Entry #2 Job Description

Dates: 6/16/11-6/17/11
Activities: Assisted with Driving Simulator, Attended DCD Meeting, Sent out HDS Survey
Technical Information: Microsoft Word, Excel, Canon Video Camera
Reflection: In the Highway Systems Group, my title is "research assistant." Throughout this internship I will be exposed to many different projects they are currently working on. Some of my tasks will include:

• Diverging Diamond Data Analysis


• High Density Surveying Literature Review


• Helping with Roundabout Data Collection


• Programming Visualization Software (C++)

This past week my main task has been the High Density Surveying (HDS) Literature Review. A Literature Review entails searching on the internet for what other state Departments of Transportation have done with HDS. HDS, also called LiDAR, is a fairly new technology that uses 3D laser scanning for land surveying. My job is to compile all of this information into formal text, resembling a research paper. To help with the Literature Review, my supervisor Daniel asked me to send out a country-wide survey to other state DOTs to ask how they use LiDAR. In order to organize this information, I used an excel spreadsheet. It was pretty neat to be the person of contact to these important people.

This past Wednesday (6/15/11), the Highway Systems Group had a meeting with NCDOT about their HDS project. This meeting was called to mainly clarify our focus on the project and narrow down our research. My responsibility was to create a two-page handout for the meeting, take notes during the meeting, type the notes up, and later send them to Charlie, our contact at NCDOT.

I also had the opportunity on Thursday (6/16/11) to help with the Roundabout Data Collection. From my office on Centennial Campus, I took a bus Main Campus to help out my coworker Katy with a new driving simulation software. This project is trying to determine if drivers yield to pedestrians at roundabouts. Test subjects drive the driving simulator and an eye tracker tracks their eye movement. My job was to take a video recording during the sessions.

Entry #1 Organization Information

Dates: 6/13/11-6/15/11
Activities: Literature Review for LiDAR technology, Take Notes at Meeting
Technical Information: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel
Reflection: This summer I am working for a company called ITRE (Institute for Transportation Research and Education). They are located at Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University. ITRE was established by the North Carolina General Assembly for the purpose of facilitating the development of transportation and research programs. The charter for ITRE was officially approved by the Board of Governors on February 12, 1978. Their mission is to explore and advance transportation systems, in surface, water, and air, through research, education, and technical assistance. The Institute currently serves 16 statewide campuses in the UNC system and partners with transportation professionals around the globe.

ITRE is broken up into centers and programs. The Institute's two centers include the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and the NextGen Air Transportation Center (NGAT). The Institute's five programs include: Highway Systems Group, North Carolina Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), Public Transportation Group, Pupil Transportation Group, and Visual Analytics, Modeling, and Simulation (VAMS) group.

I am currently working with the Highway Systems Group, which was developed in the 1980s to assist North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) with surface infrastructure challenges. Today, the Highway Systems Group helps private and public sectors nationwide conduct research and provide solutions to issues such as: visually impaired pedestrians, work zone safety, road maintenance operations, and emergency evacuations.

I currently am helping them conduct a research project for NCDOT with a new 3D scanning technology called LiDAR. My tasks for the past few days have been gathering and organizing information in to a report.