Grad student and MwRSF researcher Ruskamp awarded USDOT Eisenhower Fellowship

Riley Ruskamp, a master's degree student in civil and environmental engineering and a graduate research assistant at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF), has received a Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP) provided Ruskamp with a $10,000 award that helps fund his research. The program requires recipients to attend the Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., where the recipients showcase their research.

Ruskamp has been working with Mojdeh Pajouh, research assistant professor at MwRSF, and has been part of research projects that include portable concrete barriers, breakaway luminaire supports, and impact attenuation systems. These projects are funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and various state departments of transportation.

"I am honored to receive this award as it serves as a recognition of the importance and impact of the research that I have been a part of, gives me an opportunity to showcase the knowledge and skills that I have developed throughout my academic career, and opens the door to several career opportunities I otherwise may not have come across," Ruskamp said.

The DDETFP provides fellowships to students pursuing degrees in transportation-related disciplines. This program advances the transportation workforce by helping attract the nation's brightest minds to the field of transportation, encouraging future transportation professionals to seek advanced degrees, and helping retain top talent in the U.S. transportation industry.

From its initial support of graduate research fellowships in 1983 to the current program's inception in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the DDETFP has awarded over $50 million to graduate students in the transportation industry. From this investment, fellows have pushed for innovative change in multimodal areas from highway infrastructure to aviation to maritime, making the industry more effective and efficient. Fellows pursue careers in academia, private industry, and public service, serving as leaders across the nation.