2018 News

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FMRI Graduates First Student December 14, 2018, FAU Boca Raton Campus FAU FMRI graduate research assistant, Anastasios Charisis, graduated fall 2018 with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Charisis's research focused on network modeling and mathematical optimization for urban and maritime logistics, and he worked on multiple projects with the Florida Department of Transportation. Charisis published three papers titled "Multiobjective Location-Allocation Model for Urban Logistics Delivery Facilities," "Containership Routing and Scheduling Model with Multiple Time Windows," and "Container Shipping Route and Schedule Design with Port Time Windows and Coordinated Arrivals."
FMRI Participates in Florida Automated Vehicles Summit November 27 - 28, 2018, Tampa, FL FAU FMRI and partner University of Florida participated in the Florida Automated Vehicles Summit, a two-day conference to address technologies, operations, and policy issues. The mission of the conference is to gain insight into what Florida is doing to create the ideal climate for the implementation and deployment of autonomous and connected vehicle technologies.
FMRI Advisory Board Member Receives 2018 Leadership & Innovation Award November 27 - 28, 2018, Tampa, FL Beth R. Kigel, FMRI Advisory Board Member and President and CEO of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce and Commissioner of the Florida Transportation Commission, received the 2018 Leadership & Innovation Award at the Florida Automated Vehicle Summit in Tampa, Florida for her 25 years of public service. "It is our honor to present Beth with the 2018 FAV Summit Leadership and Innovation Award," said Florida Senator Jeff Brandes. "Beth's devotion to the State of Florida and her community is unmatched. Her career of public service and her dedication for finding new and innovative transportation solutions makes her the perfect recipient of this award."
FMRI Welcomes Guest Speaker from CIT Shipping November 8, 2018, Boca Raton, FL Pantelis Peter G. Los, director of CTT Shipping, gave a guest lecture on freight operations to the FAU graduate Maritime Freight Operations class taught by Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI Director. Mr. Los spoke on the necessary procedures for shipping operations, and strategies and risks that are related to maritime freight protocols. The lecture was followed by a question and answer session with the students.
FMRI Members Participate in 21st IEEE ITS Conference November 4 - 7, 2018, Maui, HI FMRI members, Drs. Evangelos Kaisar, Mihalis Golias, Miguel Figliozzi, and Sabya Mishra participated in the 21st IEEE ITS Conference in Maui, Hawaii. The international conference themed Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC) welcomed papers and presentations, including new developments in theory, analysis, simulation and modeling, experimentation, demonstrations, case studies, field operational tests, and deployments. The FMRI members and their students presented their research work related to the center's projects and attended numerous sessions within the conference. In addition, the members attended meetings regarding their future work and possible collaborations with representatives from academia, the community, and industry.
FMRI Co-sponsors Workshop at 21st IEEE ITS Conference November 4 - 7, 2018, Maui, HI Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI Director, and Dr. Petros Ioannou, Professor, University of Southern California co-sponsored the workshop titled, “Smart Freight Mobility, Current Applications, and Guidelines for Future Development” at the 21st IEEE ITS Conference held in Maui, Hawaii. The presentations covered a wide range of freight transportation topics for current and future conditions and proposed significant innovations and solutions. The presentations focused on the use of drones, last mile solutions, marine operations, and freight congestion. Representatives from around the world participated in the workshop and FMRI graduate student, Stavroula Manta, presented her research work on freight and transit signal priority strategies.
FAU FMRI Students from New Maritime Freight Operations Course Visit Port Everglades November 1, 2018, Fort Lauderdale, FL Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director of FMRI, and his students visited Port Everglades to discuss port operations and logistics. Representatives of the Port Authority gave a tour, and provided the history, and information about the operations and management of the port to students from the new FAU course titled, "Maritime Freight Operations," taught by Dr. Kaisar.
FMRI FAU ITE Student Chapter Visits Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University October 26, 2018, Daytona Beach, FL FAU ITE student chapter members visited Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach for a meeting with the ERAU ITE student chapter to discuss technology transfer, research presentations, ITE topics, and possible future collaborations. Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI director, and FAU ITE advisor, Stavroula Manta, FAU ITE president, and four FAU ITE student members met with Dr. Scott Parr, ERAU ITE advisor, and the ERAU organization’s president, Emily Jannace. Parr gave a tour of the campus and lab to the FAU ITE members.
