Welcome to the summer issue of our newsletters. It’s a privilege as the Director of the Nebraska Transportation Center (NTC) to share with you some of the work accomplished by our affiliated faculty, students, and centers. None of the research and outreach work is possible without the support of our sponsors – the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). We are grateful for the annual research support from NDOT and for the renewal of our Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC), a Regional University Transportation Center funded by the USDOT.
This newsletter’s research section highlights the expertise and work of NTC-affiliated faculty in the area of bridge engineering. The array of work in this area is quite impressive. Dr. Maguire evaluated the use of high early-strength materials in concrete bridge repair. Dr. Kim used sheet piling for load-bearing and backfill retaining for short-span or low-traffic volume road bridges. Dr. Steelman investigated the effect of truck platooning on girder bridges. Lastly, Dr. Constantinescu from the University of Iowa developed measures to protect against erosion at bridge abutments.
This newsletter’s other highlights include activities undertaken by Dr. Hawkins to grow his research network, the accomplishments of Khalid Al-Kady who earned the MATC Student of the Year award, the annual MATC HBCU Scholars Program, and the annual Summer Academy for Native Students.
With support from the Rural Railroad Safety Center led by Kansas State University and funded by the Federal Railroad Administration, NTC will conduct outreach activities in the coming academic year to introduce K-12 students to the railroad transportation mode through the lens of STEM concepts. Additionally, our center will partner with Michigan Technological University to host the “Tracks to the Future” program at UNL in June of 2024. We look forward to hosting a cohort of up to 20 high school students to travel to UNL and engage with faculty and practitioners to learn about railway engineering and rail transport systems.
Nathan Huynh
NTC Director