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 The electronic version of Northwestern University Transportation Center's Progress Report for 2013 has been posted to the NUTC website. Check out descriptions of ongoing research projects at the Center, faculty and student highlights, our Business Advisory Council member companies and events, workshops and seminars, and plenty of pictures from the past 12 months. |
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NUTC is a contributing member of the Leveraging, Integrating, Networking, Coordinating Supplies (LINCS) in Supply Chain Management (SCM) consortium that was selected as a grant awardee for the Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program. Learn more.
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On October 29, Northwestern University Transportation Center Business Advisory Council member, Lee Clair, chaired the Center's The Fight for the Last Mile Industry Workshop which brought together faculty, students, and industry partners to discuss start-of-art technology, operational strategies, and forward-thinking ideas guiding the last mile challenge. Learn more.
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Research
A team consisting of NUTC and PB Americas, Inc. was selected to develop the next generation of integrated planning and forecasting tools for the Chicago Agency for Planning (CMAP), the main planning agency for the Chicago metropolitan area. The methodology consists of integrating two heretofore separate components: (1) an activity-based model (ABM) system for modeling individual and household travel and activity at a very high level of spatial and temporal resolution, and (2) a dynamic network microsimulator that propagates individual and vehicular traffic flows, including transit and non-motorized modes, on to the area’s multimodal transportation network to determine associated performance levels and identify potential problem spots. Learn more.
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Professor Joseph L. Schofer is leading the preparation of a strategic plan and agenda for the National Cooperative Rail Research Program (NCRRP), operated by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and funded by the Federal Railroad Administration. The program conducts research on policy, economic, and institutional issues of concern to passenger and freight rail stakeholders at the local, regional corridor and national levels. Learn more.
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In a project supported by Sears, a Business Advisory Council member company, Professor Diego Klabjan and graduate student Jie Yang are investigating potential solutions to the challenge facing all companies competing in the emerging same-day delivery market. Google and eBay are both testing same-day deliveries in the San Francisco Bay area; while Amazon, Sears, and Wal-Mart are conducting trial delivery programs in various regions. Established and new courier service providers including FedEx, Same Day, Shutl, and Deliv are looking for a way to profit from the retailers’ desire for rapid deliveries of purchased goods to the customer. Learn more.
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Reports have been published for 3 of NUTC Director Hani Mahmassani’s recent FHWA funded research projects:
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Professor Pablo Durango-Cohen with students Yikai Chen, Madison Fitzpatrick, and Yidan Luo has created a rigorous, flexible, and practical approach to the challenge of better estimating engine emissions. Working in partnership with, Business Advisory Council member,  Phillips, Durango-Cohen’s team began with insights about the nature, availability, and utility of existing industry data. Phillips provided the use of its own North American transportation data to assist Durango-Cohen’s group. Over the course of three years of work, the researchers developed a software tool that makes better use of the data being generated at the shipment level. The program produces reports on emissions that display detailed information previously unavailable through other methods of input and analysis. Learn more.
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News from the Business Advisory Council
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and World Business Chicago announced the creation of SINC (Supply-chain Innovation Network of Chicago). SINC calls on industry leaders to assist in increasing Chicago's competitive edge in supply chain management, transportation, and logistics. NUTC Business Advisory Council members are leading the way. Paul Fisher, vice chairman and former president and CEO of CenterPoint Properties Trust has been named chair of the board. Other board members include Doug Waggoner, CEO of Echo Global Logistics Inc.; Paul Nowicki, assistant vice president for government and public policy at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Corp.; and Ann Drake, chairman and CEO of DSC Logistics Inc.
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 The leading edge in the trucking industry is being defined by two of NUTC's Business Advisory Council member companies, Coyote Logistics and Echo Global Logistics. Read this article in the Chicago Tribune featuring Coyote CEO Jeff Silver and Echo Global CEO Doug Waggoner. |
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Congratulations to Echo Global Logistics, a member of NUTC's Business Advisory Council and a research partner to the Center, on its selection by Forbes as one of America's Best 100 Small Companies --in 36th position.
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Andrew Fox, President of Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad, was appointed to a Blue Ribbon Panel to plan the next generation of transportation infrastructure in Indiana by Governor Mike Pence. Learn more.
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Of Interest
NUTC hosted Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Secretary Ann Schneider and Bola Delano, IDOT Deputy Director for Planning and Programming, at Northwestern in September. Learn more.
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In partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (MOHA) and the Rajawali Foundation, NUTC developed and led a seven-day intensive, executive education course, Transportation Policy Development, Planning and Management (TPDPM) in Jakarta, Indonesia for Indonesian government officials. Learn more.
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Professor Karen Smilowitz is offering a new course for the Winter 2014 quarter: IEMS 490: Special topics: Operations Research Modeling in Humanitarian and Non-Profit Logistics. From the syllabus, “This course will cover a range of topics related to the modeling of logistics problems in humanitarian and non-profit settings. The course will examine issues from both an academic and practitioner perspective, with guest speakers and an exploration of the academic and practitioner literature.†Scheduled guest speakers include Jim McGowan, Manager of Operations Analysis and Disaster Dispatch at Greater Chicago Region Red Cross; Prof. Sarang Deo, Indian School of Business; and Dr. George Chiampas, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine (Feinberg) and Medical Director, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and Shamrock Shuffle. More information on Professor Smilowitz’s work in Humanitarian and Non-Profit Logistics is available here.
