Western States Forum 2017: Image Gallery

The Western States Forum is organized and facilitated by a four-member Steering Committee. This Committee chooses abstracts, reviews presentations, and plans the logistics associated with the event. Steering Committee members are pictured here as they welcome participants to start the 2017 Western States Forum. Left to right: Leann Koon, Western Transportation Institute; Sean Campbell, Caltrans Division of Research, Innovation, and System Information (DRISI); Doug Galarus, Western Transportation Institute; and Jeremiah Pearce, Caltrans District 2.

Photo By: Jeff Worthington

To kick off the technical presentations at the 2017 Western States Forum, Caltrans District 2's ITS Engineers, Jeremiah Pearce (left) and Lonnie Hobbs (right) discussed the District 2 Field Element Network (FEN) and the Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) link security protocol that they have implemented.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

ITS Engineer Jeremiah Pearce started with a review of industrial networks and security in general and then discussed the District 2 FEN vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies. Here he shows some examples of CMS signs that have been hacked.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

In part 2 of the presentation, ITS Engineer Lonnie Hobbs described the implementation of District 2's PPPoE security protocol in detail, including hardware selection, router configuration, establishing a PPPoE connection, and password data encryption. Lonnie started with the basics of Ethernet as applied to District 2's FEN.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Jeremiah Pearce (front, seated) and Lonnie Hobbs (back, standing), Caltrans District 2, ended their presentation by demonstrating how easily access to the network could be gained without link security, and then how PPPoE could effectively mitigate this vulnerability.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Utah DOT Technology and Innovation Engineer, Blaine Leonard, discussed UDOT’s Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) deployment along the Redwood Road corridor in Salt Lake City. Blaine started with an overview of connected vehicle systems, and then explained their DSRC deployment, including location selection (pictured), software, hardware, installation, and project costs.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Blaine Leonard, Utah DOT Technology and Innovation Engineer, demonstrated their DSRC deployment, discussed the challenges faced, and made some recommendations based on lessons learned.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Oregon DOT ITS Standards Engineer, Doug Spencer, described the Advanced Transportation Controller (ATC) ITS firmware that ODOT worked to develop. Here, Doug explains some background on the project, including a review of key points from several previous Forum presentations related to the ATC and custom ITS applications.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Doug Spencer, an ITS Standards Engineer with the Oregon DOT, reviewed the needs for the ITS firmware ODOT helped to develop, uses of the ATC, and the many different sensors and devices that can operated in a standardized way utilizing the ATC and the controller’s application programming interface (API).

Photo By: Leann Koon

Nevada DOT’s Technology Manager, Jim Whalen, described the GIS-based, mobile asset management system that NDOT has worked to develop and implement.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Jim Whalen, Technology Manager for the Nevada DOT, demonstrated the features of their asset management system and discussed how NDOT is using the information to better manage traffic system assets.

Photo By: Leann Koon

WTI Principal Investigator, Doug Galarus, discussed the WeatherShare system which is the result of a multi-phase research project. Now in its fourth phase, this project is combining the functionality of WeatherShare, SCAN Web^TM, and SCAN Sentry^TM into a single, open system. Here, Doug shows an example interface for historical data.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Doug Galarus from the Western Transportation Institute walked through the various features of the current WeatherShare system, as well as the administrative functionality and technical details related to implementation. In this photo, Doug is showing a map display with Wind Speed and Direction.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Utah DOT’s Statewide Signal Engineer, Jamie Mackey, described UDOT’s automated traffic signal performance measures. Here, she’s kicking off the discussion with the question, “Why model what you can measure?”

Photo By: Leann Koon

Jamie Mackey, Statewide Signal Engineer for Utah DOT, explained the different automated traffic signal performance measures that UDOT is using to manage their signalized intersections.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Dr. Anurag Pande (pictured), an Associate Professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, teamed up with colleague Stephen Lakowske to present their research study that is utilizing naturalistic GPS driving data for the study of long-term safety performance of roadways.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Dr. Anurage Pande (left), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, shares some of the conclusions from their naturalistic GPS driving data study.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

After Dr. Pande described the data collection methods and analysis used in the study, Stephen Lakowske discussed technical considerations, industry needs, and various data collectors, including smartphones, that could be used to scale up such data collection and analysis.

Photo By: Leann Koon

In this photo, Stephen Lakowske reviews some of the ways data was collected for the SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Continuing the work presented at the 2013 Western States Forum, Caltrans has been testing a microwave radar detector that can distinguish between bicycles and cars or trucks. Martha Styer and John Slonaker, Senior Transportation Electrical Engineers, teamed up to describe the latest project results. Martha is shown here as she introduces the project and its background.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

For the first part of their presentation, Martha Styer discussed the project and the testing being done. She shared the results of studies in West Sacramento (pictured) and Huntington Beach, including lessons learned. She also discussed the C1 traffic detector reader and analyzer which is an inexpensive tool developed by Caltrans to diagnose and troubleshoot vehicle detector problems.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

One of the key parts of this study has been the C1 traffic detector reader and analyzer. During the second portion of their presentation, John Slonaker showed the C1 reader and its components (pictured).

