Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship Program

The National Center for Sustainable Transportation at UC Davis awards undergraduate research fellowships to students interested in continuing their studies over the summer by conducting research in one of the following areas: environmentally responsible infrastructure and operations, multi-modal travel and sustainable land use, zero-emission vehicle and fuel technologies, and institutional change. We are very excited to have these students working with us!

Learn about how you can apply for our fellowship program!


2023 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows

Photo of Hrithika Chittanuru

Hrithika Chittanuru

Major: Environmental Science and Management
Mentor: Dr. Susie Pike

Hrithika worked on a research project exploring the consumer market of Microtransit services like ‘SmaRT Ride’ in the Sacramento area. She is looking to analyze the effect of Microtransit services on consumer health by using survey data to create models. 


Photo of Graham Deleon

Graham Deleon

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
Mentor: Dr. Susie Pike

Graham investigated the effectiveness of SB 375, a CEQA streamlining exemption, which allows for city planners to bypass the environmental impact report (EIR) process if certain conditions are met.

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Photo of Jonathan Fung

Jonathan Fung

Major: Environmental Engineering
Mentor: Dr. Ali A. Butt and Dr. John Harvey

Jonathan worked with the UC Pavement Research Center to develop a framework and first-order estimate of global warming potential from build-out, maintenance, and rehabilitation, of the world’s roadway infrastructure networks to 2050. 

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Alivia Gharib Photo

Alivia Gharib

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
Mentor: Dr. Jamey Volker

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Kaylee Gorham photo

Kaylee Gorham

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
Mentor: Dr. Susie Pike

Kaylee researched California transit agencies' perceived obstacles in adopting open-loop payment systems. As cashless transit fare alternatives become more prevalent, her research aims to determine a transition most equitable for underserved populations.

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Photo of Thomas Howe

Thomas Howe

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
Mentor: Dr. Elisa Barbour

Thomas researched Regional Transportation Plans and Sustainable Communities Strategies implemented by California’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) pursuant to SB 375. He is assisting in a research project for the California Air Resources Board to evaluate how well the MPOs have been working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles in relation to local land use policies and decisions.

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Photo of Randi Huang

Randi Huang

Major: Electrical Engineering
Mentor: Dr. Gil Tal

Randi researched the electric vehicle (EV) population within California to find possible trends of EV sales to study the secondary EV market, specifically for battery and plug-in hybrid EVs.

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Photo of Wendi Jiang

Wendi Jiang

Major: Environmental Science and Management
Mentor: Dr. Jamey Volker

Wendi studied the effects of the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on homeowners' parking supply and travel behavior.

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Photo of Anthony La

Anthony La

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning & Sustainable Environmental Design
Mentor: Dr. Jesus Barajas

Anthony studied the barriers affecting electric vehicle adoption in marginalized communities to better understand how we can overcome them and achieve equitable electrification of EV transportation overall. 

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Photo of Jackson Mills

Jackson Mills

Major: Community and Regional Planning & Political Science
Mentor: Dr. Elisa Barbour

Jackson researched the Regional Transportation Plans and Sustainable Communities Strategies approved by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in California. He is contributing to a research project that analyzes the effectiveness of these plans in terms of land use policies and local implementation strategies.

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Photo of Alana Nakafuji

Alana Nakafuji

Major: Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Dr. Dillon Fitch

Alana researched existing and developing bicycle/pedestrian traffic sensor technologies, specifically those with computer-vision software. Quantifying bicycle/pedestrian data ensures adequate funding and infrastructure development for non-motorized means of transportation.

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Photo of Melinda Poley

Melinda Poley

Major: Political Science - Public Service
Mentor: Dr. Susie Pike

Melinda worked with Susan Pike on a Microtransit project which explores pilot adoption and its impact with various transportation modes. She is focusing on the travel behaviors of SmaRT Ride passengers collected from surveys. The process of her data analysis includes identifying the characteristics of nine service zones and how each of them cover the needs of transit riders in relation to one another.

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2022 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows

Photo of Sydney Cliff

Sydney Cliff

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
Mentor: Dr. Dillon Fitch

Sydney helped to design a research study investigating the cost and magnitude of bicycle theft, as well as the impacts bicycle theft has on travel behavior and bicycle usage. She conducted a literature search, developed a conceptual model of bike theft, and helped design a survey instrument to collect data for the comprehensive evaluation of the magnitude of bike theft in the U.S. 

