ITS America 2016 San Jose Student Essay Competition Sponsored by Southwest Research Institute

The ITS America 2016 San Jose Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Student Essay Competition will be sponsored again this year by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The annual prize, to be awarded at ITS America 2016 San Jose on Sunday, June 12 during the ITS America Board of Directors meeting, encourages postsecondary students to take a leadership role in advancing transportation technology by sharing their own, unique concepts and ideas, as expressed via an original , self-authored 2,000-word essay. The contest is aimed at undergraduate and graduate-level students studying transportation, engineering, and public policy.

“This is the fifth year of our sponsorship and, happily, we continue to be impressed by the creativity of the student essays,” said Steve Dellenback, Ph.D., executive director of SwRI’s Automation and Data Systems Division. “These students are smartly positioning themselves for ever greater academic and professional success. They’re taking an active role now, helping to address the ITS industry challenges of today and tomorrow. They’re the future of this dynamic, exciting industry hungry for smart people with fresh, innovative ideas.”

Students’ essays are to focus on either of these topics:

“How do you envision the city of the future will address transportation through the use of new innovative technologies? (10-year horizon)”

“How can existing and future ITS deployments benefit from the existence of Big Data and advancements in analytics?”

The winning student will receive a $1,000 cash prize, complimentary registration to the ITS America 2016 San Jose event, and expenses-paid air travel and hotel accommodations for the venue. Selection of the winning essay is based on the thought-provoking insights expressed about the future of the intelligent transportation industry.

To be eligible, students must be postsecondary graduate or undergraduate level enrolled full-time at an accredited college or university. Contestants’ essays must be a Microsoft Word attachment formatted with one inch margins, single-spacing, and 12 point font submitted to [email protected] no later than May 6, 2016.

The 2015 winning essays highlighted vehicle platooning, Bluetooth technology applied to roadways, and cooperative adaptive cruise control.