FMRI Student Wins Award at 6th Annual UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region October 25, 2018, Clemson, SC FMRI graduate student, Stavroula Manta won third place in the poster showcase at the 6th annual UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region, held at Clemson University with her poster titled, “Implementation of Freight Signal Priority Strategies for Improving Freight Operations."
FMRI Partners Participate in 6th Annual UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region October 24 - 25, 2018, Clemson, SC FAU FMRI and partner institution, University of Memphis co-sponsored the 6th Annual UTC Conference for the Southeastern Region. Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI Director, Heather Thompson, FMRI Research Coordinator, and FMRI researchers attended the conference held at Clemson University in South Carolina. The research team participated in the poster showcase with four posters, titled “Vessel Scheduling Considering Multiple Time Windows and Berth Constrained Split Deliveries”, “Implementation of Freight Signal Priority Strategies for Improving Freight Operations”, “An Optimization Model for Evaluating the Economic Competitiveness of Short Sea Shipping,” and “Disaggregate Market Penetration Model for Freight Transportation Organizations Adopted Connecting Autonomous Vehicle Technology.” FMRI graduate student, Anastasios Charisis presented his research titled “Multi-objective Optimization Model for Locating Logistics Delivery Facilities in Urban Areas.” Kaisar attended meetings with representatives from other universities regarding current and future projects, and possible collaborations.
FMRI Director Guest Speaker at FIU WTS Student Chapter Seminar October 19, 2018, Miami, FL Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director, FMRI gave a guest lecture at the Florida International University Women in Transportation (WTS) Seminar Series. Kaisar spoke on “Proactive Planning for Catastrophic Events in Supply Chain." After the event, Kaisar met with Miami-Dade Transit Lehman Center representatives to discuss current and future collaborations.
FMRI Director Tours Skanetrafiken Public Transit Authority September 21, 2018, Malmo, Sweden Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director, FMRI, visited the Skanetrafiken Public Transit Authority in Malmo, Sweden. During his visit, he toured the city and learned about the Swedish transit system, and its connection to Denmark. The popular Skanetrafiken train and bus services connect both urban and rural areas efficiently and effectively, while providing an environmentally friendly alternative to driving. All transit systems run on fossil-free fuel, saving the environment, reducing noise and air pollution, and improving human health.
FMRI Graduate Research Assistant Participates in FAU Research Showcase September 21, 2018, Boca Raton, FL FMRI graduate research assistant, Anastasios Charisis participated in the FAU Research Showcase, presenting his research titled, "Multiobjective Optimization Model for Establishing Logistics Facilities in Urban Congested Areas."
FMRI Director Attends ITS World Congress Conference September 17 - 21, 2018, Copenhagen, Denmark Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director of FMRI, attended the ITS World Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark and presented a paper related to transit signal priority. At the event, Beth Kigel, FMRI Advisory Board Member, President and CEO of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce and Commissioner of the Florida Transportation Commission, accepted on behalf of the Florida Department of Transportation an award for the TSM&O Program. The ITS World Congress conference is an annual event where attendees discuss future initiatives, and exhibit and demonstrate state-of-the-art ITS solutions.
FMRI Representative Attends First-Last Mile Panel Discussion September 6, 2018, Miami, FL Heather Thompson, FMRI research coordinator, attended a panel discussion titled, "Addressing the First-Last Mile: How to Get There" in Miami, Florida. The discussion revolved around creating more modes of transportation in the city to help ease congestion, and create safe options for local travel that included the creation of a smart transit system that operates by phone to communicate the needs of local routes, and a bike/scooter share program that will be rolled out to residents and visitors in the coming months by Miami District 2.
FMRI Director Attends the 7th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation September 5 - 7, 2018, Athens, Greece Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director, FMRI attended the 7th Symposium of the European Association for Research in Transportation (hEART) in Athens, Greece. The Symposium was co-organized by Dr. Constantinos Antoniou, Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering TUM Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering Technical University of Munich. hEART is an interdisciplinary research conference, covering all areas of transportation and freight research, with a focus on quantitative methods and analysis of transport systems. The mission of the conference is to connect researchers in transport modeling, transport economics and transport policy with advanced practices.
