Richard Antwi, doctoral candidate in civil engineering, won the student competition at the 2022 International Highway Engineering Exchange Program (IHEEP). (Courtesy ITE FAMU-FSU)
Transpo 2022
From July 17-20, 2022, several students participated in the Transpo 2022 conference in Bonita Springs, Florida. During this conference, our students learned about intelligent transportation systems and how the latest technologies will aid in making our transportation systems more efficient. The event offered workshops and training sessions for soft skills and allowed for our students to network with others from the Florida Puerto Rico ITE district.
ITE Annual Meeting
ITE Annual MeetingFrom July 31 – August 3, 2022, several students from our chapter attended the ITE Annual Meeting that was held in New Orleans. This conference included many informative and interactive workshops on relevant transportation issues as well as suggesting new and innovative ways to solve them. The conference also showcased new and improved products and systems from a variety of transportation firms from around the world. One product that was of interest to our students would be the modular BIKERAIL® system that acts as a safety separation treatment for bike lanes, curb extensions, center medians, parklets, and bike corrals. This belongs to a company by the name of DEZIGNLINE® and they have plans to install this system in Tallahassee on Pensacola Street and St. Augustine Street in the Summer of 2023. This company is working in tandem with Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency to provide another level of safety to our roads in town.
Another opportunity that our students were able to utilize was the massive forum to network. Our students met and conversed with many professionals within the transportation sector and across the globe to provide an immersive environment. Many connections were made and existing connections were expanded upon. Our students will never forget the things that they learn and the connections that they made while in attendance of this conference.
Competition at the 2022 International Highway Engineering Exchange Program (IHEEP)
Competition at the 2022 International Highway Engineering Exchange Program (IHEEP)In September, the 2022 International Highway Engineering Exchange Program (IHEEP) included a student competition at its event in Fort Myers, Florida. FAMU-FSU College of Engineering student Richard Antwi was selected to represent the department in the student competition and emerged first after presenting his research titled, “Detecting Roadway Geometry Data from Roadways using Artificial Intelligence and Aerial Imagery.” Antwi is a second year civil engineering doctoral student at and a graduate research assistant at the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response (RIDER) Center. His research focuses on building resilient transportation systems. He’s currently studying “Detecting School Zones on Florida’s Public Roadways Using Aerial Images and Artificial Intelligence“ and “Satellite Imagery-based Hurricane Debris Assessment on Roadways.”
Future Events
Future EventsOur chapter would love to continue to expose our students to conferences and meetings with professionals as well as opportunities to showcase our hard work and determination. The Florida Puerto Rico Annual Meeting is an event at which our students are planning to attend. From there, our students can expect to network and learn valuable information retaining to the field of transportation. Our chapter organized a general body meeting on October 21, 2022. This general body meeting included a presentation from Autumn Calder, the director of Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency. Through this meeting, our students learned about the many projects that are being planned and constructed in order to make Tallahassee and thriving community.