Engineering graduate student awarded scholarship
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Baraah Qawasmeh, a Western Michigan University graduate student, has been awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Michigan section of the Institute of Transportation Engineering. The organization annually awards four scholarships to Michigan engineering students based on an essay on the topic “My Future in Transportation,” recommendations from professors and professional or academic achievements.
“I am proud to be part of Western Michigan University, and it is an honor to represent my school with the ITE award,” says Qawasmeh, a doctoral student in Western’s civil engineering program from Findlay, Ohio.
Qawasmeh’s research interests include intelligent transportation systems, travel demand modeling, smart cities and urban transportation planning. She is the 2021-22 president of the WMU student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineering and this year’s recipient of the WMU Georgeau Family Graduate Student Scholarship.
“My long-term career goal is to become a leading engineering expert in the field of urban transportation planning,” says Qawasmeh. “As a professional, I want to create strategic designs and provide practical solutions that cater to the needs of various transportation development situations."
She earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology. She also has a master’s degree in civil engineering, specializing in transportation and highway engineering from the University of Dayton in Ohio, where she earned the Graduate Student Showcase Award and Patricia Mullins Smith Fellowship for her academic achievements
Dr. Jun-Seok Oh, director of Western’s Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities and professor of civil and construction engineering serves as Qawasmeh’s supervising faculty for her doctoral studies and recommended her for the scholarship.
About Michigan ITE
The Institute of Transportation Engineers Michigan section includes over 300 transportation professionals, students and technical affiliates who in Michigan. Five times each year, the Michigan Section hosts technical sessions where presentations are made to the broad transportation community.
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