Visual Analytics, Modeling, and Simulation (VAMS) Group

 

Dr. Ronald Hughes   Director, VAMS
Ron Hughes is a senior research psychologist and VAMS Program Director. He is the principal investigator for ITRE’s Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) research area, as well as the PI for research involving the application of microscopic simulation and visualization to pedestrians and roundabouts. His 35-year career in applied research spans efforts in the area of military/defense, aerospace, and transportation. More» 
                                                          

Greg Ferrara   VAMS Program Manager
Greg Ferrara serves as the VAMS Program Manager at ITRE. His work experience includes GIS design and implementation, project management, high-end cartographic production, geospatial modeling and analysis, coordination and management of GIS activities, outreach, and GIS training. Mr. Ferrara holds a B.A. in Visual Communications and an M.A. in Geography from the University of South Florida. More»

                                                                
John Oklevitch, Jr.   AASl; Research Associate — Pavement Management Systems
John Oklevitch, Jr., travels statewide conducting pavement condition evaluations and collecting inventory data used to develop pavement management systems for various North Carolina municipalities. He prepares a highly detailed and informative reports that enables municipalities to save time and money by prioritizing their routine maintenance and resurfacing efforts. John's many years of construction inspection experience provides him an excellent understanding of the commonly used pavement maintenance and repair techniques. John has conducted numerous GIS-based pavement condition surveys that involve linking the pavement survey data to the municipalities centerline file using a customized software application. More» 


Jeremy Scott   Research Associate
Jeremy Scott is a Research Associate for the VAMS group. He obtained is Masters of Mathematics and a Graduate Minor in GIS at North Carolina State University in the fall of 2006. Jeremy has been refining GIS tools to analyze different data sets from a spatial perspective. This has been especially useful in aiding the North State Highway Patrol in increasing their effectiveness with respect to a reduction in fatal and severe truck crashes. Jeremy also works with the OR/Ed. Lab. In this capacity he has been intimately involved with assisting Wake County Public Schools in their push to eliminate overcrowding through the use of a mathematical model that disaggregates a system-wide student population. More»

Dwayne Tharpe   Technology Support Analyst
Dwayne Tharpe serves as the primary Computer Programmer and Web Applications Developer for the VAMS section. His work experience includes four (4) years as a Highway Construction Inspector, four (4) years in the NCDOT GIS Sections, four (4) years in the NCDOT Traffic Safety Section as a Programmer, Crash Analyst and Technical Trainer, seven (7) years as a Programmer, Web Developer and Researcher with UNC Highway Safety Research Center, and the past two (2) years a Programmer at ITRE. More»


Chris Vaughn    Engineering Technician
Chris Vaughn is an Engineering Technician for the Visual Analytics, Modeling, and Simulation group at ITRE. He graduated in December 2007 from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Chris has been involved in multiple Pavement Management projects since May 2004 mainly doing data collection in various municipalities. He is also the primary contact for GIS technical work for various NCSHP projects. Chris’s GIS work includes truck crash geo-coding, geospatial database layer creation and Google Earth integration. More»