WASHINGTON — The Transportation Research Board (TRB) today announced the 2022 class of Minority Student Fellows. As part of its commitment to increasing diversity and inclusiveness in transportation, the TRB Minority Student Fellows Program funds students from Minority-Serving Institutions to attend and present their research at the TRB Annual Meeting and help them engage in TRB’s network of transportation professionals.

To ensure that solutions to the nation’s transportation problems address people from a variety of backgrounds, TRB established the Minority Student Fellows Program in 2010 to actively explore research, ideas, and solutions from diverse perspectives. This program seeks to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the transportation field and in TRB activities.

“TRB is pleased to welcome the 13th cohort of Minority Student Fellows. Since 2010, over 200 scholars have come through the program to present their research and participate in all aspects of our annual meeting,” said Neil Pedersen, executive director of TRB. “These students have benefitted not only from presenting their research but also from networking with and learning from the top transportation researchers and professionals in the world.”

In 2022, 15 undergraduate and 9 graduate students studying in disciplines that include civil engineering, urban planning, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, earth science, and sustainable built environments have been selected to take part in the program. The fellows will participate in TRB’s 2022 annual meeting with paper presentations and numerous other activities, including Young Members Council sessions, the new attendee welcome event, a career panel, a networking lunch, and committee meetings.

“I am looking forward to experiencing the TRB Annual Meeting for the first time and [to] the opportunities to share my research and learn from others within the transportation industry,” said 2022 fellow Kamalen Santos-Diaz, a master’s student in civil engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). “I hope that participating as a fellow will allow me to grow both professionally and personally, and I am excited to expand my network and form meaningful relationships with new people.”

“We are fortunate at UTEP to have great students who are willing to undergo the rigor of conducting research and to undertake the efforts needed to present their findings coherently,” said Soheil Nazarian, Santos-Diaz’s faculty adviser and director of the Center for Transportation Infrastructure Systems and professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. “Thanks to the TRB support, the participation of our students in the annual meeting contributes to their growth into confident engineers.”

The students selected are:

• Ash Avila, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sustainable built environments at the University of Arizona
• Esther Bia, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the University of New Mexico
• Marvin Burton, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Arizona State University
• Sara De La O, pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Texas, El Paso
• Dunsin Fadojutimi, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Morgan State University
• Jayson Francois, pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
• Omar Galicia, pursuing a master’s degree in urban and regional planning at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• Isabel Gutierrez, pursuing a master’s degree in earth science at North Carolina Central University
• Jeannine Mbabazi, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Tennessee State University
• Norel McAdoo, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Tennessee State University
• Jesus Molina, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Florida International University
• Ricardo Polanco, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at City College of New York
• Jose Portillo, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Tennessee State University
• Jennifer Restrepo, pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of New Mexico
• Christopher Rocha, pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering at California State University, Los Angeles
• Daniel Romero, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• Kamalen Santos-Diaz, pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering at University of Texas, El Paso
• Valencia Stewart, pursuing a master’s degree in transportation planning and management at Texas Southern University
• Jervani Thompson, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in general studies, with an emphasis on traffic studies, at Texas Southern University
• Isaac Zuniga, pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Texas, El Paso

An article about program outcomes published in Transportation Research Record documents the results of a survey of students and reflections by those involved in the program. Survey respondents indicated the program successfully increases fellows’ exposure to TRB, encourages ongoing TRB participation, and contributes to the students’ career growth.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration provides funding for half of the students in the program. The program also receives financial support from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and the state departments of transportation in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as from contributions by individual attendees at the TRB Annual Meeting.

The Transportation Research Board is a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. The National Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Contact:
Paul Mackie, Director of Communications/Media
Transportation Research Board
202-841-2953; e-mail PMackie@nas.edu