Dates: 8/1 - 8/12
Activities: Call from NY, LiDAR presentation
Technical Information: MS Power Point, Telephone
Reflection: I've been continuing to work on the LiDAR survey and fill in the excel spreadsheet. Normally I receive these survey responses via email, but recently a photogrammetry department manager from the New York Department of Transportation contacted me via phone. Although it was a little nerve-racking since I had never talked to someone from a government agency over the phone, we quickly got into an easy conversation about LiDAR technology.
On August 9th Daniel, Jeff, and I went to Century Center, one of the headquarters for NCDOT, to have our kick-off meeting for the LiDAR project. I gave a 30 minute presentation on transportation applications of this 3D scanning system. I thought the meeting went well. The members of the steering committee from NCDOT gave great pointers and insight for the direction of this project, and I can't wait to see the final product!
Overall, I really enjoyed this internship. I learned more than I ever thought I would, and I found out that I enjoy engineering research. I'm not exactly sure what type of engineering I'm interested in, but I plan to find out! I've also learned a lot about business and how people work and communicate in a professional environment. My supervisors were fantastic; they always gave great direction and advice. I was really fortunate to have such great mentors over the course of this internship. This experience has definitely opened a lot of doors, and I've had a great time!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Entry #9 What Makes Me Proud
Dates: 7/25 - 7/29
Activities: LiDAR demo, Kick-Off Power Point, RTMS install
Technical Information: MS Power Point, WinRTMS4
Reflection: A couple days ago Chris, Daniel, Jeff, and I attended a LiDAR demo given by NCDOT. Brian, one of our NCDOT contacts, uses this 3D scanning system to create breaklines and measure bridge clearances. We met Brian at the Century Center, one of NCDOT's headquarters, and he drove us to one of their test sites to scan a section of highway. Seeing the technology first-hand was very educational. It's one thing to read about LiDAR, but to actually see it in person was pretty neat. Although it was interesting, it was also extremely hot! And because we were working on the side of the road, we were required to wear these attractive reflective vests. I even got to keep an NCDOT reflective hat as a souvenir!
Also, this week Chris and I went to install the RTMS scanning unit on the side of I-40 by the Gorman street exit. However, because we didn't have all the tools required for installation, it was postponed for a later time. It was neat to see how they install these scanning units on the side of the road. ITRE was required to coordinate with NCDOT since a bucket truck was needed for installation.
These past few days I've also been working on a power point that I will be using for the kick-off meeting with NCDOT for the LiDAR project. Because LiDAR is a 3D technology, there are always an abundance of great images, so the power point is coming along well. I'll be giving the presentation for Chris and Daniel next week so they can give me some pointers before the presentation on August 9th. The work I've been doing on LiDAR is probably my proudest accomplishment at work. Because I've spent several hours reading up on this technology, I'm probably the only person at ITRE that knows exactly what it's capabilities are.
Activities: LiDAR demo, Kick-Off Power Point, RTMS install
Technical Information: MS Power Point, WinRTMS4
Reflection: A couple days ago Chris, Daniel, Jeff, and I attended a LiDAR demo given by NCDOT. Brian, one of our NCDOT contacts, uses this 3D scanning system to create breaklines and measure bridge clearances. We met Brian at the Century Center, one of NCDOT's headquarters, and he drove us to one of their test sites to scan a section of highway. Seeing the technology first-hand was very educational. It's one thing to read about LiDAR, but to actually see it in person was pretty neat. Although it was interesting, it was also extremely hot! And because we were working on the side of the road, we were required to wear these attractive reflective vests. I even got to keep an NCDOT reflective hat as a souvenir!
Also, this week Chris and I went to install the RTMS scanning unit on the side of I-40 by the Gorman street exit. However, because we didn't have all the tools required for installation, it was postponed for a later time. It was neat to see how they install these scanning units on the side of the road. ITRE was required to coordinate with NCDOT since a bucket truck was needed for installation.
These past few days I've also been working on a power point that I will be using for the kick-off meeting with NCDOT for the LiDAR project. Because LiDAR is a 3D technology, there are always an abundance of great images, so the power point is coming along well. I'll be giving the presentation for Chris and Daniel next week so they can give me some pointers before the presentation on August 9th. The work I've been doing on LiDAR is probably my proudest accomplishment at work. Because I've spent several hours reading up on this technology, I'm probably the only person at ITRE that knows exactly what it's capabilities are.
Entry #8 Changing Duties
Dates: 7/11 - 7/14
Activities: LiDAR Lit Review, LiDAR Survey, Roundabout Inventory
Technical Information: MS Excel, MS Word, Google Earth
Reflection: Because I will be leaving next week for vacation, most of the work I've been doing is just tying up lose ends. I've finished up most of the literature review for the LiDAR project. The bulk of this task was organizing archived documents on the server and making sure I referenced them properly in the literature review. I've also been busy documenting all of the LiDAR survey results in an excel spreadsheet. Along with the excel sheet, I've been writing a summary of each state's answer in a word document. Because there are over 75 contacts in total, it's a lot to keep up with, but I love the challenge!
