DEI Corner: Meet the 2024 DEI Scholarship Recipient, Jianyuan (William) Xu!
Posted by [email protected] on Apr. 22, 2024 / Mountain District Notifications / Subscribe 0
The ITE Mountain District Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee wants to highlight Jianyuan (William) Xu as the 2024 recipient of the DEI Scholarship. The scholarship was announced in the spring of 2023. The scholarship provided up to $1,000 in reimbursement for costs to attend the 2024 ITE Mountain District Annual Conference that will happen June 19-21, 2024, at Big Sky, Montana.
Applicants for the scholarship had to submit an essay that included a cover letter that incorporated a statement of financial need, a testimony on the benefits of attending the conference, their resume and a cost estimate of their travel and registration expenses. The application also required an essay describing the work, or a program of study done or completed by an applicant closely related to the ITE DEI values.
The DEI committee remains committed to providing as much assistance as we can to keep registration fees and other associated costs from being a barrier to conference attendance.
Introduction, in his own words:
My name is Jianyuan (William) Xu and I am a third-year Ph.D. student in the Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). I obtained my master’s degree in CEE from UNR and my bachelor’s degree in transportation engineering from Chongqing Jiaotong University, China. I have been working for the Center for Advanced Transportation Education and Research (CATER) at UNR as a graduate research assistant since 2020 and serve as the current president of the UNR Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) student chapter. Driven by the passion for solving real-world transportation problems, I have been actively involved in a variety of traffic engineering projects and academic research. My research areas mainly focus on traffic signal systems, freeway operation, and traffic safety. Outside of schoolwork, I enjoy spending time on bodybuilding, outdoor sports, cooking, and travel.
ITE Involvement Journey
My ITE involvement was motivated by my advisor, Dr. Zong Tian and got started by submitting a research paper and an abstract to the ITE Mountain District Daniel B. Fambro Student Paper Award and the Annual Meeting in 2022. The annual meeting attendance paved the way for me to connect to ITE by attending technical and student-focused sessions, competing in Student Traffic Bowl, and building friendships with a community of transportation professionals. Luckily, I continued my ITE journey by participating in the International and District Annual Meetings, Student Leadership Summits, ITE TRB Student Receptions as well as Mentorship Programs.
ITE DEI Success Story
After joining ITE as a student member, I have continuously benefitted from the strategic goal of increasing diversity and inclusion of student member engagement initiated by the ITE DEI committee. Participating in a variety of ITE student-focused activities, such as Student Traffic Bowl, Student Poster Session, mentorship program, etc., broadens my horizon in different aspects of transportation and lights up my future career path by connecting and interacting with a community of transportation professionals.
The DEI committee is proud to award the 2024 scholarship Jianyuan (William) Xu. When you see him at the 2024 ITE Mountain District Annual Conference, please congratulate him.
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