Visit with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

RailTEC students with Illinois faculty and staff pose beside distinguished guests including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski, and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.

Over 150 people attended the fireside chat on Monday 31 July 2023 with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill, and U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, at the Newmark Civil Engineering Building on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. The government officials also spoke in Savoy, where they officially announced $22.6 million in federal funds for a project to eliminate the railroad crossing at Curtis Road and U.S. 45, and in East St. Louis on the same day.

Despite the fact the officials were on a tightly orchestrated schedule, they spent a few minutes looking at research posters and talking to PI’s from CEE’s transportation centers.

To read the News-Gazette article click here.

To read the Grainger College of Engineering article click here.

 

 

Tracks to the Future Summer Camp

Nearly 100 high school students across the U.S. had an exciting opportunity to learn about rail in a Summer 2023 program titled “Tracks to the Future: Railroad Transportation and Engineering”. The program, which began in 2012 with Michigan Technological University’s (MTU) Rail Transportation Program, has since grown to include sessions at the following universities: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Penn State Altoona, University of South Carolina, California State University-Fresno and the University of Mexico.

Thanks to funds from the Federal Railroad Administration, which included all program materials plus lodging and meals for the on-site portion, RailTEC hosted 21 students originating from Illinois, Missouri, New York, Tennessee, and Washington. Through virtual sessions, hands-on activities, and field visits to railroad facilities, students learned what forms modern railroad track, explored railway equipment from around the globe, and analyzed the latest operations, communication and control systems. They also learned how rail compares with other modes and leads the charge in reducing transportation greenhouse gas emissions.

This hybrid program featured a two-day at-home virtual portion with a two-day visit at one of the six partnering campuses. The 2023 program included two sessions. The first took place 19-23 June at MTU, University of South Carolina and California State University-Fresno; the second session took place 17-21 July at the University of New Mexico, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Penn State-Altoona.

2023 RREC Exhibitor/Sponsor Registration Open

The Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC) enables rail industry employees to meet with peers throughout the railroad environmental community to exchange views, learn about new techniques and technologies, and generally stay in touch with the direction of the railroad industry’s environmental programs. The conference has seen significant growth since the first event in 1999 that had 150 attendees. Join us as we celebrate the 25th annual conference, which will be held again at the iHotel Illinois Conference Center on Tuesday and Wednesday 14-15 November 2023. Registration is now open for Exhibitors and Sponsors. 

Exhibitor registrations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis until the Exhibit Hall reaches capacity. Sponsor registrations should be received by Wednesday, 20 September 2023 for your logo to be included on the RREC attendee gift. See our website for the full details on support levels and registration links.

Registration Open for One-Week Virtual Short Courses

RailTEC invites you to attend one or both of our one-week virtual railway engineering short courses. Each course will run Monday – Thursday from noon – 4:00pm (Central) and participants will earn 14 professional development hours.

Week One focuses on Track Engineering Fundamentals while Week Two focuses on Railroad Project Design. Past attendees include rail professionals, engineers, planners, consultants and more from employees throughout the rail industry.  Registration is open now.

Week One – Track Engineering Fundamentals
12-15 July 2021 | Noon-4pm CDT (via Zoom)
Lead Instructor: Conrad Ruppert, Jr.

Course Topics: Rail; Crossties & Fasteners; Ballast & Subgrade; Drainage; Slab Track; Turnouts & Special Trackwork; Track Structural Analysis; Track Structural Design; Track Standards & Inspections; Track Maintenance Technologies; Asset Management & Life Cycle Costs

Week Two – Railroad Project Design
19-22 July 2021 | Noon-4pm CDT (via Zoom)
Lead Instructor: Conrad Ruppert, Jr.

Course Topics: Horizontal Track Geometry; Vertical Track Geometry; Cross Sections & Earthwork; Railroad Location; Location Referencing & Track Charts; Project Phasing; Project Cost Estimation

For more information, click here to go to the Railway Engineering Short Course website.

EOH 2023, Pecori Alumni Award

The 101st in-person Engineering Open House (EOH), with its theme of “The Future, Today”, was held on Friday 31 March – Saturday 01 April 2023. There were over 200 student-led exhibits and this year there was an exhibit for every major. Each year this event draws thousands of students, families, teachers, and science-lovers to campus to partake in a truly unique experience celebrating all types of engineering. This is the place to see cutting-edge innovations before they are popularized, and see how students are at the forefront of science and engineering. Click here for the 2023 EOH visitor’s guide.

Continuing a tradition originally started in 2014, RailTEC hosted a group of middle and high school students and their chaperones from Hanson Professional Services and Springfield Frontiers International at the event on Saturday. Students participated in STEM activities and joined Hanson Professional Services CEO Sergio “Satch” Pecori for lunch.

Satch Pecori (center) visits with students and their chaperones from Springfield, IL.

Pecori is an Illinois Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering alumnus (BS 73, MS 74) and was awarded The Grainger College of Engineering Alumni Award for Distinguished Service for 2023. Recipients of this annual alumni award are recognized for professional distinction through outstanding leadership, contributions to the field of engineering, creativity, and entrepreneurship; as well as service to society, the professional community, and to the department, college, or university. Pecori and his company, Hanson Professional Services, have provided transformative support for RailTEC for many years. Click here to read about Hanson’s latest gift. To read CEE’s article about Pecori’s alumni award click here.