I've also been able to finish up the roundabout inventory for roundabouts across the United States. It took a lot of time, but it's done! I color-coded all of the roundabouts. The completed ones are in green, while those who are still under construction or have a strange configuration are coded in yellow. It's been a neat experience using Google Earth; I was definitely surprised at how high quality the visuals were.
My duties have definitely changed over the course of this internship. My supervisors have given me more responsibility as time has progressed. For example, because I did such a thorough job on the LiDAR literature review, they want me to create the powerpoint and give the presentation for the kick-off meeting with NCDOT in August. I'm nervous
about this presentation but excited as well!
Activities: LiDAR Lit Review, LiDAR Survey, Roundabout Inventory
Technical Information: MS Excel, MS Word, Google Earth
Reflection: Because I will be leaving next week for vacation, most of the work I've been doing is just tying up lose ends. I've finished up most of the literature review for the LiDAR project. The bulk of this task was organizing archived documents on the server and making sure I referenced them properly in the literature review. I've also been busy documenting all of the LiDAR survey results in an excel spreadsheet. Along with the excel sheet, I've been writing a summary of each state's answer in a word document. Because there are over 75 contacts in total, it's a lot to keep up with, but I love the challenge!
I've also been able to finish up the roundabout inventory for roundabouts across the United States. It took a lot of time, but it's done! I color-coded all of the roundabouts. The completed ones are in green, while those who are still under construction or have a strange configuration are coded in yellow. It's been a neat experience using Google Earth; I was definitely surprised at how high quality the visuals were.
My duties have definitely changed over the course of this internship. My supervisors have given me more responsibility as time has progressed. For example, because I did such a thorough job on the LiDAR literature review, they want me to create the powerpoint and give the presentation for the kick-off meeting with NCDOT in August. I'm nervous
about this presentation but excited as well!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Entry #7 Frustrations
Dates: 7/6/11 - 7/7/11
Activities: RTMS, Lit Review, HDS Survey, Drawing Packets
Technical Information: WinRTMS4 Software, MS Excel, MS Word
Reflection: These past few days I've continued to work on the HDS literature review and survey. For the survey, I've been getting responses from people across the United States, and it's pretty neat being the person of correspondence. However, I haven't been getting as many immediate responses as I had hoped. Daniel told me that sometimes a single email, especially in a large government agency like the department of transportation, can be forwarded multiple times before it gets into the hands of the right person who is willing to answer.
I've also been helping Daniel help prep for the HEC (Highway Engineering Concepts) course that ITRE teaches in the fall. Because this is an engineering course, students have several activities that involve drawing in roads. I was tasked with preparing drawing packets for the students. A drawing packet includes drawing tools such as an engineering-grade ruler and protractor. It was interesting to learn how engineers used to design roads before the software for highway design was developed.
Along with the HDS project and HEC prep, I've also been trying to figure out a new software, WinRTMS4, that goes with a new scanning unit ITRE bought. The scanning unit, called an RTMS, is installed on the side of a highway and uses radio waves to detect vehicles. My supervisor, Chris, wants me to try and figure out how to program this software to detect gaps between cars. So far, I haven't made much progress.
The only major frustration I've had at work is dealing with footnotes with MS Word and working with the "linking" feature. However, the more I played around with it, the easier it became. Other than that, everything has been great! I've learned more than I ever thought I would, and it's been nice to be completely immersed in a professional environment.
Activities: RTMS, Lit Review, HDS Survey, Drawing Packets
Technical Information: WinRTMS4 Software, MS Excel, MS Word
Reflection: These past few days I've continued to work on the HDS literature review and survey. For the survey, I've been getting responses from people across the United States, and it's pretty neat being the person of correspondence. However, I haven't been getting as many immediate responses as I had hoped. Daniel told me that sometimes a single email, especially in a large government agency like the department of transportation, can be forwarded multiple times before it gets into the hands of the right person who is willing to answer.
I've also been helping Daniel help prep for the HEC (Highway Engineering Concepts) course that ITRE teaches in the fall. Because this is an engineering course, students have several activities that involve drawing in roads. I was tasked with preparing drawing packets for the students. A drawing packet includes drawing tools such as an engineering-grade ruler and protractor. It was interesting to learn how engineers used to design roads before the software for highway design was developed.
Along with the HDS project and HEC prep, I've also been trying to figure out a new software, WinRTMS4, that goes with a new scanning unit ITRE bought. The scanning unit, called an RTMS, is installed on the side of a highway and uses radio waves to detect vehicles. My supervisor, Chris, wants me to try and figure out how to program this software to detect gaps between cars. So far, I haven't made much progress.
