NYU Tandon Gives the Green Light to DOT Employee Training

The C2SMART Center at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering takes its name from its focus on “Connected Cities for Smart Mobility toward Accessible and Resilient Transportation.” Part of the Center’s mission is to help educate a next-generation transportation workforce capable of dealing with the challenges that naturally arise in a world of increasing urbanization and evolving technologies.

The Center recently hosted a well-attended two-day Traffic Fundamentals workshop for employees of the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) that included valuable information on traffic-control methods and technology, simulation and modeling, the hot-button topic of congestion pricing, and much more.

Taught by C2SMART Director Kaan Ozbay, Deputy Director Joseph Chow, affiliated faculty Professor Elena Prassas, and Professor John Falcocchio, as well as by C2SMART research associate Abdullah Kurkcu and Ph.D. candidate Jingqin Gao, the workshop courses drew employees from a wide variety of DOT departments, many of whom expressed interest in attending the second, more advanced workshop currently being planned with the help of Jack Bringardner, C2SMART’s Associate Director for Education and Workforce Development Initiatives.

“C2SMART researchers are engaged in workforce redevelopment that has immense practical application outside academia,” Bringardner said. “Holding educational workshops like this, for the people on the frontlines of urban transportation, allows us to have a direct and immediate impact on New York City, which can fairly be considered a living laboratory for our work. Collaborations such as these between industry, government, and university are essential for the effective transfer of research, innovation, and technology into practice.”