Kimberly Vachal named director of NDSU’s Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. Vachal will begin as director on November 2. She has been with UGPTI for nearly three decades conducting research focused on agricultural safety and traffic safety. She succeeds Denver Tolliver who is retiring after more than 40 years at NDSU, including 14 years as UGPTI’s director.
The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute is seeking an IT Project Manager/Intern Instructor in its Department of Transportation Support Center. The successful candidate will be involved in a wide range of IT related transportation issues and will work with a team of computer science students and engineers to develop and maintain web based applications, databases, and services for transportation agencies at the state and local level of government. Exceptional communication, organizational and technical skills are essential. This is a full-time benefited position. Specific responsibilities include: 1) Manage the DOT Support Center information technology function and teach/instruct student interns; 2) Provide mission critical network support and IT services for the DOT Support Center and Advanced Traffic Analysis Center; 3) Software development and support. A B.S. in computer science and 2 years of professional background in transportation or related application development, database administration, and server administration.
The model, developed for the Central Dakota Metropolitan Planning Organization (Minot, Surrey and Burlington) incorporated new data, reflects current real-world travel patterns and integrates advancements in transportation modeling techniques to allow accurate forecasts of traffic demand.
This project, spanning the year 2025, added 17 City intersections, increasing the total number of data-reporting locations to 19. Similar to the North Dakota DOT-sponsored pilot project, this phase of traffic data collection and reporting leveraged existing infrastructure, eliminating the need to purchase or maintain additional traffic data collection devices. The previously underutilized capabilities of existing transportation infrastructure, combined with UGPTI’s cross-cutting expertise and innovative approach, have made it possible to collect traffic data 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days per year.