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Photo of Vincent Colas

Vincent Colas

Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
Mentor: Dr. Susie Pike

Vincent worked on a research project that consists of evaluating factors which have contributed to the decrease in active transportation mode use in California since 2012. Precisely, the analysis aimed to examine if the introduction of AB-60 driver's licenses played a role in such decrease between 2012 and 2017.

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Photo of Nathan Durwood

Nathan Durwood

Major: Philosophy
Mentor: Dr. Susan Handy

Nathan researched strategies and measures that reduce vehicles miles traveled (VMT) in order for CalTrans to offset the VMT impact of a highway expansion project. He compiled measures and reviewed research on the effectiveness of said measures in reducing VMT.

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Image of Julianne Mackey

Julianne Mackey

Major: Environmental Science and Management
Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

Julianne will be investigating the ecological impacts of Interstate-580 on East Bay Area wildlife communities at the UC Davis Road Ecology Center. Her research involves placing and monitoring camera traps adjacent to I-580, identifying species from animal signs and camera trap photos, and processing California Highway Patrol wildlife collision reports. This project aims to identify potential road barrier effects and areas of conservation concern along I-580. 

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Photo of Bruce Markman

Bruce Markman

Major: Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology
Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

Bruce collaborated with scientists on researching Mountain Lion movement in response to traffic noise and light pollution in Southern California by performing spatial data collection and analysis on the study area using GIS. This study aimed to help establish a management plan for Mountain Lion corridors in Southern California and aid in their conservation.

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Photo of Junhong Qu

Junhong Qu

Major: Landscape Architecture
Mentor: Dr. Elisa Barbour

Junhong investigated the barriers and trade-offs of transit-oriented development by analyzing the progress and accomplishment of transit-oriented development projects in different major cities in California. He helped contribute to a report on these projects that identifies ways to overcome the challenges and tensions in transit-oriented development. 

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Photo of Jiawen Tang

Jiawen Tang

Majors: Environmental Science and Management & Statistics
Mentor: Dr. Dahlia Garas

Jiawen compared different institutions' data on the importance of incentives and rebates on people's decisions to change to or continue using plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) instead of vehicles with internal combustion engines. Combined with the comprehensive data, Jiawen helped to produce suggestions for PEV policy support in California's electrification goal for 2035.

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Photo of Huy Tran

Huy Tran

Major: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Dr. Seongkyu Lee

Huy studied the dynamic stall mitigation due to using a micro cavity beneath an airfoil. Dynamic stall is an adverse, unsteady aerodynamic problem that results in a large excursion of moment and, hence, limits the performance and speed of aerial transportation vehicles. Huy used high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics to investigate the flow instability caused by a micro cavity, which aids to alleviate the dynamic stall phenomenon. This research helps to improve the performance and sustainability of various aerial transformation vehicles, including helicopters, drones, and urban air mobility aircrafts.  

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Photo of Zhengyan Zhang

Zhengyan Zhang

Majors: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning & Economics
Mentor: Dr. Giovanni Circella

Zhengyan helped to support the research work conducted in the 3 Revolutions Future Mobility Program, specifically on the research projects that focus on the the effects of COVID-19 on transportation patterns. He participated in the implementation and analysis of a survey that tracked lifestyle and transportation adjustments before, during, and after the pandemic. After that, he analyzed the survey results and potential outliers.

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  • 2021 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • Headshot Rosanely Alvarez

    Rosanely Alvarez-Coria

    Major: Managerial Economics
    Mentors: Dr. Elisa Barbour, Amy Lee, Dr. Susan Handy

    Rosanely’s research involved a series of case studies on land use and transportation projects around California; specifically, looking at their effects on travel behavior and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). She also worked with Amy Lee on coding transportation projects and comparing regional transportation plans to the projects that will ultimately be funded. Additionally, Rosanely worked with Dr. Elisa Barbour on a study considering the impacts of COVID-19 on transportation and implications for state policy efforts to reduce driving and promote efficient transportation for the California Air Resources Board. 

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Marc Arenas headshot

    Marc Arenas

    Majors: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning & Political Science
    Mentors: Dr. Jesus Barajas

    Marc assisted with a multidisciplinary project that examined four consequences of freeway construction on minority neighborhoods: direct disruption, increasing segregation, diminished access to job or education opportunities, and health impacts due to increasing mobile sources of pollution. In the future, his research efforts will help to identify the racial demographics of the people and communities that were displaced, the impacts on the localized housing market, and the environmental characteristics of the affected neighborhoods by examining the contemporary levels of transportation-related pollutants using geospatial analysis. 