FMRI Director Visits National Technical University of Athens September 4, 2018, Athens, Greece Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI director, visited the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in Athens, Greece. He presented current projects and future plans of the FMRI and attended meetings with professors from the civil and survey engineering departments of NTUA regarding possible research collaborations and educational activities.
FMRI Partner Institution Hosts Summer Eureka Program July 19, 2018, Minneapolis, MN The Minnesota Traffic Observatory (MTO) at the University of Minnesota hosted two groups of 9th grade students from the College of Science of Engineering's Summer Eureka program. Gordon Parikh, MTO Engineer, introduced the students to general surface transportation and freight safety. Dr. John Hourdos, FMRI's Director of Research, introduced the students to microscopic traffic simulation. The Eureka program is a five-year summer, and school year program for girls focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that explors career interests while supporting the students through high school graduation to prepare them for the next steps in their post-secondary education.
FMRI Representatives Teach Summer Transportation Camps for Local Middle School Students June 25 - 29 and July 9-13, 2018, Boca Raton, FL Drs. Ramesh Teegavarapu and Sudhaga Nagarajan, from the FAU Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering, and FMRI teaching assistants, Stavroula Manta, Anusha Chowdhury, and Anastasios Charisis, taught more than twenty middle school students about the field of transportation with fun hands on projects that included debates, quizzes, and transportation-related cards games. The camp covered ArcGIS based spatial analysis, VISSIM based intersection simulations, the basics of transportation engineering, freight operations, logistics, connected and automated vehicles, and traffic count observations.
FAU Transportation Students Tour the Port of Palm Beach June 21, 2018, Riviera Beach, FL FAU transportation students toured the Port of Palm Beach with Heather Thompson, FMRI research coordinator, and Carl Baker, Director of Planning and Development, Port of Palm Beach. The tour included the history of the port, an exploration of Tropical Shipping, Florida Sugar & Molasses Exchange, and the cruise ship docking areas.
FMRI Presents Research at the Fifth Biennial Marine Transportation System Research and Development Conference June 19 - 21, 2018, Washington, DC Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director, FMRI and Anastasios Charisis, graduate research assistant, FMRI attended the Fifth Biennial Marine Transportation System Research and Development Conference. The theme of the conference was "Transforming the Marine Transportation System through Multimodal Freight Analytics." Kaisar and Charisis presented their research titled, "Short Sea Shipping vs. Trucking: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Using Mathematical Modeling." Charisis also presented his research titled, "Containership Routing and Scheduling with Multiple Time Windows."
FAU Students Tour the Lehigh Cement Facility June 11, 2018, Port Everglades, FL FAU students toured the Lehigh Cement Facility at Port Everglades with Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI Director, and the FMRI's Research Coordinator. Jorge Armenteros, Vice President of Cement Sales Florida, spoke to the students about logistics, safety, job prospects, market share, and the Florida industry.
FMRI Partner Institutions Meet at the University of Minnesota June 6, 2018, Minneapolis, MN Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI Director, and Heather Thompson, FMRI Research Coordinator, met with Dr. John Hourdos, FMRI Associate Director of Research and Research Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, while attending the CUTC annual summer meeting. Teams from each partner institution discussed future opportunities and projects related to the Minnesota Traffic Observatory.
FMRI Researchers Attend 2018 CUTC Annual Summer Meeting June 4 - 6, 2018, Minneapolis, MN Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, Director, FMRI, and Heather Thompson, Research Coordinator, FMRI attended the 2018 CUTC Annual Summer Meeting. The meeting was attended by transportation professionals from academia, industry, and transportation agencies to discuss the future of transportation efforts. The three-day event featured keynote speakers, panels, brainstorming ideas, roundtable discussions, guided tours, and key information for transportation centers to continue their progress for economic competitiveness. The Center for Transportation is the hub for transportation research and education at the University of Minnesota, an FMRI partner.
