ITE Student Chapter Earns Victory at Traffic Bowl

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Top row, from left: Mir Ali and Mariah Crews; bottom: Sanjeev Bhurtyal and Simon Rothwell.

At the spring 2021 meeting of the Missouri Valley District of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (MOVITE), teams from the University of Arkansas, Washington University and the University of Kansas competed in the annual Traffic Bowl. This was the inaugural competition of this “Jeopardy” style quiz game, witnessed by more than two hundred professional MOVITE chapter members.

The Arkansas team, mentored by civil engineering assistant professor Sarah Hernandez, consisted of undergraduates Mir Ali, Mariah Crews, Simon Rothwell, and Ph.D. student Sanjeev Bhurtyal. Along with their victory in the Traffic Bowl, the team tied for 1st place with their chapter video submission. The video can be viewed on YouTube.

In addition to the team recognition, civil engineering student Mariah Crews has been awarded the Jan Kibbe Student Scholarship and civil engineering assistant professor Sarah Hernandez has been named the Patrick T. McCoy Educator Professional of the Year.

Due to COVID restrictions the MOVITE spring meeting was held virtually. The Traffic Bowl competition can be viewed on YouTube. With their victory in the Traffic Bowl, this team of traffic engineers will next compete at the upcoming ITE National Meeting, which due to COVID protocols will also be held virtually.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers is the professional society of persons engaged in the planning, design and operation of streets, highways, and other transportation facilities. The Missouri Valley District, consisting of members from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, was chartered in 1951 with the University of Arkansas chapter joining in 1993.