(authoritative music)

- [Michelle] Hello, and thank you

for tuning in to
"Connections & Directions,"

our University of Michigan's

Civil and Environmental
Engineering podcast.

My name is Michelle Santillan,

and I am the CEE Marketing
Communications Specialist

and host of this series.

During our podcast, we
are featuring members

of our CEE community and how
their work reflects our mission

of engineers and service to society.

We will be highlighting
our strategic directions

and our commitment to
diversity, equity and inclusion.

CEE's five strategic directions

are human habitat experience,
shaping resource flows,

adaptation, automation and
smart infrastructure finance.

Today we're here with Zachary Jerome

who's a PhD student in
transportation studies

under Dr. Henry Liu in civil engineering.

Welcome.
- Thank you,

it's great to be here.

- [Michelle] How do you see yourself

fitting into with the
strategic directions,

or aligning your research

with the strategic directions in CEE?

- [Zachary] Yeah, so I was looking

through the website last night

and I was trying to think, you know,

how myself and the rest of the colleagues

in the Michigan Traffic
Lab sort of fit into that.

And I think generally our research

kind of fits in the automation category.

So we're focused on leveraging
vehicle connectivity

and automation to improve
our transportation systems.

And connected vehicle and
infrastructure data allows us

to pursue new methods for
automating traffic operations

that were not previously available.

So this is important

because a lot of traffic
management centers or agencies

don't have the resources to monitor

and improve traffic signal
timing, for instance.

So while data is providing
a whole new suite

of analytical tools

and unprecedented monitoring capabilities,

we are leveraging those tools

to sort of generate automated
procedures for evaluation

and, you know, optimization and
actual operation procedures.

The other thing I noticed
going through the website

that I thought was really interesting was

there's specific language in there

about testing new technologies and methods

at full scale in realistic
operational environments,

and we'll probably get into this later,

but this is one of the things

that really attracted me to Michigan

and specifically working
with Dr. Henry Liu is

there's a lot of emphasis
on implementing our research

in the real world.

And there's some other language here about

we are breaking down traditional barriers

between laboratory and
field to accelerate research

into practice by forming new partnerships

with industry government
and other stakeholders.

And so I think, you know,
those two quotes that I pulled,

that's really how I see myself fitting,

and then just the rest of my colleagues

that work in the Michigan Traffic Lab.

And Michigan Traffic Lab
is what we call ourselves,

the lab that Dr. Henley Liu runs

in the Civil Engineering Department.

But yeah, we're really big

on how can we implement
our research in the field,

and because of that, we have
a lot of cool partnerships

with industry, you know,
government and other stakeholders.

- [Michelle] So that really
ties into CEE's mission

as being engineers in service to society,

and basically, you were saying

that the real world implementation

of that strategic
direction is what drew you.

Can you give me an example of
a project you're working on

that is happening in the real world

and in society to benefit everyone today?

- [Zachary] Yeah, so, you
know, specifically one thing

that I worked on was,

I have a paper that I published
last year or two years ago,

I forget, it was specifically

on timing yellow light signals.

And we had some data,

I don't know if people remember the audit,

there was the Ann Arbor Connected
Vehicle Test Environment.

So that was a test project that UMTRI had,

I think it was UMTRI,

maybe together with CCAT,

I don't remember exactly the partnership,

but there were about
2,500 personal vehicles

that were equipped with
these onboard units

that would register, you
know GPS tracking and speed

and that sort of thing.

So yeah, these was all volunteer based,

there might have been some compensation

if you were part of the study,
if it was a personal vehicle.

So it was around, it was 2,500 vehicles,

we estimated maybe around
like 3% of Ann Arbor's traffic

in total.

But anyway, because I
had these trajectories,

I was able to actually monitor

and sort of evaluate actual
behaviors through intersections.

And we used those trajectories
to sort of figure out

how to time yellow lights.

And the paper was basically
just some suggestions

to consider, specifically on
left turns was that study,

because, you know, not to
get too into the details,

but the yellow lights, when you time it,

you know, basically wanna make sure

that you have enough time,

if you can't stop,

you wanna make sure
that there's enough time

for the vehicle to cross the
stop bar if they can't stop.

Well, when you're doing a left turn,

you have to slow down to prepare
for your turning maneuver.

So that means if you can't
stop, you need more time,

and there were never really
any real world studies

that evaluated this.

So because we had these trajectories

from real world vehicle data,

we were able to actually
measure the vehicle behavior

through the intersection, so.

- [Michelle] Okay. So,
that's an excellent example

of something that you
were able to implement

or that can have real
world benefits for people.

How do you see DEI being incorporated

in the Department not
necessarily specific to a class

or a research area?

- [Zachary] Yeah, so this is
another thing I was thinking

about yesterday, kind
of preparing for this.

You know, one thing I think is,

I think the new faculty
hires reflect this,

it reflects a targeted
effort to consider this

and bring more diversity
to the CEE faculty.

And I remember when I first came,

I'm a third year PhD,

when I first came here, that
was right around the time

the DEI committee initiatives
I think were starting.

