Elaine Wang has been selected as the TRC Outstanding Student of the Year. As part of the award, Elaine will receive $1,000, attendance paid to the 2008 TRB meeting in Washington, DC, and will be honored at a banquet and receive a plaque from the U.S. DOT.

Elaine Wang is a second year Master's student at the Rubenstein School for Natural Resources and the Environment. Her thesis work relates to decision-making and public processes around energy and transportation policy. The research focuses on the policy drivers which influence decision makers. Elaine's careful and methodological research will contribute to an understanding of how policymakers frame and shape policy in transportation energy.

In addition to her scholarly work, Elaine has worked on climate change issues related to transportation on- and off-campus for several years. Elaine has worked as Program Director for the Vermont Alliance for Climate Action where she led anti-idling and transportation demand management programs. She has worked with her fellow students to organize teach-in events in campus and co-founded a graduate student group known as the "Carbonators."