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Student essay award winners honored at ITS America in Pittsburgh

The 2015 student essay winners were honored Tuesday morning during the ITS America Business Meeting. Chris Fitzpatrick from the University of Missouri wrote the winning essay about the potential of platooning autonomous commercial trucks with a single driver, saving fuel, improving safety and increasing lane capacity. Fitzpatrick’s winning essay ‘Enhancing Commercial Vehicle Safety and Emissions Reduction by the use of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication in Tractor-Trailer Platoons’ argues that the technolo
June 3, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Chris Fitzpatrick from the University of Missouri
The 2015 student essay winners were honored Tuesday morning during the 560 ITS America Business Meeting.

Chris Fitzpatrick from the University of Missouri wrote the winning essay about the potential of platooning autonomous commercial trucks with a single driver, saving fuel, improving safety and increasing lane capacity. Fitzpatrick’s winning essay ‘Enhancing Commercial Vehicle Safety and Emissions Reduction by the use of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication in Tractor-Trailer Platoons’ argues that the technology exists for this type of application and could be implemented in the near future.

Hyoshin Park won second place for an essay titled ‘Innovative Applications of Bluetooth Technology on Arterial Roads’ while ‘Assessing the Impact of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CAACC) Technology in Managed Lanes Using Dynamic Traffic Assignment’ by Somaye Fakharian Qom was awarded third place.

Sponsored by the 5690 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the essay competition is designed to foster student interest in the development of ITS-based solutions and encourage future participation in the industry as a career path.

Fitzpatrick, the winner of the competition, is working on his Masters degree in civil engineering with a focus on transportation, and his research into the essay has inspired him to pursue a career in ITS.

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