The only major frustration I've had at work is dealing with footnotes with MS Word and working with the "linking" feature. However, the more I played around with it, the easier it became. Other than that, everything has been great! I've learned more than I ever thought I would, and it's been nice to be completely immersed in a professional environment.
Entry #6 Education
Dates: 7/1/11 - 7/5/11
Activities: DCD Meeting, HEC
Technical Information: Adobe software, Copy Machine, MS Word
Reflection: I recently went to a meeting with my supervisor, Daniel, and two of my coworkers, Jess and Kristy, about an upcoming data collection. Our team will travel to Alcoa, Tennessee to collect data on a diverging diamond interchange. A diverging diamond is a special type of interchange where traffic travels on the opposite side of the road for a small period of time to improve left lane movement. This type of interchange has been called the "golden ticket", but our Highways Group is trying to determine if the diverging diamond is all it's cracked up to be. Our team will be traveling to Alcoa to collect data such as how far the cars back up and if people get confused by this new layout. Although I will not be going to this data collection, it was cool learning about the procedures of how they will collect this information.
Lately I've also been working with Daniel in organizing HEC notes. ITRE teaches a class called Highway Engineering Concepts (HEC), and over the years there has been no set procedure on how to properly edit these notes. Subsequently, the hard copies and file copies are no longer the same, and my job is to make sure the hard copies and the files on the server match up. It's been really neat skimming through all of these notes and learning about engineering concepts before I'm even in college.
Because I've really enjoyed what I've been doing at work for the past month, I'm definitely interested in pursuing a career path that involves some type of engineering. Because this is truly a professional institute, most who work here have acquired at least a masters degree. Chris and Daniel have their professional engineering licence, and some, like Bastian, even have their PhD. Most who work here, at least in the highways group, went to college for civil engineering with a focus in transportation. Because NC State is a great engineering school, it is one of my top choices for colleges if I choose to pursue this type of path.
Activities: DCD Meeting, HEC
Technical Information: Adobe software, Copy Machine, MS Word
Reflection: I recently went to a meeting with my supervisor, Daniel, and two of my coworkers, Jess and Kristy, about an upcoming data collection. Our team will travel to Alcoa, Tennessee to collect data on a diverging diamond interchange. A diverging diamond is a special type of interchange where traffic travels on the opposite side of the road for a small period of time to improve left lane movement. This type of interchange has been called the "golden ticket", but our Highways Group is trying to determine if the diverging diamond is all it's cracked up to be. Our team will be traveling to Alcoa to collect data such as how far the cars back up and if people get confused by this new layout. Although I will not be going to this data collection, it was cool learning about the procedures of how they will collect this information.
Lately I've also been working with Daniel in organizing HEC notes. ITRE teaches a class called Highway Engineering Concepts (HEC), and over the years there has been no set procedure on how to properly edit these notes. Subsequently, the hard copies and file copies are no longer the same, and my job is to make sure the hard copies and the files on the server match up. It's been really neat skimming through all of these notes and learning about engineering concepts before I'm even in college.
Because I've really enjoyed what I've been doing at work for the past month, I'm definitely interested in pursuing a career path that involves some type of engineering. Because this is truly a professional institute, most who work here have acquired at least a masters degree. Chris and Daniel have their professional engineering licence, and some, like Bastian, even have their PhD. Most who work here, at least in the highways group, went to college for civil engineering with a focus in transportation. Because NC State is a great engineering school, it is one of my top choices for colleges if I choose to pursue this type of path.
Entry #5 My Main Contribution
Dates: 6/28/11 - 6/30/11
Activities: Facet Demo, Roundabout Inventory, Lit Review, Survey
Technical Information: Microphone Headset, Google Earth, MS Word, MS Excel
Reflection: On Tuesday (6/28), I attended a Go-To Meeting, which is a virtual meeting available over the internet. To communicate with the other attendees, one can use a microphone headset or call in from a phone. The presenters had control of the computer screen and showed their power point presentation over the internet. The meeting was between ITRE and another company called Facet. ITRE was interested on how Facet conducts retroreflectivity readings on highway signs.
These past few days I have also been working with one of my other supervisors, Bastian, on a roundabout inventory. Using Google Earth, my job is to look at all the roundabouts across the country and record their various attributes in an excel spreadsheet. These attributes include number of approaches, number of lanes, and how far away pedestrian crossings are from the roundabout. It's pretty neat to be able to virtually travel the country!
I've also been working hard on both the literature review and survey for the HDS (3D laser scanning) project. I sent out a state-wide survey to transportation departments the past week, and I've started to get responses. To organize this information, I've used an excel spreadsheet to record contact information and how these transportation departments use this new technology. I will later send follow-up questions to those states who do use LiDAR.