    View PresentationDownload Final Report


    Yusuf Azam headshot

    Yusuf Azam

    Major: Design
    Mentor: Dr. Beth Ferguson

    Yusuf contributed to research on the Solar Charging Station (SCS) installation for Cruess Hall at the Adapting City Lab. His responsibilities for the SCS included Rhino rendering, design implementation and installation. The SCS combines solar technology, transportation infrastructure, and civic place-making, to provide the public an opportunity to recharge their mobile electronics, e-bikes or e-scooters.


    Sean Bilter headshot

    Sean Bilter

    Major: Environmental Engineering
    Mentors: Dr. Giovanni Circella and Grant Matson

    Sean contributed to research involving the effects of COVID-19 on transportation patterns and mobility. He participated in the implementation and analysis of a survey that tracked lifestyle and transportation adjustments before, during, and after the pandemic. His work helps researchers better understand the transportation needs of workers in a post COVID-19 society.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Morgan Karcs headshot

    Morgan Karcs

    Major: International Relations
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Morgan participated in research on wildlife-vehicle collisions at the UC Davis Road Ecology Center. She processed data from California Highway Patrol reports which were used to update a map of wildlife-vehicle collisions for the online Wildlife Crossing Calculator. She then used this online tool to locate wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots where infrastructure such as fencing and crossing structures would be cost-effective and make the road safer for both humans and wildlife. Finally, she wrote reports proposing mitigation measures for each project area, which will be sent to policymakers.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Alma Meckler-Pacheco headshot

    Alma Meckler-Pacheco

    Major: Environmental Science and Management
    Mentor: Dr. Scott Hardman

    Alma contributed to research conducted at the UC Davis Electric Vehicle Research Center. She conducted research on where electric vehicle buyers get their information and how they become engaged in the transition to electric vehicles. Specifically, Alma was investigating word of mouth, internet sources, and other resources used in the decision to buy an electric vehicle. 

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Holly Murphy headshot

    Holly Murphy

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Amy Lee

    Holly worked with Amy Lee to illustrate the network of coalitions that oppose and support density and transit oriented housing legislation. They assisted with interview and survey design, creating a contact database of those weighing in on relevant legislation, and analyzing written sources to better understand different perspectives on zoning changes in California.

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    Anthony Nguyen headshot

    Anthony Nguyen

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentors: Dr. Giovanni Circella and Alimurtaza Kothawala

    Anthony's research focused on applications of congestion pricing within and outside of the United States in order to develop strategies and suggestions for building successful pilot programs. The process included gathering relevant literature in preparation for interviews with stakeholders and experts to gain an understanding of their views, vision, and assessment of congestion pricing implementation in Los Angeles. 

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    Felipe Ramirez headshot

    Felipe Ramirez

    Major: Sustainable Environmental Design
    Mentor: Dr. Jesus Barajas

    Felipe's research focused on the impacts of freeway siting on minority communities. He focused particularly on US Census data analysis and the consequences of freeway siting, including increasing segregation, diminished access to job or education opportunities, health impacts, and the disinvestment and loss of housing, local businesses and local institutions. 

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    Emil Rodriguez headshot

    Emil Rodriguez

    Major: Civil & Environmental Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Elisa Barbour

    Emil researched the planning process of California’s 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations in developing strategies for greenhouse gas emission reductions through land-use planning. He prepared a report for the California Strategic Growth Council analyzing the relationship between regional transportation plans and state and local plans on transportation, housing, and community development with the goal of informing methods to improve coordination and performance.


    Claire Short headshot

    Claire Short

    Major: Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Claire participated in research on wildlife-vehicle collisions at the UC Davis Road Ecology Center. She processed data from California Highway Patrol reports which were used to update a map of wildlife-vehicle collisions for the online Wildlife Crossing Calculator. She then used this online tool to locate wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots where infrastructure such as fencing and crossing structures would be cost-effective and make the road safer for both humans and wildlife. Finally, she wrote reports proposing mitigation measures for each project area, which will be sent to policymakers.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Paola Vargas headshot

    Paola Vargas

    Major: Environmental Science and Management
    Mentor: Dr. Gwen Arnold

    Paola worked with Professor Arnold, whose research strives to understand how economically marginalized, resource-dependent communities respond and create action after experiencing fracking-related impacts. Her research focused on data analysis collected through surveys that examined communities' perceptions of fracking.

