The Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) partners with Lincoln-Omaha-Council Bluffs Association of Transportation Engineers (LOCATE) every year for a meet and greet between its members' organizations and transportation engineering students. This was one of our best turn outs with the booths staying busy for the duration of the meet and greet. Open to graduate and undergraduate students, many NTC participants were present to speak to companies and organizations that conduct research and business with similar interests. Word continued to spread beyond NTC to all transportation related classes at UNL, with the result a large attendance of interested students.
The meet and greet was comprised of companies, including MATC, at tables in Whittier that showcased their production in research and outreach, and their influence in the community in general. Overall there were 10 Nebraska organizations, plus the Iowa Department of Transportation. Many of the companies participate as sponsor organizations during the MATC intern program, and some students that would be later be part of the 2019 summer program first met their sponsors at this event.
LOCATE encompasses the counties of Washington, Douglas, Dodge, Sarpy, Cass, Saunders, and Lancaster in Nebraska and Mills and Pottawattamie in Iowa. It is made up of professionals in the public and private sector that specialize in transportation related fields. The organization, established in 2005, is dedicated to professional development and connection within the member group, but also take participation in outreach with academia and the safe driving campaign.
After the meet and greet students were invited to attend the LOCATE annual meeting on site. At the meeting, Steve Ingracia from the Nebraska Department of Transportation presented on a variety of topics concerning LOCATE, including INFRA Grant Application, Electric Vehicle Accommodation, and Recent Flooding. It gave the students a chance to get an inside picture on LOCATE as a transportation research and information organization they may take part of in their future.
