Fall '07/Winter '08: Recognition: Research Grants

Rensselaer researchers have won a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to alleviate daytime traffic congestion and boost economic growth in New York City. When fully deployed, the program — the first of its kind in the world — is expected to reduce daytime truck deliveries in Manhattan by up to 20 percent in certain industry segments. Leading the two-year project are Jose Holguín-Veras, a world-renowned expert in freight transportation systems and professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and network modeling expert Satish Ukkusuri, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America has given an award for innovation to the Capital District Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS. Developed to tackle traffic congestion, ATIS is the largest and most successful field experiment using vehicles as probes and providing real-time updates to travelers. The project was led by William “Al” Wallace ’61, director of the Rensselaer Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Studies (CITS) and professor of decision sciences and engineering systems.

On a separate note, Wallace has also received a three-year, $299,578 National Science Foundation Human and Social Dynamics grant. The grant will be used to study the organizational culture of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Coast Guard and develop a dynamic model of organizational processes.

A team of researchers led by Ravi Kane, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, has received a four-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study improved methods for biological separations. The group plans to develop nanoscale surfaces that actively reassemble in the presence of DNA, which could eventually lead to more efficient separation tools for genomics and proteomics.

Debbie Kaminski, a professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering will lead a team from Rensselaer to work on science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM) curricula and pedagogy in local Capital District high schools. Their work is supported by a $2.9M/5 year NSF Graduate Teaching Fellow (GK12) Program Grant.
Professor Kaminski will be joined by Diana Borca-Tasciuc, an assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, Luciano Castillo, an associate professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering and Timothy Wei, professor and department head of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering on this important project.