Month: October 2017

New Journal Publication on Wildlife Crossing Structures

Posted on October 30th, 2017

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution has published “Performance of Arch-Style Road Crossing Structures from Relative Movement Rates of Large Mammals,” authored by A.Z. Andis (University of Montana/Yale University), Marcel Huijser of WTI, and Len Broberg (University of Montana). The team measured the movements of large mammal species at 15 wildlife underpasses on U.S. Highway 93 in Montana, documenting findings for several species including white-tailed deer, mule deer, black bear and coyote.

Citation: Andis AZ, Huijser MP and Broberg L (2017) Performance of Arch-Style Road Crossing Structures from Relative Movement Rates of Large Mammals. Front. Ecol. Evol. 5:122. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00122

 

Deicer Research Highlighted by TRB

Posted on October 30th, 2017

The most recent issue of the national Transportation Research Board Newsletter has featured an article on a WTI research report sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.  “Field Usage of Alternative Deicers for Snow and Ice Control” summarizes non-chloride based deicers available on the market, including acetate, formate, glycol, and succinate based deicing products. The report explores the deicers’ feasibility for use as alternatives to chloride based deicers, and identifies next steps to determine if a non-chloride based deicer is a viable option for implementation in winter maintenance operations by MnDOT and local snow and ice removal providers. TRB and MnDOT have posted a link to the report. You can also read about the project here.

 

Milestones in Service – MSU Recognizes Seven WTI Staff Members

Posted on October 30th, 2017

On Monday, October 23, Montana State University honored professional and classified staff reaching significant milestones in their tenure of service to the university.  Honorees were recognized at a campus reception, at which Provost Robert Mokwa presented individual certificates and MSU gifts.

Seven WTI employees have achieved the 5, 10, 15 or 20-year milestone in 2017:

Steve Albert, 20 years

David Kack, 15 years

Neil Hetherington, 15 years

Carla Little, 15 years

Rebecca Gleason, 10 years

Genevieve Houska (LTAP), 10 years

Annmarie McMahill (CHSC), 5 years

Congratulations, everyone!  All combined, that’s 90 years of service to WTI and MSU by these seven employees alone!

 2017 Milestones_group shot - Copy_edited

Rebecca Gleason, Carla Little, Steve Albert, and David Kack at the Milestones in Service Ceremony.

 

Workforce Center Announces Webinar for Women in Highway Construction Trades

Posted on October 20th, 2017

The West Region Transportation Workforce Center is offering a free, 1.5 hour webinar, on Respectful Workplaces and Health & Safety Empowerment for Women in Highway Construction Trades. It will explore research conducted on the experience of women and minorities in highway construction and the trades. The webinar will describe how the research served to inform pilot projects at job sites in both Oregon and Washington to foster respectful workplaces and to improve health and safety for women in the trades. This webinar is in partnership with the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau and will take place Wednesday, October 25th from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM Mountain/1:00 AM to 2:30 PM Eastern. Click here http://wrtwc.org/news/2017/tradeswomen/ for more information and to register.

Flyer Webinar Women In Trades 2

Northwest Science to Publish Sturgeon Swimming Research

Posted on October 16th, 2017

Fish passage research by a Bozeman-based team will soon be published in Northwest Science. The journal has accepted “Sprint Swimming Performance of Shovelnose Sturgeon in an Open-Channel Flume,” authored by Luke Holmquist of MSU’s Department of Ecology, Kevin Kappenman of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Matt Blank of WTI, and Matt Schultz. The article describes research in an outdoor experimental flume at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center.  The sprint velocities from the laboratory study indicate that the swimming capability of shovelnose sturgeon has been previously underestimated. The results of this study provide data that might support design and analysis of fish passage projects for shovelnose sturgeon and other sturgeon species.   For more information about fish passage research, visit the project page.

MDT Highlights WTI Research in Fall Newsletter

Posted on October 16th, 2017

Western Transportation Institute (WTI) research is prominently featured in Solutions, the research newsletter of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT). Three projects that WTI researchers completed on behalf of MDT are highlighted in the current issue:

  • The lead story is an in-depth discussion of “Exploring Traffic Safety Citizenship,” research led by Jay Otto, Kari Finley, and Nic Ward of the Center for Health and Safety Culture.  Traffic safety citizenship is an approach to safety that aims to encourage everyone to behave in ways that support the safety of one another (such as reminding others to wear seat belts).  The goal of this project was to understand which aspects of culture help to predict engagement in these behaviors.
  • “Identifying Disparities in Definitions of Heavy Trucks” summarized research by Yiyi Wang, Karalyn Clouser and graduate student Fahmid Hossain to clarify the myriad of state and federal regulations that affect truck drivers, trucking companies, and enforcement agencies. The team developed a useful handbook with charts and photographs to identify the types of vehicles and conditions that fall under specific regulatory guidelines.
  • For “Assessment of the Road Weather Information System (RWIS),” Levi Ewan and Ahmed Al-Kaisy conducted an in-depth review of MDT’s 73 RWIS stations to improve and guide future planning and operations efforts.  The findings addressed data and software needs, benefits and costs, and implementation guidelines.

Read the full MDT newsletter click here.

CHSC to Host First Symposium in 2018

Posted on October 2nd, 2017

The Center for Health and Safety Culture has  announced the dates for its inaugural symposium.  From June 20-22, 2018, CHSC will host a symposium in Bozeman, Montana focused on “Exploring How Positive Culture Improves Health and Safety.” Attendees will learn about current research and best practices in transforming culture, by engaging in group discussion, listening to presentations in multiple formats, and creating knowledge together.  Additional information is available on the symposium website.