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Can High School Students Design a New Airport? With NUTC Students' Help, the Task may be Attainable. Current and former NUTC students worked closely with the Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) Greater Chicago Chapter and the Chicago Department of Aviation to host a day-long Transportation YOU outreach event at O’Hare International Airport. Thirty-six students from Evanston Township High School and Michele Clark High School participated. Transportation YOU is a nation-wide, hands-on WTS program to encourage and introduce young girls ages 13-18 to transportation careers. Learn more.
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In the Media
NUTC faculty member Ian P. Savage comments on transportation safety in the latest Freakonomics Radio podcast, "The Most Dangerous Machine."
NUTC Director Hani Mahmassani discusses the trends that are driving the growth of planned and unplanned data resources in the travel and transportation industry in a podcast interview with Ron Powell on the Business Intelligence (B-eye) Network.
NUTC Director Hani Mahmassani was interviewed for Inside Science regarding recent research on fluid dynamics and traffic jams. Learn more.
The Travel Market Report quoted NUTC faculty member Professor Anne Coughlan regarding issues facing The International Air Transport Association. Learn More.
NUTC faculty member Professor Robert Gordon was interviewed for Reuter’s, “Can America innovate its way to growth?†Learn more.
NUTC faculty member Professor Joseph Schofer’s input was requested by radio station KRCC (an NPR affiliate) in its story, “Chicago’s Privatized Parking Meters Sour Airport Lease Dealâ€.
NUTC faculty member Professor Joseph Schofer hosts The Infrastructure Show, a monthly podcast about the nation’s infrastructure. Recent episodes include discussion of the east span replacement of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the funding of transportation infrastructure.
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Honors and Awards
Faculty:
 NUTC Faculty Member Joseph Schofer has been named the recipient of the 2014 Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lectureship Award. Professor Joseph Schofer will give the 2014 Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lecture at the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on Monday, January 13. Professor Schofer's presentation topic will be “Moving the Goods: Performance Measures and the Value Proposition for Transportation Projects." Learn more. |
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 Professor Aaron Gellman has been selected to receive the 2014 Francis X. McKelvey Award from the TRB Aviation Group. He will receive the Award at the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC at Aviation Group's Executive Board meeting. Learn more. |
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Professor Ian Savage was chosen to present the 2013 Leon N. Moses Distinguished Lecture in Transportation. His presentation, “The Economics of Transportation Safetyâ€, is now available at the NUTC website.
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Professor Irina Dolinskaya was interviewed by Jason Learning as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) role model. Over 500 students participated in the live, interactive webinar. This series of webinars introduces younger students to STEM professionals “to inspire and educate kids everywhere through real science and exploration.â€
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 In November, NUTC hosted 15 international supply chain managers as part of Chalmers University's Professional Supply Chain Management program. During the 4 day session, Ola Hultkrantz (Division of Logistics and Transportation) honored Kellogg School of Management Professor, Sunil Chopra, with a Lecturer of the Year Award. |
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Congratulations to Professor David Boyce on 50 consecutive years of loyal attendance and service -- Professor Boyce, NUTC faculty and Emeritus Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois in Chicago, was recognized by the North American Regional Science Council through a plaque presentation at the recent (60th) Annual Meeting of the Regional Science Association. Learn more.
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Students:
Weizeng Zhang, Charlotte Frei, and Joseph Warfel were awarded NUTC Dissertation Year Fellowships for the academic year 2013-2014.
Charlotte Frei
PhD Candidate in Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dissertation Year Topic: Travel, Communication and Activity Behavior: Improving the Customer Experience and Service Allocation
Faculty Advisor: Hani Mahmassani
Joseph Warfel
PhD Candidate in Industrial Engineering & Management Science;
Dissertation Topic: Operations Management of Retail Donation Programs
Faculty Advisors: Karen Smilowitz & Seyed M.R. Iravani
Weizeng Zhang
PhD Candidate in Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dissertation Year Topic: Segmentation Modeling: Applications of Finite Mixture Regression Models to Management of Transportation Infrastructure
Faculty Advisor: Pablo Durango-Cohen
Jiwon Kim, PhD Candidate in Civil & Environmental Engineering, received the Best Poster Award (in Transportation Systems) at the 2nd International Transportation PhD Student Symposium at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL.
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Upcoming Events
NUTC Annual TRB Reception and Alumni Reunion, January 12, 2014 at 8:00 PM in the Diplomat Room of the Omni Shoreham Hotel (2500 Calvert St., Washington, D.C.).
Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2014. NUTC faculty and graduate students will share research results in 36 workshops & sessions.
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A memorial service and symposium to honor Leon N. Moses, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Northwestern University and former Director of the Transportation Center will be held on February 7, 2014. The symposium begins at 9:00 AM in the Ruan  Conference Center at NUTC. The memorial service begins at 12:00 PM in the Jeanne Vail Chapel (smaller chapel of the Alice Millar Chapel complex). The memorial will also honor Rae Moses who passed away earlier in 2013. Lunch reception to be held afterwards in the Guild Lounge in Scott Hall.
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2014 marks the 60th anniversary of The Northwestern University Transportation Center. Stay tuned for special programs and events as we commemorate and celebrate.
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If you’d like to share information in our newsletter, please send news to r-weaver-gill@northwestern.edu.
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