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    Jonathan Wang headshot

    Jonathan Wang

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Adam Davis

    Jonathan contributed to research involving electric vehicle (EV) charging behavior. He analyzed anonymized GPS traces from California drivers collected as part of an electric vehicle miles traveled survey. He identified the frequency of long-duration stays at home and other locations throughout the day to gain a better understanding of when and where EV drivers charge their vehicles. 

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    Jordan Werkmeister headshot

    Jordan Werkmeister

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Gwen Arnold

    Jordan conducted research on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on resource dependent communities. Specifically, she investigated how communities respond to the boom-bust cycles created by the fracking industry and how the boom-bust cycle is conceptualized by governance participants. Additionally, Jordan investigated the impacts of fracking on transportation infrastructure within rural communities.

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    Lucy White headshot

    Lucy White

    Major: Sustainable Environmental Design
    Mentor: Dr. Beth Ferguson

    Lucy worked on improving micro mobility in Oakland, California through mobility hubs with the Adapting City Lab. Her projects include focusing on last and first mile connections between public transit and improving bike safety in urban design at the 11th & Broadway Transit center in San Diego, California.   

    View Presentation | Download Final Report

  • 2020 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • Faiza AlviFaiza Alvi

    Major: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Mentors: PH&EV Center

    Faiza conducted research on existing and planned hydrogen infrastructure in California. Specifically, she looked at the different types of hydrogen refueling possible and how fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) can be supported as they grow in popularity. 

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Emily CarlsonEmily Carlson

    Major: Design
    Mentors: Dr. Angela Sanguinetti and Dr. Beth Ferguson

    Emily worked on two projects, both exploring visual design’s role in influencing and educating the public on the benefits of sustainable transportation with automobiles. The first project was a survey that researched how to encourage the public to ride in shared autonomous vehicles. The second project was a website that compares electric vehicles to gas vehicles that tries to convince the user that electric vehicles are ultimately the better choice for the environment and the user.

    View EV Explorer Presentation | View RoboTaxi Presentation | Download EV Explorer Report | Download RoboTaxi Report


    TAK CHUN MARCUS ChanTak Chun Marcus Chan

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Giovanni Circella

    Marcus participated in the COVID-19 mobility study by analyzing how behaviors and attitudes have changed over time. He also analyzed how people adjusted to the COVID-19 impact in their lives. Specifically, he examined the responses obtained from online surveys and provided key data findings on transportation during this period of time which relate to various factors such as sociodemographic changes, significant locations affected, the scale of outbreak and the appropriate measures the government was implementing.

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    Aristide FertigAristide Fertig

    Major: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Mentors: Dr. Lew Fulton & Dr. Behdad Kiani

    Aristide gathered data on the economic feasibility of the use of hydrogen as a dominant energy source in California. He investigated different methods of hydrogen production using electrolysis, and the amount of hydrogen already being produced in California. He also researched future prospects of hydrogen demand in California by looking at the state’s future in ammonia production and the energy consumption of steel plants.

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    Kaily FlynKailey Flynn

    Major: Environmental Policy, Analysis, and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Susie Pike

    Kailey used previously-collected survey data to investigate how train users access the Davis Amtrak station and what affects their experience there. She specifically examined how certain variables, like age, gender, and reason for travel, might impact users' transportation choices. She analyzed these areas using regression or other models. She hopes that her work will contribute to our understanding of access modes and access barriers as well as inform the Davis Amtrak Station Access Program.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Emma GoldsmithEmma Goldsmith

    Major: Environmental Policy and Analysis
    Mentor: Dr. Elisa Barbour

    Emma explored local policymaking patterns for transit-oriented development, transit, and active transportation in California's four largest regions: the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento, as well as other case study cities. Emma conducted a literature review of city documents and news coverage on transit-oriented development, transit, and active transportation projects. Additionally, she conducted interviews with key stakeholders and city staff.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    David HaddadDavid Haddad

    Major: Computer Science and Engineering
    Mentors: Dr. Angela Sanguinetti & Dr. Beth Ferguson

