Featured in Technology Today (Volume 37, Issue 4), a quarterly publication of the Louisiana Transportation Research Center.
Keeping Louisiana’s brightest young minds in the state is crucial to the future growth and development of its transportation engineering workforce, and DOTD’s Engineering Co-Op Program represents a valuable effort in achieving that goal. The program, which is organized and executed through LTRC each semester, partners with civil engineering students at six Louisiana universities—Louisiana State University, Southern University-Baton Rouge, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, McNeese State University, University of New Orleans, and Louisiana Tech University—to provide them with hands-on experience in the department’s various districts and sections.
Through year-round employment with the department, the Co-Op program is intended to enhance students’ education by enabling them to practically explore their interest in engineering, while simultaneously adding significant value to the department’s ongoing efforts to enhance the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of Louisiana’s transportation infrastructure.
On April 17-18, LTRC hosted the spring cohort of Co-Op students for two days of in-person and virtual presentations highlighting their research projects across the state. This semester’s participating students were:
• Myandra Gildon (LSU), presenting “Protecting Communities: The Dam Safety Program in Action”
• Tatum Bonura (LSU), presenting “Evaluating the Chloride Content of Portland Cement Concrete using Titration (ASTM C1152)”
• Kallie Broussard (McNeese), presenting “LA 384 @ Gauthier-Haymark Road”
• Sam Haase (Louisiana Tech), presenting “LA Hwy 151 Bridge Replacements and Downtown Ruston Revitalization Projects”
• Nicholas Vu (LSU), presenting “Intelligent Transportation Systems Lab at LTRC”
• James McMath (LSU), presenting “3-Peak vs 4-Peak Data for SARA Grouping”
• Claire LeBlanc (ULL), presenting “Evaluating Moisture-Density Relationships”
• Taylor Rachal (Louisiana Tech), presenting “Ruston Progress”
• John Cole Woods (McNeese), presenting “Signal Upgrade & Nelson Bridge Extension”
• A’Kera Kelly (Southern), presenting “Implementing Intelligent Transportation System for Seamless Connectivity”
• Briana Smith (Southern), presenting “Bridging Opportunities: Designing the Path to Success”
• Brock Boudreaux (ULL), presenting “LA 321: Creek Bridges”
• Nathan Mahoney (LSU), presenting “Review and Coordination of Consultant Roadway Design Projects at LADOTD HQ”
Stacey Wilton, LTRC’s Education Outreach Program Manager, highlights the immense value of the Co-Op Program to both university students and the ongoing work of LTRC and DOTD:
“Our cooperative education program is a great opportunity for our state’s civil engineering students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply this knowledge to real-world projects across the state, in partnership with a Professional Engineer mentor. Through this experience, they are developing not only their technical skills but their professional skills as well. This program enables LTRC to advance its mission to train the transportation workforce of the future for the benefit of everyone in Louisiana.”
For more information on the LTRC Co-Op Program, please contact Education Outreach Program Manager Stacey Wilton at (225) 767-9141 or stacey.wilton@la.gov.