I remember there being a lot of language

and programs directed
towards this initiative.

So I just think the initial incorporation

of this has been pretty strong.

There's definitely a concerted effort,

targeted effort I should
say, towards this.

But other than that, like
I think specifically,

you know, one of the reasons
I really like Michigan,

University of Michigan and the
CEE Department in general is

because we're very committed

to being the best engineers
we can possibly be,

and the best program we can possibly be.

And I think a natural outgrowth of that is

well, we want the best
people to be here, right?

And so, because of that, we
need to be diverse in, you know

the backgrounds that we're including.

And so, that drive to be really good

or to be the best program we can be,

the best engineers we can
be kind of naturally leads

to a diverse environment
that we experience.

And to give a specific,

you know, even though we're
in the civil department,

in my lab, I think I'm the
only actual civil undergrad.

So we have undergrads from
automotive engineering,

well, we have master students

who got their undergraduate
degrees in automotive,

computer science.

And so there's a lot of
different backgrounds just

in terms of educational level.

And that's really important,
not just educationally,

but, you know, different
diverse backgrounds

in terms of, you know, where you're from,

because, you know, just
simple things like identifying

what the problem is
can be changed by that.

Because, you know, if
you get a civil engineer,

a computer scientist and an
automotive engineer on the room

it'll take us a while to actually,

like, we all have different
ideas of what the problem is.

So just even that is good

'cause we have a more targeted effort

into sort of identifying those problems.

So yeah, I would say just,
you know, Michigan CEE,

our drive to become a really
good department, you know,

as time goes on, I think
will naturally mean

that we are trying to
be the best we can be,

and that includes the DEI initiatives

that are natural from that, yeah.

- [Michelle] And some of the
additional items such as MITSO.

- [Zachary And Michelle]
The Michigan Transportation

Student Organization.

- [Zachary] Yeah, it's a mouthful.

(Michelle and Zachary laugh)

- [Michelle] With MITSO,
tell me a little bit

about that and your involvement
with the organization.

- [Zachary] Yeah, so MITSO
is a student interest group.

So it's open basically for
anyone at the University,

not just CEE who's
interested in transportation

and engineering specifically.

It's open to anyone to come,

and what we basically try to
do is give people connections

to formulate a transportation
engineering career.

And the reason this kind of came up

I think is because, you
know, transportation,

we don't have a specific department,

we're within CEE,

but because of that, there's
a lot of outside things

that could be useful,

like different professional
societies for instance,

you know, directing students
into different classes

they can take or different
seminars that are available.

So that's a huge thing that we try to do.

So the other thing that we do is

we lead sort of technical tours.

So we've done Mcity,

we've done the Southeast
Michigan Transportation

Operations Center, SEMTOC,

we're going to the Detroit
Airport in a couple weeks

to take a tour.

So those are sort of things.

And one of the things,

so specifically how I serve,
I'm the president this year,

I was elected last April
and so my term is almost up,

but one of the things I really wanted

to do was sort of
improve our relationships

with industry and the field,

and that came through
professional societies.

So the Institute of
Transportation Engineers

is a pretty internationally
well-know society.

So I sort of, we had contact
with them a couple years ago

about creating a chapter,

but this year we sort of
really made that connection,

we have an official chapter now.

And so my vision for MITSO
moving forward is, excuse me,

that it would be a host to
these professional societies,

'cause ITE student
chapters are very common

in a lot of other universities
across the country.

So we'll have a University of
Michigan ITE student chapter

that's housed within MITSO.

And so MITSO, I have a summary here is

you know, explore different
professional, academic,

research and mentorship opportunities.

And so if I had to summarize it, you know,

our main goal is just to connect students

with all those different opportunities

within transportation.

- [Michelle] Okay, and if you
had a pearl of wisdom to share

with a prospective student
who was considering

the University of Michigan
for CEE, what would that be?

And I know you said that you had a number

of reasons why you yourself
chose the University,

perhaps you'd like to share those now?

- Yeah, yeah.

So in terms of the pearl of wisdom

from my experience here,
I'll answer that first.

I think my first year there
was a lot of imposter syndrome,

I think that's pretty common
for a lot of graduate students

as they start, you know,
"How do I fit in here?

Do I belong here?

Do I have contributions?"

And eventually, I don't know

if my professor said this directly

or I just kind of got the hint
from a general thing he said,

but basically the general
idea was, you know,

he gave me an offer to come here

because he believed that
I had unique strengths

that would benefit the University.

So especially if you're considering here

and, you know, you've gotten an offer

but you're not sure, like maybe,

you know, you'll fit in here,

I just encourage, you know,

don't discount your own
intuition and ideas.

You were given an offer to the program

because someone believed in
your potential to contribute.

And that's something
I think I still, like,

wrestle with even as a third year,

but that's something I
constantly remind myself

is there are people that believe in you,

and they didn't bring you here
just to sort of learn facts

and regurgitate them.

They brought you here

because you have something
valuable to bring

to the department,

and, you know, our job as a department is

to awaken that within
you or to encourage you

to research your own ideas

and to bring your own contributions.