    David’s research involved maintaining a tool called “Electric Vehicle (EV) Explorer", a tool that helps consumers decide whether an electric vehicle is right for them. Specifically, David was involved in researching inputs such as updated vehicle purchase and leasing costs, maintenance costs, and incentive amounts.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Janet JinJanet Jin

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Elisa Barbour

    Janet investigated how cities in California are adopting plans and policies to support transit-oriented development (TOD), transit, and active transport. Specifically, Janet drafted case studies on selected California cities that assess their motivations, obstacles, and priorities for promoting development near transit.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Eben KohnEben Kohn

    Major: Managerial Economics
    Mentor: Dr. Debapriya Chakraborty

    Eben contributed to research conducted at the UC Davis Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center. He contributed to an investigation of models that predict household vehicle choice and travel behavior. Eben and his team investigated how these models can be improved to account for electric vehicles as well.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Min KyawMin Kyaw

    Major: Environmental Science and Management
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Min analyzed the impact of COVID-19-related stay-at-home orders on the occurrences of wildlife-traffic collisions. Analyses were conducted through Caltrans' Performance Measurement System (PeMS) traffic data source and the California Highway Patrol's (CHP) vehicular incident reports. Additionally, Min assisted fellowship advisor Fraser Shilling by tagging wildlife images captured on the Wildlife Observer Network's (WON) camera operations for future analyses. 

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Leo McGrathLeo McGrath

    Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Nesrin Serigul-Klijn

    Leo researched how to reduce unmanned aerial system noise levels with a focus on smaller package delivery systems. As a part of this effort, Leo designed a deployment system for a noise reduction device called a microtab that Professor Sarigul-Klijn researched.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Mae MoninghoffMae Moninghoff

    Major: Cognitive Science and Computer Science
    Mentors: PH&EV Center

    Mae assisted in the development of an intelligent fuel-optimization algorithm for hybrid electric vehicles which utilizes GPS data and charger location data to predict when a driver will next be able to charge their vehicle. She worked alongside graduate students in writing the code required to achieve this goal, as well as organizing and supplying relevant data to her team, such as charger location and usage statistics.

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    Tricia NguyenTricia Nguyen

    Major: Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Tricia worked with the UC Davis Road Ecology Center to help research the impacts of the California COVID-19 stay-at-home order on the frequency of wildlife-vehicle conflicts and the effect of sea level rise on shoreline birds in habitat near coastal transportation infrastructure. Tricia analyzed Freeway Performance Measurement System (PeMS) and California Highway Incident Processing System (CHIPS) data, as well as developed a method for analyzing videos from time-lapse cameras at shoreline habitats. 

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Zachary RamalingamZachary Ramalingam

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. John Harvey

    Zachary conducted research related to the development of a life cycle assessment framework for complete streets project. In particular, he reviewed performance measures for equity by examining case studies and testing the feasibility of the proposed socio-economic indicators. 

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    Malak SalehMalak Saleh

    Major: Environmental Science and Management
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Malak worked with a group of undergrad students to analyze the effects the COVID-19 stay at home order has had on the rate of wildlife vehicle conflicts in California. Malak performed a data analysis to determine if there is any correlation between reductions in traffic and reductions in wildlife vehicle collisions. She also worked on a separate project to track the presence of wildlife near highways in the East Bay.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Grant SlesGrant Sles

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Dillon Fitch

    Grant studied the relationship between the active transportation planning process and gentrification in the Sacramento area. Specifically, he evaluated the public engagement efforts made by transportation planners developing active transportation plans in low-income neighborhoods.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Chantheary SothChantheary Soth

    Major: Computer Science
    Mentors: Dr. Angela Sanguinetti & Dr. Beth Ferguson

    Chantheary worked working on the full-stack development of a custom survey tool that proposes design strategies for shared automated vehicles to encourage ride-share and mitigate risk to passenger privacy and safety. The survey provides insight to passenger behavior by their response to a given shared autonomous vehicle design followed by various scenarios. This custom survey tool provides great flexibility in creating a more realistic and interactive experience for survey participants.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Gabrielle TrujilloGabrielle Trujillo

    Major: Biological Sciences
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Gabrielle participated in organizing and analyzing data on animal collisions in relation to traffic values. She utilized systems, including PeMS and CHIPS, to draw conclusions on how the COVID-19 pandemic possibly alters trends in wildlife traffic incidents.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Anna Anna Wang

