Current Students

Engaging Students in Creating a More Sustainable Future

The UVM Transportation Research Center seeks outstanding graduate and undergraduate students interested in conducting research and outreach on critical transportation issues.

Our research portfolio covers a wide range of transportation topics while focusing on sustainability and equity. Undergraduate and graduate students are key contributors and leads in much of our work.

For more information, email transctr@uvm.edu

TRC Student Researchers

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Student	Profile
Narges Ahmadnia	Narges Ahmadnia is a Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. student from Iran. She holds an BS in Civil Engineering and a MS Transportation Engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology where she studied factors that influence transportation mode choice. Her Ph.D. research with Dr. Greg Rowangould focuses on understanding how carbon reduction policies and advanced vehicle technologies influence travel behavior in small cities and rural communities.
Emma Dreyer	Emma Dreyer is an Environmental Engineering BS student from Iowa City, IA. She is currently researching the effectiveness of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in their ability to meet sustainable transportation goals with Dr. Greg Rowangould. This research focuses on identifying gaps in data and forecasting techniques used to evaluate the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of strategies and infrastructure investments in long range regional transportation plans.
Arnold Njenga	Arnold Njenga (he/him) is a Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. student from Nairobi, Kenya. He holds an undergraduate degree in Structural Engineering from Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary and a Masters in Transport Engineering from Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. His PhD research with Dr. Greg Rowangould is focused on understanding housing location choice preference in rural and small communities, the potential demand for more transportation efficient or "smart growth" in these communities, and implications for greenhouse gas reductions and the equity of climate policies.
Max Olechna	Max Olechna is a Civil Engineering BS student from Hamilton, VA. His current research with Dr. Greg Rowangould and Clare Nelson focuses on the impact of the local built environment on public support for gas tax alternatives. Additionally, he is working with Jim Sullivan to create a data dashboard to help state DOTs optimize their winter snow and ice control strategies. Aligning with current projects, Max has an interest in data analytics and analysis to support more sustainable transportation systems.
Parsa Pezeshknejad	Parsa Pezeshknejad is a Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD student from Tehran, Iran, Parsa’s interests in transportation include evaluation of public transportation systems, data science, urban transportation planning, sustainable and transit-oriented development, and pedestrian accessibility. He is most passionate about sustainability and accessibility pertaining to pedestrian and public transportation. Parsa’s current PhD research at the TRC with Dr. Dana Rowangould evaluates the pedestrian safety of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) in Vermont. He is evaluating the effectiveness of RRFBs in Vermont using a longitudinal controlled experimental design. The overall goal of his research is to ensure that investments in RRFBs in Vermont and other rural contexts improve safety outcomes to inform the design of pedestrian crossings in the future.
Tanzila Tabassum	Tanzila Tabassum in a Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD student from Bangladesh. She holds a MS in Environmental Management from Independant University, Bangladesh and a BS in Urban and Regional Plannning from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Tanzila's current research with Dr. Greg Rowangould focuses on developing high spatial resolution electric vehicle adoption and charging demand forecasting models to support climate policy analysis and electric grid reliability analysis.
Meg Fay	Meg Fay is a Civil and Environmental Engineering MS student from Plymouth, MA. They hold undergraduate degrees in Environmental Science and Chemistry from Brown University, where they focused on data analysis and exploring spatial inequities in air pollution exposure. Their current research with Dr. Greg Rowangould focuses on how transportation and air quality legislation can be translated into environmental justice and public health impacts. Meg is motivated to explore this nexus of transportation, public health, and justice in their research at the TRC.
Aviral (Avi) Chawla	Aviral (Avi) Chawla (he/him) is a Complex Systems and Data Science MS student from Gurugram, India. Avi received a BA in Philosophy and History of Mathematics & Sciences from St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM, before joining UVM. His work with Dr. Greg Rowangould at TRC includes building interactive visualizations of complex travel and emission exposure data and researching mobile source emission exposure and equality in the United States. He also conducts research on the problem of node importance in social and civil networks with the Vermont Complex Systems Center.