FMRI Hosts Advisory Committee Meeting April 18, 2018, FAU Davie Campus, FL FMRI hosted the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization's Freight Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting at FAU's Davie campus. During the meeting, Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, FMRI Director, discussed the institute's research activities, current and future projects, and potential collaborations
FMRI Hosts Advisory Committee Meeting April 16, 2018, Port of Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, FL FAU's Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions hosted an Automation in Transportation event with support from the FMRI. Presentations were given by Dr. Louis Merlin of FAU, Dr. Steve Lockwood of Steve Lockwood, LLC, and special guest, Dr. Tim Schwanen of the University of Oxford. A guided bus tour took guests through the Port of Palm Beach where they were able to view the port in action, as well as take a walking tour through the Florida Sugar & Molasses Exchange facility.
FMRI Hosts Advisory Committee Meeting March 30 - 31, 2018, Boca Raton, FL FMRI held its annual meeting with the institute partners. Presentations regarding the progress of the institute’s activities and research projects were reviewed, as well as next steps required to improve the institute’s performance in addressing critical issues in U.S.’s freight transport systems.
FMRI visited by Dr. Skabardonis from University of California, Berkeley March 29, 2018, Boca Raton, FL The FMRI researchers had a privilege to meet with Professor Alexander Skabardonis, the world-known expert in a field of traffic engineering, traffic control systems, traffic management, transportation and the environment from University of California, Berkeley. The young researchers had the opportunity to discuss about their current and future FMRI projects, hear more about work of Dr. Skabardonis and explore potential collaboration in the future.
FMRI visited by the FAU High School March 14, 2018, Boca Raton, FL Students from the FAU High School visited the FMRI's Transportation Laboratory at Florida Atlantic University. The FMRI research team guided a tour to the state-of-the-art facilities and talked about research activities. The FMRI Director, Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, provided information to the students regarding Transportation Engineering and the prospects of pursuing a career in this field.
FMRI graduate student in the 26th annual Eno Future Leaders Development Conference March 2, 2018, Memphis, TN FMRI's graduate student at FMRI at the University of Memphis was selected by the Board of Regents of the Eno Center for Transportation to participate in the 26th Annual Eno Future Leaders Development Conference in Washington, DC on May 20th – 25th, 2018. He holds degrees from the University of Tennessee, the University of Memphis, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sam's research interests center around the planning and design of sustainable and resilient intermodal transportation systems, and the ethical considerations of distributing connective resources throughout communities. Each year, the Eno Future Leaders Development Conference (LDC) gives 20 of the nation’s top graduate students in transportation a first-hand look at how national transportation policies are developed. Students selected as “Eno Fellows” go to Washington, DC for a week in the spring for meetings with federal officials and leaders of business and non-profit organizations.
FMRI Research Associates visited the FAU High School January 29, 2018, Boca Raton, FL FMRI Research Associates Bratislav Ostojic and MD Sultan Ali visited the Florida Atlantic University High School for a guest talk. They presented their research work related to Transportation Engineering and had the chance to engage with students and answer questions about the opportunities arising in the transportation sector.
FAU Director attended the Freight Transportation Advisory Committee January 17, 2018, Fort Lauderdale, FL The FMRI Director, Dr. Evangelos Kaisar, participated in the Freight Transportation Advisory Committee of the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. Dr. Kaisar presented on new research conducted by FMRI related to improving freight mobility.
FMRI meeting in the TRB 97th TRB Annual Meeting January 8, 2018, Washington, DC The FMRI director, Dr. Evangelos I. Kaisar, had a meeting with all partners and advisory board of the Freight Mobility Research Institute. The meeting was held during the 97th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. The subject was the progress of the Institute of its first year, the projects of 2017, and the future projects for 2018.
FMRI at the 97th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting January 6 - 11, 2018, Washington, DC FMRI participated in the 97th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, where transportation professionals and practitioners from all over the world convene in Washington, DC. The center hosted its first ever reception with professionals from academia, industry, and students, who had the opportunity for networking and exchange information about activities and projects. The FMRI staff represented the center at the TRB by participating in committee meetings, lecture sessions, poster presentations, and paper publications.