I believe my main contribution to ITRE is kicking off new projects. For example, the HDS project's kickoff meeting isn't until August, but my responsibility is to read other state's research reports on how they use LiDAR to give my supervisors a head-start on the project. I also do a lot of work that may be tedious but necessary. For example, there are probably over 500 roundabouts across the country that I have to inventory, which may seem like a lot, but this database may help ITRE get more projects in the long run.
Activities: Facet Demo, Roundabout Inventory, Lit Review, Survey
Technical Information: Microphone Headset, Google Earth, MS Word, MS Excel
Reflection: On Tuesday (6/28), I attended a Go-To Meeting, which is a virtual meeting available over the internet. To communicate with the other attendees, one can use a microphone headset or call in from a phone. The presenters had control of the computer screen and showed their power point presentation over the internet. The meeting was between ITRE and another company called Facet. ITRE was interested on how Facet conducts retroreflectivity readings on highway signs.
These past few days I have also been working with one of my other supervisors, Bastian, on a roundabout inventory. Using Google Earth, my job is to look at all the roundabouts across the country and record their various attributes in an excel spreadsheet. These attributes include number of approaches, number of lanes, and how far away pedestrian crossings are from the roundabout. It's pretty neat to be able to virtually travel the country!
I've also been working hard on both the literature review and survey for the HDS (3D laser scanning) project. I sent out a state-wide survey to transportation departments the past week, and I've started to get responses. To organize this information, I've used an excel spreadsheet to record contact information and how these transportation departments use this new technology. I will later send follow-up questions to those states who do use LiDAR.
I believe my main contribution to ITRE is kicking off new projects. For example, the HDS project's kickoff meeting isn't until August, but my responsibility is to read other state's research reports on how they use LiDAR to give my supervisors a head-start on the project. I also do a lot of work that may be tedious but necessary. For example, there are probably over 500 roundabouts across the country that I have to inventory, which may seem like a lot, but this database may help ITRE get more projects in the long run.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Entry #4 Classroom Experience
Dates: 6/24/11 - 6/27/11
Activities: Attend DCD Meeting, Lit Review, Roundabout Inventory
Technical Information: Adobe, Microsoft Word
Reflection: These past few days I've continued to work on the HDS literature review. It's been surprising how long thorough research and organization actually takes. Keeping a clear documentation of sources and publishing dates is tedious and lengthy work. I've been using a lot of Adobe software to manage of all the source files for my research, and I ask questions frequently on the proper way to reference these sources.
I also recently attended another meeting with NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) where I was responsible for taking notes. NCDOT met with ESP & Associates, a surveying company, to explore how ESP could benefit NCDOT with their technologically advanced surveying methods. ESP currently uses a mobile LiDAR system, which involves a 3D laser scanning unit being mounted on top of a truck. This allows the scanning unit to quickly scan roads within the flow of traffic. ESP showed NCDOT some demos and actual 3D scans of a rockface. It was pretty neat to actually experience this cutting edge technology in person rather than just reading about it.
Prior to this internship, I wish I had learned more about email etiquette. Because I'm constantly in contact with my supervisors and members of other large organizations, it would have been beneficial to know what is the acceptable and expedient way to communicate over email. Also, more in-dept knowledge of the new version of Word would have been helpful. It's been aggravating learning certain linking and footnote settings while I work. If I had learned this before, it would have saved a lot of time. However, it's always fun to learn new things!
Activities: Attend DCD Meeting, Lit Review, Roundabout Inventory
Technical Information: Adobe, Microsoft Word
Reflection: These past few days I've continued to work on the HDS literature review. It's been surprising how long thorough research and organization actually takes. Keeping a clear documentation of sources and publishing dates is tedious and lengthy work. I've been using a lot of Adobe software to manage of all the source files for my research, and I ask questions frequently on the proper way to reference these sources.
I also recently attended another meeting with NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) where I was responsible for taking notes. NCDOT met with ESP & Associates, a surveying company, to explore how ESP could benefit NCDOT with their technologically advanced surveying methods. ESP currently uses a mobile LiDAR system, which involves a 3D laser scanning unit being mounted on top of a truck. This allows the scanning unit to quickly scan roads within the flow of traffic. ESP showed NCDOT some demos and actual 3D scans of a rockface. It was pretty neat to actually experience this cutting edge technology in person rather than just reading about it.
Prior to this internship, I wish I had learned more about email etiquette. Because I'm constantly in contact with my supervisors and members of other large organizations, it would have been beneficial to know what is the acceptable and expedient way to communicate over email. Also, more in-dept knowledge of the new version of Word would have been helpful. It's been aggravating learning certain linking and footnote settings while I work. If I had learned this before, it would have saved a lot of time. However, it's always fun to learn new things!
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