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Susan Handy

    Anna worked with her mentor, Susan Handy, on her research in finding factors that influence teenager’s attitudes towards driving. Anna composed the literature review to find existing research on the relationship between communication patterns among families and driving behavior, the impact of a graduated license system (GLS) on delayed licensure, and the associations of personality, self-identity, and peer behavior on adolescent attitudes on driving. In addition, Anna researched the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on transportation for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in a project that identifies barriers to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation. Anna investigated and tracked changes in transportation policy and operations that emerged as a result of the pandemic.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report 

  • 2019 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • fellow photoSonia Anthoine

    Major: Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Mentors: Dr. Susan Handy & Dr. Dillon Fitch

    Sonia used travel data from two waves of surveys conducted in the Sacramento Region to better understand travel behavior in California's capital and the surrounding area. Sonia's analysis was part of a larger body of work that will provide valuable information that will help cities create better plans and regulations to promote reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through the use of bike and scooter share and other active transportation options.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    fellow photoNoam Baharav

    Major: Environmental Science and Management
    Mentors: Dr. Gil Tal & Dr. Debapriya Chakraborty

    Noam is first author on a study submitted for review to the Transportation Research Board. Her study was the first to examine gender differences in charging behavior for plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles (collectively known as PEVs) and potential motivations or barriers behind these behaviors. Noam conducted extensive literature review, transcription and overview of 40 participant interviews, performed data cleaning, and assisted with statistical analysis. Collaborating with and assisted by her mentors, Noam co-wrote the research paper for review. The study uncovered statistically significant gender differences in PEV charging behavior and explored potential causes for these differences.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    fellow photoScott Begneski

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentors: Dr. Gil Tal & Dr. Debapriya Chakraborty

    Scott supported a project funded by BMW to understand the integration of used electric vehicles in the campus vehicle fleet.  The campus collected data from the vehicles in both the daily and hourly rental fleet, and this data was analyzed to compare how the electric vehicles are used compared to conventional gasoline or diesel vehicles or hybrid vehicles. The goals of this project were to understand the challenges to EV adoption in fleets, and potential cost savings, and the user experience.

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    fellow photoBingchu Chen

    Major: Geography and Environmental Studies
    Mentors: Dr. Susan Handy & Dr. Dillon Fitch

    Bingchu assisted with a literature review and data analysis in a research synthesis project about the benefits of bike/pedestrian programs and projects with a specific look at safety outcomes from road designs. The project focused on studies that quantify benefits from programs and projects with a focus on intervention and natural experiments, which will help inform California's process for reviewing proposals submitted for funding through the Active Transportation Program (ATP). This project also considered the current laws and regulations for designing and planning roads with a focus on safety outcomes and antecedents. It included current methods for setting speed limits and examined the California specific laws on road design, which part of the synthesis helped inform the California Zero Traffic Fatality Task Force (AB 2363).

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    fellow photoLorna Haworth

    Major: Environmental Science and Management - Ecology
    Mentor: Dr. Gwen Arnold

    Lorna’s research project consisted of a literature review about wildlife crossings across roadways. Data was collected from scholarly journals of specific projects under an array of parameters. Some of these parameters include geographic location, ecosystem, species type, listed status, and the degree to which success is measured. From this cumulation of data, Lorna analyzed and reported trends among wildlife corridors in the United States.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    fellow photoDanielle Levin

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentors: Dr. Giovanni Circella & Grant Matson

    Danielle assisted in the data refining and preliminary analysis process for a survey project that focuses on attitudes surrounding emerging transportation trends.  The survey involves a social science approach and reflects how apprehensive or excited different generations are about the future of autonomous vehicles.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report

  • 2018 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • Thomas BradasThomas Bradas

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Gil Tal

    Thomas worked with his peers to conduct a research project on the effect of high ambient temperatures on plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging efficiency. Thomas coordinated the project with respect to PEV owners, managed regular temperature measurements, and developed functions for the calculations involved. Thomas also contributed to other projects at the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center, including studies on PEV usage and market availability.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Jenny CallanJenny Callan

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Deb Niemeier

    Jenny’s research project involved providing data for the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid group which represents a low-income, minority neighborhood that borders Mexico and are battling city plans to move a bus hub to an underprivileged high school area. She calculated the difference between emissions generated from diesel and propane buses, in particular CO, NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and VOC emissions, to provide support to the legal group’s claims. Jenny also applied the Title VI Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s school siting guidelines, and National Ambient Air Quality Standards to her findings as an added level of analysis for this project.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Valerie ChangValerie Chang