Photo By: Leann Koon

John Slonaker showed the radar detection set-up, the C1 reader and its components, and demonstrated the VideoSync software used for this project.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Live demonstrations of ITS technologies give Forum attendees a more detailed, close-up look at systems, components, and actual deployments. Here, Forum participants watch as John Slonaker demonstrates the VideoSync software used for the Caltrans radar detection project.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Presentations at the Western States Forum are detailed and last between one to two hours, allowing speakers the opportunity to really delve into the technical details of a project. These photos show this year’s Forum participants as they listen to technical presentations.

Photos By: Doug Galarus

One of the more unique aspects of the Forum is that questions and discussion are encouraged throughout the presentation, not just at the end. Here, several individuals have their hands raised to ask a speaker a question.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

All the Forum presentations generated several questions and prompted dialogue among participants. In the photo below, Bryan Prestel (left), California Department of Water Resources, discusses a point made during Caltrans District 2’s network security demonstration.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Networking sessions and meals provided good opportunities for the Forum attendees to meet and discuss Rural ITS technology implementations. This year, 48 participants represented seven states, six state DOTs, the FHWA, three universities, the California Department of Water Resources, ten of the twelve Caltrans Districts, and several groups from Caltrans Headquarters. Below, attendees are networking during the Tuesday evening meal.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Participants are networking during the Tuesday evening no-host reception.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Before the technical program begins on Wednesday morning, several repeat attendees visit with each other. Left to right: Sean Campbell, Caltrans DRISI; Doug Spencer, Oregon DOT; Jeremiah Pearce, Caltrans District 2; and Brian Simi, Caltrans Headquarters.

Photo By: Leann Koon

After the WeatherShare Phase 4 presentation, Bryan Prestel from the California Department of Water Resources, Snow Surveys, asks speaker Doug Galarus a few more questions.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Yreka is in rural northern California in Caltrans District 2 and provides an appropriate setting for in-depth dialogue about rural ITS system design and implementation. To maintain the rural perspective and continue to foster transparency and trust with an informal atmosphere, the Wednesday evening dinner and networking session were held at a local park.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Participants network during the Wednesday evening social and dinner at Upper Greenhorn Park.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Participants network during the Wednesday evening social and dinner at Upper Greenhorn Park. Pictured in the center is Ian Turnbull, one of the founders of the Western States Forum. He retired in March and it was nice to see him for a visit at Wednesday’s event.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Participants network during the Wednesday evening social and dinner at Upper Greenhorn Park.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Having equipment on display for demonstration during networking sessions and presentations was an asset to the Forum and its participants. In this photo, Mike Beyer (right) from Caltrans District 2 is visiting with Edward Ofori-Abebresse (left) from FHWA. Directly behind Mike are some of District 2’s out-of-pavement RWIS sensors which Mike discussed at last year’s Forum.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Jim Whalen from the Nevada DOT examines Caltrans District 2’s ITS Node Equipment Cabinet.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Speaker Blaine Leonard from Utah DOT brought some of the DSRC radios and a poster describing their DSRC deployment in Salt Lake City for attendees to examine during breaks and networking sessions.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Each participant receives a personalized notebook which contains copies of the presentations to use during the technical program. To facilitate networking and sharing of ideas and experiences after the Forum is completed, the notebooks also contain contact information for each of the Forum participants. Here, Ken Vomaske, Caltrans District 5, looks through the notebook in preparation for the next presentation.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Forum Steering Committee member Sean Campbell (right) of Caltrans DRISI recognizes 11-time Forum attendee Phil Graham (left) of Caltrans District 9 with a Certificate of Participation.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

The Karl Moskowitz Award annually recognizes Caltrans registered engineers who have made major contributions to the field of transportation engineering. Award winners must have contributed to the field through effective and exemplary leadership; innovation in design, process, or procedure; publications, papers, presentations, and affiliations; and demonstrated public benefit from the individual’s area of responsibility. This year’s winner was Sean Campbell (pictured left). In the photo on the right, Sean’s colleagues from Caltrans Headquarters, Brian Simi (left) and Steve Hancock (right), congratulate and recognize Sean for his accomplishments. Congratulations, Sean!

Photos By: Leann Koon

Here is some of what the nomination included:

"Sean has been a tireless champion for ensuring that Caltrans’ Intelligent Transportation System field elements are operating and well-maintained. Sean’s contributions have been crucial in enabling the traveling public to receive accurate, timely and reliable information about highway conditions and have allowed Caltrans to better manage the existing system by giving the Department the tools and information it needs to make more informed decisions. Sean is also one of the founders and key organizers for the Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum, an annual event that attracts participants from the western United States."

Forum Steering Committee member Doug Galarus prepares for the start of the technical program and posts the agenda for participants to review. Doug recently took a new position as an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Utah State University. He has been involved with the Forum since its beginning and we hope he will continue to participate in future events. Thank you, Doug, for helping to guide this event and insuring its continued success.

Photo By: Leann Koon

Pictured at Forum registration are Leann Koon (left) and Marlene Woodard (right). Leann is the Forum coordinator and Marlene was the event planner.

Photo By: Doug Galarus

Regan Campbell was the audio technician for the Forum. She kept the sound system adjusted at optimal levels during each speaker’s presentation. Thanks, Regan!

Photo By: Doug Galarus