CTE Student of the Year

Each year, the Center for Transportation and the Environment recognizes a graduate student within its Graduate Research Fellowship Program or Research Program whose academic work exemplifies outstanding research and leadership qualities in the transportation/environmental field. This award is given at each of the University Transportation Centers (UTC) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

The award honors the most outstanding student's achievements and promise for future contributions to the transportation field. Student-of-the-Year award recipients are recognized at the annual USDOT UTC Awards Banquet, conducted in concert with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The recipient receives $1,000 plus registration and expenses for the TRB annual meeting.

Daniel Findley

CTE selected Daniel Findley as the recipient of its Student of the Year award for 2008.  He was recognized at the annual awards banquet for the Council for University Transportation Centers (CUTC) held January 2009 in Washington, DC.

Findley, a PhD candidate in civil engineering at North Carolina State University, has research interests that include the economic impacts of transportation, safety, and the implementation of innovative solutions to transportation issues.  His current research focuses on the economic impacts of access management; the primary goal being to complete a before and after study of the installation of access management techniques using business data.

Findley recently completed his master’s degree in civil engineering at NC State University. His thesis, Economic Impact of Publicly-Owned General Aviation Airports in North Carolina, applied a methodology for calculating the county-level economic impacts of general aviation airports that serve private business and personal aircraft. The research also examined the relationship between the economic impact and various parameters of the airport and the local county economy and included land use and other types of environmental impacts. The results of the analysis of these aspects provided information for decision makers who have the difficult task of awarding grants for airport projects.

In addition to his research, Findley is an instructor in the Fundamental Engineering Principles program and the Highway Engineering Concepts course at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE).   He has also been involved in some NCDOT training for level of service and economic impact software and has presented at several conferences.

Findley has also been the recipient of the Roy D. Williams Memorial Scholarship/NCSITE, the SASHTO/Department of Transportation Scholarship, and the Transportation Founder's Fund Scholarship.  He is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering honor society.

Liza Runey

In December 2005, CTE awarded Liza Runey the University Transportation Center Student of the Year honor.

Runey was honored in January at the USDOT's 15th Annual Outstanding Student of the Year Awards dinner during the Transportation Research Board's yearly meeting in Washington, D.C. Each student received a certificate from the USDOT. "It's an honor and a privilege to represent CTE and NCSU as a transportation student," said Runey. She added, "Awards such as the UTC have strengthened my drive to excel in the transportation field."

After joining North Carolina State University's Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) in 2004 as an intern working on the Triangle Regional Model, Runey assisted with the development of this N.C. travel demand model and became ITRE's resident expert on coding and managing transit networks. Runey also took the initiative to spearhead enhancement of the transportation model. She evaluated employee and passenger survey data collected at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and developed a submodel to represent this special travel market.

Runey, a Charleston native, earned her B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from NCSU in May 2004. As an undergraduate, she made the dean's list every semester. Runey will complete her master's degree in transportation planning at NCSU in the spring. Her thesis continues her research involving the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and will enhance the Triangle Regional Model. "I look forward to a career in transportation planning and as an active member of organizations such as CTE and the Institute of Transportation Engineers," said Runey.

Her previous awards include American Public Works Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Highway Engineers, NCSU Civil Engineering Department, Erlanger Prestige and Institute of Traffic Engineers scholarships. Runey also received the Transportation Founders Fund N.C. Research Fellowship, the Chi Epsilon National Civil Engineering Honor and membership in the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

Bastian Jonathan Schroeder

CTE is pleased to recognize Bastian Jonathan Schroeder as the center's 2004 Student of the Year.

Mr. Schroeder is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in civil engineering at North Carolina State University. His research addresses the simulation modeling of vehicles and pedestrians at roundabouts, with special emphasis on visually impaired pedestrians. Mr. Schroeder was selected as CTE Student of the Year not only for his exceptional academic achievements, but also for his excellence in research, which is underscored by a commitment to multimodal and sustainable transportation as evidenced by his work on traffic impacts of neotraditional neighbourhoods.

Schroeder has demonstrated a capacity for leadership that is exemplary for a student of his experience. He was valedictorian of NC State University's Class of 2004, where he achieved a 4.0 grade point average and received two degrees in Civil Engineering (Transportation) as well as Multidisciplinary Studies. He is currently serving as president of the student chapter of the North Carolina Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and works proactively with fellow students to promote the field of transportation engineering. He is a past recipient of NCSITE's C.R. Bramer Endowed Scholarship, and was also a Benjamin Franklin Scholar throughout the course of his undergraduate work. Mr. Schroeder is fluent in English, German, and French.

For more information, please contact James Martin, CTE associate director.