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Deb Niemeier

    Valerie’s research investigated pavement smoothness, bicycle dynamic measurements, and their relationship to ride quality. Specifically, she examined the relationship between bicycle ride quality and traditional pavement roughness measurement, and bicycle accelerations and steering angle indices. Valerie used 30 bike path sections with a representative range of pavement surface conditions to collect acceleration data, steering angle data, GPS location data, and mean texture depth data.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Jonathan DoyleJonathan Doyle

    Major: Mechanical Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Paul Erickson

    Jonathan developed an experimental setup for measuring the thermodynamic and heat transfer performance of a gas turbine compressor stator at various operating parameters. His work involved the preliminary design and modeling in SolidWorks and ANSYS Fluent, fabrication of the stator, and identification of instrumentation as well as controls. The results of this work formed a basis for subsequent experimentation within the Energy Research Lab’s Fuel Integrated Energy Recuperative Aero-Derivative (FIERA) project.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Parisa FarmanParisa Farman

    Major: Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Parisa conducted research on projects for the UC Davis Road Ecology Lab that focused on analyzing roadkill data and investigating the use of wildlife crossing structures. Parisa helped to set up motion sensor cameras in and around wildlife crossing structures, identifying species in the photos that are taken by the cameras, and reading through California Highway Patrol reports regarding traffic accidents with wildlife.

    View Presentation | Download Final Report


    Jonathan GordonJonathan Gordon

    Major: Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Gil Tal

    Jon worked on a variety of projects at the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center. He assisted in the data collection effort for an ongoing multi-year study called the electric Vehicle Miles Traveled (eVMT) study, analyzing the use patterns of domestic plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Jon also worked with other NCST summer researcher fellows to construct their own methodology, implementation, and analysis for a study to determine the effects of extreme temperature on electric battery charging efficiency with the goal of advising policy makers and PEV owners.

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    Mia GuarnieriMia Guarnieri

    Major: Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Mia worked on a UC Davis Road Ecology Center project that investigated how light and noise pollution affect the wildlife usage of crossing structures under highways. She helped to set-up and take down camera traps at crossings and in the surrounding area, identify species in the collected photos, and sort through photos in an online database, noting animal species and activity.

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    Nathaniel KongNathaniel Kong

    Major: Managerial Economics and Computer Science
    Mentor: Dr. Gil Tal

    Nathan worked with his mentor on multiple projects related to electric vehicles. His main project measured the charging efficiency of cars in order to analyze how much energy is lost to temperature, specifically, high temperatures. Nathan also worked on the ongoing eVMT (electric Vehicle Miles Traveled) Project to help study how people use plug-in electric vehicles in their fleet of vehicles.

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    Kelila KrantzKelila Krantz

    Major: International Relations
    Mentor: Dr. Susan Pike

    Kelila worked with her mentor on researching the sustainable transportation implications of on-demand ride services. She is analyzed interviews with relevant stakeholders, such as state agencies, California metropolitan planning organizations, regional transportation planning agencies, and the ridehailing industry. Kelila also conducted a literature review of past studies, analyzing the potential outcomes of these services related to vehicle miles traveled, congestion, emissions, and public transit use.

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    Brandon ToyBrandon Toy

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Michael Zhang

    Brandon and his team, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation, researched the effects of adding a Yellow Border to the Pedestrian Signal. The desired effect was to decrease the number of pedestrian violations while increasing the visibility of pedestrians so that vehicles would drive more cautiously around them. He helped to record pedestrian and vehicle data and conduct surveys.

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    Brian WalkerBrian Walker

    Major: Mechanical Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Francis Assadian

    Brian worked with his mentor to simulate lithium-ion battery degradation using MATLAB and Simulink. Solar PV arrays and ultra capacitors were added to electric bus simulations to better understand how lithium batteries degrade over time in order to find better ways of achieving longevity of the battery. By achieving more longevity, charge cycles increase and it becomes more useful for public transit, as well as more cost effective over time.

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  • 2017 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • Kathryn CanepaKathryn Canepa

    Major: Sustainable Environmental Design
    Mentor: Dr. Gil Tal

    Kathryn worked with her mentor to write a paper for the Transportation Research Board exploring plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) use in disadvantaged communities. Kathryn is helping with GIS analysis to quantify topics like the share of PEV owners in these communities and how many PEV owners have incomes lower than the California median household income. Kathryn is also helping with additional research that looks at current PEV use with the goal of making electric vehicles more accessible to lower income demographics.