Nat Robtoy	Nat Robtoy is an Environmental Engineering BS student from Enosburg Falls, VT. His research with Dr. Dana Rowangould and Dr. Sarah Grajdura is centered around climate resiliency within Vermont, particularly in rural areas where the July and December floods had a devastating impact. Nat has been interested in the effects of climate change on his home state for many years. Growing up in a rural Vermont town, he aims to use this personal insight to strengthen the analysis of survey data from members of these communities. The end goal is to find trends or factors that contribute to an individual or group’s ability to bounce back from a major flood event as they become more common in our state.
Lilac Damon	Lilac Damon (she/her) is a Civil Engineering BS student from Santa Cruz, CA. She is currently working with Dr. Dana Rowangould and Parsa Pezeshknejad to research barriers to widespread electric vehicle adoption from an equity viewpoint. She is also interested in reducing overall car dependency.
Heather Clarke	Heather Clarke is an undergraduate Data Science student from Fairfield, CT. She is working with Dr. Dana Rowangould on her Honors College thesis, which analyzes data from the 2022 National Household Travel Survey. Her research focuses on understanding mobility barriers by examining differences in unmet transportation needs. The aim is to model the nature of transportation disparities to foster equitable and sustainable access to resources and enhance mobility of all modes.
Hallie Hinchman	Hallie Hinchman (she/her) is a Biostatistics MS student from Boise, ID. She holds a BA in Mathematics with a Statistics concentration from UVM. She minored in Spanish and Environmental Studies. Her current research with Dr. Dana Rowangould investigates the efficacy and equity of clean transportation incentives in Vermont. This project applies Hallie’s interest in using data to shape policy that maximizes positive impact given limited resources.
Amine Barzegar	Amine Barzegar Tilenoie is a Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D student from Iran. She earned both her BS and her MS in Transportation Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology. She conducted research on travel behavior and factors affecting travel demand. Currently, she is working with Dr. Dana Rowangould at the Transportation Research Center at UVM. Her PhD research focuses on electric vehicle charging behavior in small and rural communities.
Nazmus Sakib	Nazmus Sakib (he/him) is an MS student in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and an MS in Development Studies from BRAC University, Bangladesh. As a graduate research assistant at the UVM Transportation Research Center, Nazmus is currently working with Dr. Dana Rowangould on a project that aims to understand the travel choices and mobility needs of individuals residing in small and rural communities like Vermont. Beyond his academic pursuits, Nazmus is a passionate chess player and organizer. He also loves to hit the trail once in a while.
Shekwobagwu Paul Galadima	Shekwobagwu Paul Galadima (he/him/his) is a first-year Civil Engineering PhD student from Nigeria with a background in Civil Engineering (B.Eng) and Highway and Transport Engineering (M.Eng) obtained from Federal Institutions (F.U.T Minna and UNIBEN) in Nigeria. He is currently working closely with Dr. Dana Rowangould on the transport equity and sustainability project titled "Assessing Electric Vehicle Benefits in Rural, Cold, and Mountainous Regions," which is a grant-funded project by the NCST (USDOT). In his free time, he loves hiking, cycling, and video gaming.
Binaya Kumar Rajbanshi	Binaya Kumar Rajbanshi (he/him) is an MS student in Civil & Environmental Engineering at UVM. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He is interested in research related to sustainable transportation systems. He is currently working on a project that will help deepen the understanding of greenhouse gas implications associated with using electric vehicles in cold, rural, and mountainous contexts such as Vermont. He hopes that this research will help concerned stakeholders to effectively plan EV infrastructure to support vehicle decarbonization goals and a sustainable future.
Timmy Heim	Timmy Heim (he/him) is an Environmental Engineering BS student from Bethesda, MD. He is an undergraduate research assistant working with Dr. Dana Rowangould on analyzing GPS data to understand vehicle usage in rural Vermont. He hopes to understand and quantify specific challenges that rural drivers face so that transportation policy can better reflect rural travel needs.
Griffin Brown	Originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts, Griffin Brown is a PhD student in the Sustainable Development, Policy, Economics, and Governance program. He holds a BS in Biorenewable Systems from Penn State and a MS in Environmental Policy and Management from University of Denver. Griffin has previously worked within sustainable transportation policy as a part of the Greenhouse Gas Program at the Colorado Department of Transportation. Currently, Griffin is working with Dr. Gregory Rowangould to research planning practices that Metropolitan Planning Organizations employ to manage freight transport and minimize the environmental impacts of urban goods movement.
Kate Montano	Kate Montano is a Civil Engineering BS student from New York, NY. Her current research with Dr. Greg Rowangould and Arnold Njenga focuses on housing choice and the potential for smart growth in rural areas. Kate is interested in sustainable transportation and urban development.

