Six NDSU transportation and logistics doctoral students are set to present their research at the Transportation Research Forum’s 2017 Annual Forum April 20-21 at the University of Illinois in Chicago. The forum is an independent organization of transportation professionals dedicated to providing an impartial meeting ground for carriers, shippers, government officials, consultants, university researchers and suppliers seeking an exchange of information and ideas.
Fangzheng Yuan will present “Bus Route Design for Homeless Shelters in Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area.” The study examines a new bus route that connects major homeless shelters in the Fargo-Moorhead area to provide a safe, continuous and efficient bus route for homeless individuals. The researchers studied the background of related groups to find out the shortcomings of current bus routes for the homeless shelters. Two bus route plans were generated; a corresponding route timetable was made after the optimal route plan identified. Two transport tool options were provided and a cost analysis was conducted help to select the better option.
Yuan Xu will present “Age-Based Policy for Blood Transshipment in a Two-Echelon Inventory System.” Co-writer is Joseph Szmerekovsky, NDSU professor of management. The researchers developed an optimization model for blood transshipment for a two-echelon platelet inventory system. The model was developed to manage blood resources more efficiently, reduce the loss of perishable blood products, reduce costs and improve service.
Poyraz Kayabas will present “The Impact of the Graduated Driver Licensing Program in Preventing Motor Vehicle Crashes in North Dakota.” Researchers analyzed motor vehicle crashes involving teen drivers in North Dakota to evaluate the changes in crash rates and crash characteristics after the introduction of new graduated driver licensing components such as a minimum amount of supervised driving and a nighttime driving restriction.
N. Muhammad Aslaam Mohamed Abdu “Nick” Ghani will present “Potential Biogas Production from Animal Manure: A Supply Chain Perspective.” Co-writers are transportation and logistics student Yong Shin Park, NDSU assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering Chrysafis Vogiatzis and Szmerekovsky. The researchers studied the manure biogas supply chain to identify potential locations for anaerobic digesters or plants.
Yong Shin Park will present “Carbon Sensitive Optimization of Biogas Supply Chains Produced from Animal Waste.” Co-writers include Park, Szmerekovsky and Ghani. Biogas from animal manure is more energy efficient than existing biomass products, but also minimize the carbon emissions. So, researchers studied a mixed integer linear programming model that minimizes total supply cost and carbon emissions from animal waste sourced biogas supply chain. They also incorporated carbon policy into the model to see the impact of different carbon policies on supply chain decisions.
Narendra Malalgoda will present “Effect of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection on Airfares in the U.S. Domestic Airline Industry.” Co-writer is Siew Hoon Lim, associate professor of agribusiness and applied economics at NDSU. The researchers examined the effects of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on airfares in the U.S. domestic airline industry using ticket 2001-2012 data. Results show that airfares charged by a bankrupt airline are approximately 4 percent lower than airfares of other airlines. Individually, two airlines lowered their airfares as much as 16-19 percent during bankruptcy protection.
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