Transportation Research Internships
Summer Internships - 2020
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Josh Blackwell, a senior industrial and systems engineering student at N.C. A&T, worked under the guidance of Dr. Xiuli Qu, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at N.C. A&T. Blackwell researched Hurricane Dorian, occurring on August 24, 2019, traffic data and the ensuing evacuations in North Carolina. All instruction, research and communication were accomplished virtually. The resulting information will be used to assist in identifying specific factors that directly impacted evacuation traffic which could prove beneficial in the future.
Summer Internships - 2018
In the summer of 2018, three N.C. A&T students participated in the CATM Summer Research Internship Program. The program consisted of eight weeks of faculty-led research activities, professional development seminars, field trips and more. In addition to the skills and knowledge the students gained from their research experience, each individual received a $5,000 stipend plus a $600 housing allowance.
The eight-week program started with a research workshop to prepare the students for the research experience and consisted of two faculty-led research activities and transportation-related on-site visits. At the end of the internship, each student was required to present their research activities to the Summer Transportation High School class as well as other faculty and staff members at N.C. A&T.
Patti Kamara, who was a senior industrial system engineering major at the time, spent the summer researching and planning activities to study the LimeBike program on N.C. A&T’s campus. Under the direction of Maranda McBride, Ph.D., Kamara outlined a research project that included participants completing questionnaires before and after executing specific tasks on the LimeBike cell phone application and physical bikes. Patti is now a product operations engineer with Cisco in Durham, N. C.
Joseph Smith was a sophomore accounting major at the time and collaborated with Patti Kamara and Dr. McBride all summer on the LimeBike research. Because the planned experiment involved human subjects, N.C. A&T’s internal review board had to approve the experiment before proceeding into the final phase. After receiving approval from the board, the project continued into the fall semester.
Nnamdi Okoro, who was then a senior industrial system engineering major, assimilated research during the summer on the transportation challenges individuals face when getting themselves and supplies to and from food assistance locations. His research mentor was Shona Morgan, Ph.D., a faculty member in the N.C. A&T Department of Management. Nnamdi is now the founder of his own company, Onkoro Consulting, in Raleigh, N.C.
Summer Internships - 2017
Four students participated in the CATM Summer Research Internship Program, which consisted of eight weeks of faculty-led research activities, professional development seminars, field trips, and more. In addition to the invaluable knowledge students gained from the research experience, they received a $5,000 stipend plus a $600 housing allowance.
Kendall Henry, who was then a senior in the supply chain management program, worked under Dr. Maranda McBride, director of the Transportation Institute, and conducted an experiment focusing on pedestrian safety.
Stephon Jordan was a senior business management student. In his internship, he worked under Drs. Mary Lind and Rhonda Hensley, both from the management department, retrieving data from kidney dialysis centers throughout North Carolina to gain a better understanding of their transit systems. Jordan aspired to start a career in the real estate industry and go on to own an investment group, touching on industries from transportation to dining.
Aleckzandrya Jackson was a senior supply chain management student and worked as a summer research intern with Dr. McBride, Dr. Omar Woodham from the marketing, transportation and supply chain department, and Dr. Jeanne Holmes from the management department, on a License Plate Agency customer service improvement project funded by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Patrick Stanley was then a senior studying transportation and supply chain management. He worked under Dr. Xiuli Qu and Sachin Mhatre, a Ph.D. candidate in the industrial and systems engineering department, summarizing and organizing Hurricane Matthew data to be used to evaluate emergency management responses and activities. He was planning to pursue a career in the supply chain industry or possibly transportation research at that time. Currently, Patrick is a N.C. A&T Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate student with a supply chain management concentration and has been accepted as a Transportation Review Board (TRB) Minority Student Fellow for 2021.