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    Monica GonzalezMonica Gonzalez

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning; Political Science-Public Service
    Mentor: Dr. Giovanni Circella

    Monica worked with her faculty mentor to design a transportation behavior survey for The Sustainable City in Dubai. The study looks at individual’s mobility needs and preferences to characterize a car-sharing program and identify incentives to promote sustainable transportation.

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    Thomas GuoThomas Guo

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Alan Jenn

    Thomas worked with his mentor on researching the environmental and public safety benefits of connected vehicles by reviewing their overall greenhouse gas and traffic reductions, along with their potential for accident prevention.

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    Joseph KaylorJoseph Kaylor

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentors: Dr. Jamey Volker and Amy Lee

    This summer, Joe worked with his mentors to produce case studies for cities in California to research the relationship between transportation impact metrics and land use development patterns. Specifically, Senate Bill 743’s recommendation to switch from Level of Service to Vehicle Miles Traveled as the threshold metric for transportation related environmental impacts in environmental review.

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    Maia MoranMaia Moran

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Gil Tal

    Maia identified and analyzed the impacts of ‘shocks’ to the electric vehicle market in select states and countries by measuring long-term policy and incentive changes. Statistical models paired with a content analysis of policies and incentives have been deployed to measure significant market changes and the potentially distributed impacts of isolated shocks to electric vehicle adoption. The collected data intends to inform policymakers and automakers about the influence of market changes and long-term coordination to support market development.

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    Blythe NishiBlythe Nishi

    Major: Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Debbie Niemeier

    Blythe researched how priority development areas in the Bay Area are being implemented and supported by their local counties and Congestion Management Agencies. She looked at the transit investments and regulations aimed at them, as well as how effective these areas are in providing opportunities for locals and easily accessible transit, jobs, shopping and services.

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    Callum WattsCallum Watts

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Hernandez

    Callum worked with the AridLab team to calculate the photovoltaic potential of parking lots associated with the largest commercial buildings in the United States, and quantify this potential energy in terms of a building-specific electricity generation and electricity consumption balance. This was accomplished by using both the ArcGIS and Aurora platforms to calculate parking lot areas and perform cloud-based solar optimization analysis.

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  • 2016 NCST Undergraduate Research Fellows
  • Esther Robles De Wence and Praewa (Patty) BoonlueEsther Robles De Wence and Praewa (Patty) Boonlue

    Major: Environmental Science and Management
    Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Hernandez

    Patty and Esther worked together to research photovoltaic (PV) solar energy-generating systems. Their goal was to quantify the potential of rooftop-mounted PV systems deployed on 25 of the largest buildings in the United States and compare the amount space on land that rooftop-mounted PV systems save to ground-mounted, utility-scale PV power plants.

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    Freshta PirzadaFreshta Pirzada

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Giovanni Circella

    Freshta worked with a group of graduate students to determine what affects young adults’ choices of mobility. She helped to analyze the responses of over 2,000 young adults to determine how certain factors (e.g., home type, commute distance, travel patterns, city type) influence travel choices. Once patterns and overall preferences are determined, land use and transportation planners can use this information to ensure the mobility needs of young adults are being met.

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    Itsel GuzmanItsel Guzman

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning
    Mentor: Dr. Lew Fulton

    Itsel researched the social and economic viability of dynamic ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft. The study looks at the growth and efficiency of ride share services, and their impacts on carpooling and car ownership in the future.

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    Juliet MartinJuliet Martin

    Major: Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning and Communications
    Mentor: Dr. Fraser Shilling

    Juliet worked with the Road Ecology Center at UC Davis to research the impact of transportation systems on wildlife. This research studies how transportation infrastructure affects the behavior and movement of wildlife. The goal of her project is to effectuate low-impact, sustainable transportation policies beneficial to wildlife wellbeing.

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    Tului GantulgaTului Gantulga

    Major: Civil Engineering
    Mentor: Dr. Miguel Jaller

    Tului researched strategies to improve the efficiency of urban freight deliveries considering delivery times, sequence of stops, costs, and the economic and environmental impact of congestion. He created a program that takes requests at any time of the day and calculates the most efficient way of picking up/dropping off a package based on previously mentioned considerations. The program also gathers traffic data from Google at different times of the day and different days of the week to be able to work offline.

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