Recent Graduates

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Student	Profile
Clare Nelson	Clare Nelson (she/her) graduated with a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2024. Her MS thesis research with Dr. Greg Rowangould focused on public support and the equity of mileage based user fees. She also developed an interactive data dashboard to track sustainble transportation performance metrics in Chittenden County, VT. Clare is now working as Research Analyst at the TRC where she is working on a team to forecast how electric vehicle adoption will impact rural energy grids, travel beahvor and land use interactions, and continues reseasch on developing innovative data dashboards to support public policy evaluation.
Brittany Antonczak	Dr. Brittany Antonczak gradauted with a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2024. Her PhD disseration research with Dr. Greg Rowangould evaluated exposure to vehicle traffic and vehicle emissions in the United States and exposure to excess heat from transportaiton infrastructure. Dr. Antonczak joined the TRC as a postdoctoral scholar where she is working to develope novel high resolution traffic and emission exposure prediction models.
Harry Schuke	Harry Schukei graduated with an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2024. Harry is originally from Fairfax, VT. His research with Dr. Dana Rowangould focused on how travel differs in urban and rural communities, particularly how the built environment affects how people travel. He is currently a staff researcher at the UVM Transportation Research Center evaluating how vehicle use varies across rural contexts. Harry wants to use his knowledge to improve transportation policy and planning in communities of all sizes and types.
Parker King	Dr. Parker King graduated with a PhD in Civil and Environmentl Engineering from UVM in 2024. His PhD disseration research with Dr. Greg Rowangould and Dr. Elizabth Doran studied the contribution of transportation infrastructure and paved surfances to elevated tempertatures and heat exposure and developed new models to estimate and evaluate heat exposure from pavement. Dr. King is now a postdoctal scholar at Arizona State University where he continues to study heat exposure.
Owen Palcsik	Owen Palcsik graduated with a BA in Geography and a minor in Data Science in 2024. His interests include bringing the social justice themes of geography to the field of transportation and understanding the social and spatial implications of the transition to green transportation. Owen worked with Dr. Dana Rowangould to study how place shapes electric vehicle perceptions and adoption in Vermont. Owen is now a planner for the City of Aspen, Colorado.
Maisie Melican	Maisie Melican (she/her) graduated wtih a BA in Geography in 2024. She worked with Dr. Dana Rowangould’sresearch team to look at how carless Vermonters in rural areas are meeting their transportation needs. She was also an outreach intern for the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, where she advocated for sustainable transportation and petroleum reduction in the Green Mountain State. She is now a planner for the Detroit Department of Transportation.
Niki Tier	Niki Tier (she/her) gradauted with a BS in Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2024.. She is worked with Dr. Greg Rowangould on her UVM Honors College thesis, evaluating new methods to evaluate the health impacts of near-roadway vehicle emissions exposure.
Alex Greer	Alex Greer graduated with a BS in Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2023. Through a Barrett Scholarship, she worked with Dr. Elizabeth Doran and Dr. Greg Rowangould collecting heat and temperature data around Burlington from an e-bike instrumented with sensors as part of a larger TRC study looking at the effects of transportation infrastructure and land use on micro-climates in urban and rural communities across Vermont. Viewing engineering as a way to improve the environment, Alex is excited to combine what she’s learning about transportation systems at the TRC with her interests in renewable energy and water accessibility.
Sierra Espeland	Sierra Espeland graduated with a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering form UVM in 2023. Her research with Dr. Dana Rowangould looked at how people in rural communities are meeting their transportation needs. She seeks to understand what constraints people face in regards to vehicle access, ability to make trips, financial burdens and trip duration. One of Sierra's goals is to improve people's lives by increasing access to sustainable travel options through a better understanding of how policy decisions and the built environment impact marginalized communities. Sierra is now a Human Factors Engineer with the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration in Washington, D.C.
