Since 2018, the National Center for Sustainable Transportation has participated in the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) program, an intensive four-week summer residential program for students who have demonstrated an aptitude for academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
NCST Director Susan Handy and UC Davis faculty Miguel Jaller and Alan Jenn spend four weeks with 20+ high school students from throughout California as a part of the program. The aim of the program, which takes place at four of the UC campuses, is to create a community of students who participate in and contribute to an intensive academic experience delivered by distinguished educators and scholars.
Drs. Handy, Jaller, and Jenn lead a “cluster” on the topic of sustainable transportation, introducing students to concepts such as travel demand modeling, freight logistics, street design, travel behavior surveys, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicle technology. Past field trips have included a visit to a UPS facility, a bike tour of Davis, and a ride on the Capitol Corridor train to the new Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco.
At the end of the four weeks, students present their own projects on various topics, such as transit-oriented development, wildfire evacuation, and traffic flow modeling.