So that would be my wisdom,

or, you know my pearl of wisdom I guess is

what we're calling it.

So in terms of like why I
chose Michigan specifically,

you know, it had a lot to do with,

you know, the real world research,

implementing things in the real world,

the connections that,

especially in transportation
I'll speak specifically,

once you get to grad school
it's a little bit more,

I feel like the areas of civil are

a little bit more targeted, right?

So my area, I'm very transportation heavy

is what I'm about to say in
terms of my recommendations

has a lot to do with
transportation, right?

But just, you know, we
have Mcity, we have UMTRI,

University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute,

we have the CCAT,

the Center for Connected and
Automated Transportation.

There's a lot of opportunities,

a lot of funding available to students,

and all that stuff attracted to me,

and then obviously we're
in Southeast Michigan,

there's a lot of automotive
development happening,

research and development and
manufacturing happening here.

And especially with transportation,
you know, with the rise

of automated vehicles
and connected vehicles,

you know, the lines between
transportation engineering

and vehicle manufacturing are
becoming a lot more blurred,

so they're a lot more integrated.

So those were all things
that attracted me,

and then just Dr. Henry
Liu, you know, his research,

his expertise and just
his desire to, you know,

he's always asking us

what's the direct impact of our research?

So that drive to, you know,
in the next five years,

how is our research gonna impact, right?

So sort of the short term research view

is something I was really interested in.

You know, we do a lot
of theoretical stuff,

but there's still a lot
of direct applications

in the near future that I'm interested in.

And then, you know,
obviously U of M has a great,

a lot of prestige in the
country and in the world,

a lot of people know what UM
is, that was a big attractor.

And they just have a lot of connections.

Even with MITSO, it's
very easy to find people

that want to come speak,

(Zachary chuckles)

a lot of different speakers who are eager

to come speak with us and
give us advice, so, yeah.

And Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor's
a great place to live,

I really love it here.

So, you know, I love it so much I might,

I probably will stay
here after I graduate.

So just, it's a great place to live

if anyone's considering Michigan.

So those are all my thoughts
on why you should choose UM.

- [Michelle] In saying that,
how do you see yourself

then parlaying your education
into being an engineer

in service to society,

ultimately where would you
see yourself ending up?

- [Zachary] Yeah, so
I'm not totally sure yet

in terms of job specifics.

I know that I think I'd probably
like to go into industry.

I know I'm studying PhD,

but I'm pretty sure I don't
wanna stay in academia.

My role in terms of engineering
in service to society

I think would be to be
sort of on that edge

of implementation, sort
of connecting research

that's coming out of university here

and moving towards how
do we implement that

in the world right away.

And I kind of wrote down
here like three ideas

on how to make that happen, right?

And these are something that I've learned,

I guess over my course
at Michigan, you know,

there's responsible study,

there's communication with the public,

and then there's dissemination
of my knowledge, right?

So the first step is the identification

of problems through study and
communication with the public.

So, you know, we're studying
PhDs, we do a lot of studying,

we have a lot of knowledge
of different problems,

but we also need to
communicate with the public,

we can't be in our labs all day,

we can't be in our office all day.

So going out there,

and transportation's really easy

because you talk to people all
the time that are operating

or interacting with
transportation on a regular basis.

So it's not that hard to go out

and talk to the community
about transportation problems,

but, you know, identifying the
problem is half the battle,

identifying the right
problem is half the battle

with what we're talking about.

So that's, you know, the first one.

And then, you know, having a PhD,

you know, expertise or area in that,

or knowledge and how to find the expertise

is almost just as important
to solve that problem.

And then once you have that, you know,

this is the clear communication

of that expertise with the public.

'Cause you might have
the best solution ever,

it might be clear to you that
this is the best idea ever,

but if the public doesn't get it

or they don't understand
what you're doing,

or maybe not the public,

but the people that would be
implementing your research,

agencies, government officials, industry,

whoever it might be,

if they don't understand
how your research works

or they don't understand
directly the benefits of it,

then it doesn't really mean anything.

So in terms of engineering
service to society, you know,

if we want to be a service to society

we have to understand society

and we have to communicate with society.

So those are kind my
answer to that question.

- [Michelle] Is there anything
that you'd like to add?

- [Zachary] You know, no I don't think so,

looking through my notes here.

But yeah, I think in general,

again, I really like Michigan CEE

because there's a huge push,

or I feel the push, particularly in my lab

to do real world implementation,

and I really like that.

'Cause I think it's easy
in academia sometimes

to get wrapped up in theoretical research,

which is all important,
don't get me wrong,

but you could spend a whole, you know, PhD

and never see the direct impacts

of your research in the world.

And that works for some
people, doesn't work for me,

so that's why I really like it here.

- [Michelle] Thank you
for joining us today.

- [Zachary] Yeah, thanks for having me,

it was great.

(authoritative music)

- [Michelle] Thank you for listening

to our podcast conversation.

For more information
about CEE at Michigan,

please visit our website at cee.umich.edu.

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