Holly Foster	Holly Foster is from Mystic, CT and graduated from UVM with a BS in Community and International Developmentin 2023. Holly was a part of a rural transportation equity project with Dr. Dana Rowangould that focused on gathering and analyzing personal stories from rural Vermonters and migrant workers on their transportation experiences. Holly is interested in the effect that transportation access has on food security and physical and mental health. One of the goals of the project is to address the social isolation among rural Vermonters and migrant workers through more accessible and sustainable transportation so that basic needs and community ties can be built. Holly is now a Client Experince Coordinator for the Center for Women and Enterprise.
Julia Lanz-Duret Hernandez	Julia LanzDuret-Hernandez is from Rochester, New York and earned a BS in Community and International Development from UVM in 2023. Their research with Dr. Dana Rowangould focused on the transportation experiences of rural Vermonters in the Northeast Kingdom and of migrant workers in the state of Vermont. Julia is interested in continuing to learn of new ways to improve communities by making them more equitable and sustainable for their residents. Julia aims to amplify rural Vermonter’s needs regarding transportation so that agencies and services can make adequate changes. Julia is currently a staff researcher at the TRC.
Connie Douthwaite	Connie Douthwaite, coming to UVM from Newtown Square, PA graduated with a BS Environmental Engineering in 2023. Her iterests in spatial analysis and transportation led to a research position with the TRC. She worked with Dr. Greg Rowangould to evaluate factors explaining differences in Vermonter’s patterns of vehicle use, vehicle preferences, and vehicular GHG emissions by looking for correlations with other spatial factors.
Julia Clarke	Julia Clarke earned a BS in Civil Engineering from UVM in 2022. Julia worked with Dr. Greg Rowangould as a Barret Scholar and research assistant studing how pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle travel behavior changed in Vermont during and after the Covid-19 stay-at-home period. Julia is currently a MBA student at Boston College.
Erica Quallen	Erica Quallen graduated from UVM with a MS in Civil and Environmetnal Engineering in 2022 where she studied challanges to reducing vehicle dependance and reducing GHG emissions in small and rural communities wiht Dr. Greg Rowangould. After graduating, Erica began working in the City of South Burlington as their Deputy Director of Capital Projects in the Department of Public Works. Erica's role involves managing bicycle and pedestrian facility scoping, design, and construction projects. So far these have included projects like the bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-89, closing gaps in our shared use path network on Dorset Street and Spear Street, and working with our bicycle and pedestrian committee. The other part of her role has been at the long-range planning and policy level working with departments from across the City to develop their 10-year capital improvement plans for all types of projects. Erica’s time with UVM and the TRC has helped me become more comfortable working in the policy realm and bridge the gap between engineers or project managers and the policy makers like our City Manager and City Council.
Stephen Montaño	Joining the TRC from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Stephen Montaño (he/him) earned a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a focus on transportation in 2020. He holds a BS in Civil Engingeering from the University of New Mexico. Stephen’s thesis research with Dr. Greg Rowangould investigated how e-bikes impact a user’s route choice, sense of safety, and the differences between e-bikers and traditional bicyclists infrastructure preferences. One goal of Stephen’s e-bike research is to help communities in Vermont identify opportunities to improve conditions for bicycling. Citing the health, economic, environmental, and accessibility benefits that come with using e-bikes, Stephen sees his research as an outlet for making positive contributions to the environment and the community. Stephen is currently a Senior Engineering Designer at Lee Engineering in Albuquerque, NM.