RailTEC/MRS Logistica Research Collaboration Agreement

RailTEC is excited to share the news that Professor Riley Edwards has established a formal research collaboration agreement with MRS Logística S.A. in Brazil. The two entities share many areas of common research interests and there are similarities with North American rail research needs.  MRS Logística is a freight rail company that controls, operates and monitors the Southeastern Federal Railroad Network. It interconnects the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, spanning through the region that concentrates approximately 55% of Brazil’s gross domestic product and is home to the largest industries in the country.  MRS currently has two employees associated with RailTEC.

RailTEC Research Engineer Arthur de Oliveira Lima (center) with MRS Logistica employees Antonio Merheb and Danilo Brinati Vieira.

 

 

 

$2.1M in DOD Grant Funding for CEE Team

The Department of Defense will have the help of CEE researchers to develop better systems to evaluate the structural health of rail lines and modernize pavement design and evaluation procedures in a new project funded by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and led by Applied Research Associates Inc. CEE Professors Erol Tutumluer and Riley Edwards are leading the work for this multi-year research project called Advancing Power Projection through Lines of Communication (APPLoC). In the first year, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will receive $2.1 million in grant funding.

As a whole, the research efforts will specifically address the military engineering focus area of Infrastructure maintenance, repair and reconstruction technologies. Two major tasks that CEE department researchers will be involved in are the development of a rail structural capacity rating for DOD and the development of Joint Evaluation and Design Integrated (JEDI) Solution software tools for designing new and rehabilitated pavements for DOD. APPLoC will also develop and deliver innovative prototype solutions to rapidly assess the condition of existing infrastructure and support the rapid repair of damaged infrastructure such as pavements, bridges and railways.

To watch a news interview with Riley and RailTEC’s Principal Researcher Marcus Dersh click here. To read CEE’s announcement click here.

RREC in RT&S, Abstracts Open

 

 

In the January 2023 issue of Railway Track & Structure (RT&S) magazine,  AREMA  President Trent M. Hudak wrote in his monthly Message From The President column about his experience attending his first Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC). He gave a glowing review of the conference complementing both the high quality program and presentations as well as the networking opportunities among railroad professionals.  Click here to read the article.

Consider attending the next conference which will be held 14-15 November 2023 on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The 25th RREC will feature presentations by railroaders, consulting engineers, academics and others involved in all aspects of railroad environmental topics.  The call for abstracts is open and those submitted by Monday, 20 March will be considered for the 2023 Program. Presentation topics are:

  • Compliance for Operating Facilities
  • Environmental Management Systems
  • Environmental Permitting and Planning
  • Incident Management
  • Remediation
  • Sustainability and Resilience
  • Wastewater Management

Click here to submit an abstract or here to learn more about the conference.

Registration Open for 2023 Summer High School Program

Building on the success of last year’s Tracks to the Future: Railroad Transportation and Engineering summer camp, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is funding an even bigger program this year. Six universities (Michigan Tech, Penn State Altoona, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of South Carolina, the University of New Mexico, and California State University, Fresno) are working together to offer up to 120 high school students across the U.S. an exciting opportunity in rail. Learn what forms modern railroad track, explore railway equipment from around the globe, and analyze the latest operations, communication and control systems. Find out how it all works through virtual sessions, hands-on activities, and field visits to railroad facilities.

All applicants accepted for the program will receive scholarships that cover the program fees, so don’t wait, encourage your favorite student to get an application in today! Campers are responsible for their own travel expenses to and from their assigned campus host.  Similar to last year, all students will participate in a Hybrid Program that combines a virtual portion (at home) with a two-day visit to one of the three partnering campuses (max. 20 on each campus).  There will be two sessions this year.  The first, from 19-23 June, will feature campus visits to Michigan Tech, University of South Carolina or Fresno.  The second, from 17-21 July, will offer campus visits to Penn State-Altoona, University of Illinois or University of New Mexico.

More information on the Program and how to apply can be found on the Tracks to the Future web site. Registration is now open with a deadline of March 12th for the first cut on session and location options.  Applications will continue to be accepted after that on a first come, first served basis until each session/location is filled.  After locations are filled, applicants will be offered slots at remaining open locations.

 

 

 

 

 

RailTEC Contributions to 102nd TRB

RailTEC faculty, staff, students, and alumni had a strong showing in the rail section at the 102nd Annual Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting in Washington, D.C. on 8-12 January 2023. In total there were over 75 separate references, including 49 authors, 20 Committee Members, 7 session chairs and 3 committee meeting chairs. Click here for a guide to 2023 RailTEC contributions at TRB.

The spotlight theme for the 2023 meeting was Rejuvenation Out of Disruption: Envisioning a Transportation System for a Dynamic Future. The thousands of transportation administrators, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers who attended the conference participated in more than 600 workshops, lectern sessions, committee sessions, and poster sessions. CEE Online was one of more than 200 exhibitors who participated in this event.

The 103rd TRB Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC on 7-11 January 2024.