USDOT Region V Regional University Transportation Center

The NEXTRANS Center is pleased to announce the selection of Jeff Peters as the 2011 NEXTRANS Student of the Year. Jeff will be honored by the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) on January 21, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Jeff is currently pursuing a M.S. in economics and a Ph.D. in transportation engineering and infrastructure systems at Purdue University. He received a B.S.E. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan in 2008 and worked for two years with Northrop Grumman Space Technology. His research interests include public policy, infrastructure policy, infrastructure resiliency, sustainability, energy security, national security, and system-of-systems.

In addition to his studies, Jeff actively pursues opportunities to become involved in his community. Prior to attending Purdue, Jeff worked with the Los Angeles city government to address infrastructure issues as an auxiliary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Metro Los Angeles Branch (MLAB). Currently, Jeff maintains steady involvement in outreach activities in the Purdue and Greater Lafayette area. Most recently, he has volunteered as a session chair and judge for a summer undergraduate research symposium, judged an elementary and middle school science fair, and addressed the need for informed policymaking as a graduate mentor for an undergraduate engineering team. He has also founded two different organizations at Purdue dedicated to connecting students, faculty and staff with similar interests and goals across disciplines. As part of one of these organizations, he has raised over $12,000 and has secured several high-profile speakers to bring TEDx (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) events to Purdue to help foster commercialization of university research.

Jeff was selected because of his technical vision, passion for mentorship, leadership in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional achievements in the field of sustainable transportation and its linkage to energy and policy.