transportation, education and research.[+]
Six high school teachers took part in a professional development workshop on curriculum was developed through a SAFER-Sim educational project. The teachers learned about the curriculum, collecting driving data from a portable driving simulator, and analyzing the data. The portable simulator is available to travel to schools for teachers who have completed the professional development. Students generate and analyze their own driving data.[+]
On November 23 - 24, SAFER-Sim and NADS researchers presented at the STEM Institute for Young Scientists. Dawn Marshall, Tim Brown, and Jacob Heiden gave presentations to 10 groups of local 7th grade students from Northwest Junior High, West Branch, and Iowa Valley. They described how the National Advanced Driving Simulator uses simulation to improve safety. They also collaborated with the students by brainstorming traffic safety hazards and ways simulation can solve them. A few students from each group drove the SAFER-Sim Texting and Driving Demo at the end of every presentation. This hands-on simulator experience displayed the dangers of texting and driving to the 12-13 year old students while also engaging them to explore a STEM career. The SAFER-Sim presentations reached approximately 150 students throughout the two days.[+]
Dawn Marshall attended the webinar Transportation Academy: Lessons from the Portland Traffic and Transportation Course on November 17, 2015. It presented findings from a case study about the NITC education project "Transportation Leadership Education" at Portland State University. The course offered a guide for communities to stimulate the development of a more involved, educated citizenry. [+]
SAFER-SIM Program Director Dawn Marshall spoke at the ASCE Transportation Conference in Ames, Iowa on November, 4th.
The University of Central Florida hosted the 3rd SAFER-Simposium on October 5 - 6, 2015 in Orlando, Florida. Students, faculty, and site directors from each SAFER-Sim consortium site attended this symposium. The approximately 70 attendees - 40 being students - collaborated at symposium events that included a networking dinner, a poster session, and presentations by transportation professionals. Individuals collaborated across engineering and social science fields to build relationships that will drive future improvements in road user safety. [+]
Dawn Marshall, SAFER-Sim Director, attended the 2015 National Occupational Injury Research Symposium that was held on May 19 - 21 in Kingwood, West Virginia. NOIRS is the only national forum focused on the presentation of occupational injury research findings, data, and methods. [+]
Mohamed Abdel-Aty was one of five UCF faculty members that were presented the 2015 Pegasus Professor Award. This award is the highest academic honor at the university.
The inaugural Safer Simposium was hosted by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on September 18-21. The 3 day meeting included:[+]
The UCF’s Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering have several opportunities taking them overseas. Dr. Abdel-Aty visited two universities in China, Beijing Jiao Tong (BJTU) and Tsinghua, on September 8-12. He visited both university's simulator labs and was invited to speak at Tsinghua University where he presented the Overview of the Current Practice and the Future of Traffic Safety Research. Beyond research and educational projects, the UCD and BJTU have an active MOU and other agreements.[+]
1. Delivered a presentation at the International Conference on Sustainable Urban Transportation Research and Innovation entitled: "Applications of Big Data in Traffic Safety and Operation"[+]
Madison Media Institute has been training individuals for careers in the media arts since 1969. One of the several programs offered is Game Art and Animation designed to give the skills, hands-on technical training, practical business skills and support to pursue a rewarding, creative career in the exciting digital animation field. The TOPS Lab has forged a synergistic relationship with Madison Media Institute to provide real world experience to their Game Art and Animation students. Currently, four students are working on various projects with at the UW Driving Simulator Lab. Two students are creating high resolution assets with low polygon count that do not adversely affect the simulator performance. Two other students are creating a driving engine that would enable UW to create our own portable driving simulator that can use the same scenario files that are used in the full scale driving simulator. These would enable us to provide a more realistic view of signing and pavement markings in the driving simulator while at the same time providing invaluable real-world experience to MMI students. This experience could also encourage MMI graduates to consider careers related to Transportation which they might not have otherwise done.[+]
ESPN shot footage of the Wisconsin driving simulator which was shown in a commercial break during the telecasting of the football game between Wisconsin and Northwestern in Fall 2013. It was shown on ABC.[+]
On Monday, November 4th, 2013, Dan McNichol visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus as part of his “Dire States” tour. The tour was focused on promoting ASCE’s Report card and the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure. Dan, an author and journalist by trade, has written extensively on civil engineering and infrastructure topics in the United States (see The Roads That Built America and The Big Dig, among others). Currently, however, he is focused on public speaking in order to create a dialog about infrastructure issues nationwide.[+]