El Puente

[ENG] Meet the new directors of the Transportation Technology Transfer Center!

By Pedro Villalta | Published November 16, 2023 | No Comments

        Dr. Alberto M. Figueroa-Medina, a native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, is a Civil Engineer, and a specialist in Transportation Systems and Infrastructure. Dr. Figueroa-Medina obtained his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Civil Engineering in the year 1997 and a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering in 1999 at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez (UPRM). Later in the year 2005, Dr. Figueroa obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering at Purdue University from the state of Indiana of the United States.

        Dr. Figueroa-Medina is  a professor, was the past Director of the Civil Infrastructure Research Center and the Associate Director of the UPRM Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying. He has experience in the administration and operation of collective transportation systems as the past President and General Manager of the Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA, for its acronym in Spanish), and as the first Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Integrated Transit Authority (ATI, for its acronym in Spanish) during the 2013-2016 period.

        Dr. Figueroa Medina has previous experience working with technology transfer and training programs as PRLTAP/T Deputy Director from 2017 to 2011. For the past 23 years, Dr. Figueroa-Medina has been one of the CenterInstructors offering 50 seminars (both in-person and remote modes) for about 392 contact-hours in seminars conducted in Puerto Rico of the USVI. Now we welcome him as one of the new directors of the Transportation Technology Transfer Center.

       Regarding his professional associations, Dr. Figueroa-Medina is a member of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico (CIAPR, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE, for its acronym in Spanish), being president of the Puerto Rico Section throughout 2011 and 2012. He has been a member of technical committees of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) associated with the geometric design of highways and road safety. Currently, Dr. Figueroa-Medina is an Associate Director representing the UPRM at the National Institute for Congestion Reduction (NICR) and at the Coastal Research and Education Actions for Transportation Equity (CREATE), which are university transportation centers of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). He is the author of multiple technical publications in different local and international conferences and in professional journals of the TRB, ASCE, ASEE, ITE and CIAPR, among many other organizations.

        Dr. Didier M. Valdés-Díaz was born in Santa Marta, Colombia. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Civil Engineering from the Universidad La Gran Colombia in Bogotá, Colombia, his Master’s of Science in Traffic and Transportation Engineering from the El Cauca University in Popayán Colombia, and his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin.

        Dr. Valdés-Díaz is a professor of the Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM, for its acronym in Spanish). Dr. Valdés-Díaz has worked in educational activities, research, and service to the community, both at the UPRM and at other international institutions of higher education. Besides this, he has more than 25 years of national and international experience. His dedication to education and research in transportation engineering, his passion for education and the promotion of new generations of engineering professionals have characterized his professional career.

        Dr. Valdés-Díaz has actively participated in high-level research sponsored by multiple entities, which include (but does limit to) the following: National Science Foundation (NSF), Federal highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), U.S. Department of Education (USDoEd), Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP, for its acronym in Spanish), Highway and Transportation Authority (ACT, for its acronym in Spanish), Public Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority (AFI, for its acronym in Spanish).  

        Additionally, Dr. Valdés-Díaz has served administrative positions in the UPRM, as associate dean for student issues, director of the office for Graduate studies, and as a special assistant of the UPRM rector for international matters. In addition, Dr. Valdés-Díaz has participated in multiple committees at the department, faculty, academic senate and in institutional committees.

        Dr. Valdés-Díaz has participated in multidisciplinary and of multi-campus research projects. He is the lead researcher of the University Transportation Center (UTC) in the UPRM, denominated “SaferSim” (Safety Research Using Simulation). Dr. Valdés-Díaz is also in charge of the UPRM’s transportation laboratory, which includes a virtual driving simulator, and is the lead researcher of two National UTC projects denominated as the National Institute for Congestion Reduction (NICR). Moreover, Dr. Valdés-Díaz was the director of a large-scale USDoEd educational project, titled as the Transformational Initiative for Graduate Education and  Research (TIGER) in the UPRM.

        Dr. Valdés-Díaz has been a member of various professional organizations, such as (but does not limit to) the following: the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Transportation Research Board (TRB), American Society of Engineer Education (ASEE), TRB’s New Public Transportation Systems and Technology Committee, and TRB’s  Highway Capacity Committee. He has published his research in peer-reviewed journals, such as Accident Analysis and Prevention, Transportation Research Record, ITE Journal, Journal of Advance Transportation, in which he has presented them at numerous national and international conferences.

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