ITS Berkeley hosted their annual holiday lunch and awards program Dec. 13, 2019 to celebrate staff, faculty, research and all the accomplishments the Institute and its Centers have achieved in the last year. Check out our photos on Facebook. This year’s awards go to:
ITS Distinguished Legacy Award
Pravin Varaiya
In recognition of his groundbreaking research and exemplary support of student research and education.
ITS Faculty of the Year Award
Alex Skabardonis
In recognition of his exemplary support of student research and education.
ITS Distinguished Award for Advancement of Research and Innovation
Jeff Morales
In recognition of his long-standing support of ITS Berkeley in his numerous roles in the public and private sector in California, as well as an ITS Visiting Scholar. Jeff regularly provides feedback on our projects and lectures in classes and seminars whenever he is invited. He has been a great supporter of ITS Berkeley.
ITS Team Leadership Award
Joseph Butler
In recognition of his passion to improve mobility in California and an unsurpassed dedication to the Connected Corridors Team. Joseph has envisioned, developed, and continues to provide unmatched leadership to a now formidable ITS Team called Connected Corridors. Joe has never wavered in his commitment to this program and his team, and as such this UC Berkeley team leads the world in the development of innovative Integrated Corridor Management Systems!
ITS Distinguished Service Award
Laura Podolsky
In recognition of her outstanding support of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the Campus, UC System, and State of California levels.
ITS Culture of Excellence Award
Angie Abbatecola
In recognition of the extraordinary level of service she delivers and the inspiration she is to her team.
ITS Staff of the Year Award
Bernadette Tan Edwards
In recognition of her outstanding contributions and enthusiasm for ITS, we want to recognize Bernie for all her contributions to ITS and the amazing effort she puts in to help all of us here at ITS. No one works harder, is prouder to be a member of ITS, and is more willing to contribute to the success of the institute than Bernie and we want to thank her for that.
SafeTREC Excellence Award
Sang Hyouk Oum
Sang Hyouk Oum demonstrates excellence in all he does at SafeTREC. During his 10+ years at SafeTREC, he has made remarkable contributions to a wide range of transportation safety tools that are either already being used in safety planning by Caltrans, OTS, the CHP, and local agencies, or at an advanced developmental stage for State-wide implementation. The quality of his work is recognized by colleagues, students, and agencies.
TSRC Outstanding Staff Award
Adam Cohen
This is in recognition of his outstanding efforts in advancing transportation research on Shared Mobility, Urban Air Mobility, Mobility on Demand, and other emerging innovations. In addition to this work, Adam has been deeply committed to and involved in representing TSRC at numerous conferences, meetings, and symposia. He also works tirelessly with our partners, students, and the research team at TSRC.
TechTransfer Outstanding Staff Award
Jay Johnson
In recognition of his exemplary commitment and effort to TechTransfer and his teammates.
ITS Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award
Flore Mountsambote
Flore has taken advantage of all the transportation planning courses offered at the undergraduate level in the College of Environmental Design in the three and a half years she has spent at UC Berkeley earning her bachelor's degree, in addition to completing an internship at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center and her selection for the California Transportation Foundation Conference.
TechTransfer Instructor of the Year Award
Rafat Raie
In recognition of extraordinary dedication to continuing education and efficacy in the classroom.
Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Mustapha Harb
In recognition of Mustapha's innovative "chauffeur project," which provides regular people with drivers to study what life may be like with a fully self-driving vehicle — not an easy project to get through the University! Mustapha persevered through two years of bureaucratic hurdles with the utmost professionalism and grace.