Student

Profile

Clare Nelson

Clare Nelson (she/her) graduated with a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2024. Her MS thesis research with Dr. Greg Rowangould focused on public support and the equity of mileage based user fees. She also developed an interactive data dashboard to track sustainble transportation performance metrics in Chittenden County, VT. Clare is now working as Research Analyst at the TRC where she is working on a team to forecast how electric vehicle adoption will impact rural energy grids, travel beahvor and land use interactions, and continues reseasch on developing innovative data dashboards to support public policy evaluation.

Brittany Antonczak

Dr. Brittany Antonczak gradauted with a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2024. Her PhD disseration research with Dr. Greg Rowangould evaluated exposure to vehicle traffic and vehicle emissions in the United States and exposure to excess heat from transportaiton infrastructure. Dr. Antonczak joined the TRC as a postdoctoral scholar where she is working to develope novel high resolution traffic and emission exposure prediction models.

Harry Schuke

Harry Schukei graduated with an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2024. Harry is originally from Fairfax, VT. His research with Dr. Dana Rowangould focused on how travel differs in urban and rural communities, particularly how the built environment affects how people travel. He is currently a staff researcher at the UVM Transportation Research Center evaluating how vehicle use varies across rural contexts. Harry wants to use his knowledge to improve transportation policy and planning in communities of all sizes and types.

Parker King

Dr. Parker King graduated with a PhD in Civil and Environmentl Engineering from UVM in 2024. His PhD disseration research with Dr. Greg Rowangould and Dr. Elizabth Doran studied the contribution of transportation infrastructure and paved surfances to elevated tempertatures and heat exposure and developed new models to estimate and evaluate heat exposure from pavement. Dr. King is now a postdoctal scholar at Arizona State University where he continues to study heat exposure.

Owen Palcsik

Owen Palcsik graduated with a BA in Geography and a minor in Data Science in 2024. His interests include bringing the social justice themes of geography to the field of transportation and understanding the social and spatial implications of the transition to green transportation. Owen worked with Dr. Dana Rowangould to study how place shapes electric vehicle perceptions and adoption in Vermont. Owen is now a planner for the City of Aspen, Colorado.

Maisie Melican

Maisie Melican (she/her) graduated wtih a BA in Geography in 2024. She worked with Dr. Dana Rowangould’sresearch team to look at how carless Vermonters in rural areas are meeting their transportation needs. She was also an outreach intern for the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, where she advocated for sustainable transportation and petroleum reduction in the Green Mountain State. She is now a planner for the Detroit Department of Transportation.

Niki Tier

Niki Tier (she/her) gradauted with a BS in Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2024.. She is worked with Dr. Greg Rowangould on her UVM Honors College thesis, evaluating new methods to evaluate the health impacts of near-roadway vehicle emissions exposure.

Alex Greer

Alex Greer graduated with a BS in Environmental Engineering from UVM in 2023. Through a Barrett Scholarship, she worked with Dr. Elizabeth Doran and Dr. Greg Rowangould collecting heat and temperature data around Burlington from an e-bike instrumented with sensors as part of a larger TRC study looking at the effects of transportation infrastructure and land use on micro-climates in urban and rural communities across Vermont.

Viewing engineering as a way to improve the environment, Alex is excited to combine what she’s learning about transportation systems at the TRC with her interests in renewable energy and water accessibility.

