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.