Sierra Espeland

Sierra Espeland graduated with a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering form UVM in 2023. Her research with Dr. Dana Rowangould looked at how people in rural communities are meeting their transportation needs. She seeks to understand what constraints people face in regards to vehicle access, ability to make trips, financial burdens and trip duration. One of Sierra's goals is to improve people's lives by increasing access to sustainable travel options through a better understanding of how policy decisions and the built environment impact marginalized communities.

Sierra is now a Human Factors Engineer with the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration in Washington, D.C.

Holly Foster

Holly Foster is from Mystic, CT and graduated from UVM with a BS in Community and International Developmentin 2023. Holly was a part of a rural transportation equity project with Dr. Dana Rowangould that focused on gathering and analyzing personal stories from rural Vermonters and migrant workers on their transportation experiences.

Holly is interested in the effect that transportation access has on food security and physical and mental health. One of the goals of the project is to address the social isolation among rural Vermonters and migrant workers through more accessible and sustainable transportation so that basic needs and community ties can be built. Holly is now a Client Experince Coordinator for the Center for Women and Enterprise.

Julia Lanz-Duret Hernandez

Julia LanzDuret-Hernandez is from Rochester, New York and earned a BS in Community and International Development from UVM in 2023. Their research with Dr. Dana Rowangould focused on the transportation experiences of rural Vermonters in the Northeast Kingdom and of migrant workers in the state of Vermont.

Julia is interested in continuing to learn of new ways to improve communities by making them more equitable and sustainable for their residents. Julia aims to amplify rural Vermonter’s needs regarding transportation so that agencies and services can make adequate changes.

Julia is currently a staff researcher at the TRC.

Connie Douthwaite

Connie Douthwaite, coming to UVM from Newtown Square, PA graduated with a BS Environmental Engineering in 2023. Her iterests in spatial analysis and transportation led to a research position with the TRC. She worked with Dr. Greg Rowangould to evaluate factors explaining differences in Vermonter’s patterns of vehicle use, vehicle preferences, and vehicular GHG emissions by looking for correlations with other spatial factors.

Julia Clarke

Julia Clarke earned a BS in Civil Engineering from UVM in 2022. Julia worked with Dr. Greg Rowangould as a Barret Scholar and research assistant studing how pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle travel behavior changed in Vermont during and after the Covid-19 stay-at-home period.

Julia is currently a MBA student at Boston College.

Erica Quallen

Erica Quallen graduated from UVM with a MS in Civil and Environmetnal Engineering in 2022 where she studied challanges to reducing vehicle dependance and reducing GHG emissions in small and rural communities wiht Dr. Greg Rowangould. After graduating, Erica began working in the City of South Burlington as their Deputy Director of Capital Projects in the Department of Public Works. Erica's role involves managing bicycle and pedestrian facility scoping, design, and construction projects. So far these have included projects like the bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-89, closing gaps in our shared use path network on Dorset Street and Spear Street, and working with our bicycle and pedestrian committee. The other part of her role has been at the long-range planning and policy level working with departments from across the City to develop their 10-year capital improvement plans for all types of projects.

Erica’s time with UVM and the TRC has helped me become more comfortable working in the policy realm and bridge the gap between engineers or project managers and the policy makers like our City Manager and City Council.

Stephen Montaño

Joining the TRC from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Stephen Montaño (he/him) earned a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a focus on transportation in 2020. He holds a BS in Civil Engingeering from the University of New Mexico. Stephen’s thesis research with Dr. Greg Rowangould investigated how e-bikes impact a user’s route choice, sense of safety, and the differences between e-bikers and traditional bicyclists infrastructure preferences. One goal of Stephen’s e-bike research is to help communities in Vermont identify opportunities to improve conditions for bicycling. Citing the health, economic, environmental, and accessibility benefits that come with using e-bikes, Stephen sees his research as an outlet for making positive contributions to the environment and the community. Stephen is currently a Senior Engineering Designer at Lee Engineering in Albuquerque, NM.

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