The Purdue ITE chapter arranges field trips and technical tours for its members, such as this outing to Subaru of Indiana Automotive in Lafayette.

Institute of Transportation Engineers readies undergraduate students through professional development and networking opportunities

Two years ago, Lauren Jenkins had never heard of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. In August 2023, the senior from Tallahassee, Florida, attended the organization’s annual meeting and accepted the Best Student Chapter Award on behalf of the Purdue University student chapter of ITE. It was the second year in a row Purdue’s chapter earned this top recognition.

“I was honored to represent Purdue during the ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibition,” said Jenkins, who served as the chapter’s first undergraduate deputy during the 2022-23 school year. “It was wonderful to meet transportation professionals and fellow students from all over the globe.”

Jenkins, who’s now the group’s webmaster, first learned about ITE from employees at the Tallahassee HNTB office during her summer internship there in 2022. It motivated her to seek out the Purdue student chapter which was formed in 1977 but historically maintained a primarily graduate student membership. In recent years, the organization has amped up its advertising and provided scholarship assistance to recruit
more undergraduate student members.

“In ITE, undergraduates benefit from learning what the field of transportation has to offer,” Jenkins said. “A lot of people think it’s just roads, but there’s a lot more to it than that. You also make connections with academic researchers and industry professionals. ITE helped me figure out what I want to do as I progressed in civil engineering.”

Students clean up trash along a two-mile section of a country road the ITE chapter maintains as part of Tippecanoe County’s Adopt-a-Road program.

One way Purdue’s ITE student chapter is expanding opportunities to undergraduates is by offering the Jack V. Skillman Award. The award provides financial support for qualified undergraduate students to attend the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Jenkins was named a recipient in 2023 and 2024. After she completes her degree this May, she plans to return to the Tallahassee HNTB office as a full-time employee.

Haydn Malackowski (BSCE’22), a second-year master’s student, was a recipient of the award in 2022. This year, he served as the Purdue ITE chapter’s TRB coordinator, managing travel and housing logistics for the Purdue group that attended the meeting in January.

“Support from the Skillman Award allowed me to attend the TRB meeting as an undergraduate,” Malackowski said. “I saw Purdue’s impact on the field first-hand. We’re fortunate to learn from professors who are recognized worldwide. Seeing the various presentations and networking with professionals from all over the world made me realize I wanted to pursue a graduate degree at Purdue.”

A site visit to May Mobility where students learned about the company’s autonomous vehicle technology.

Whether students opt to go directly into the workforce or advance their education, membership in ITE helps undergraduates navigate the options available to them.

“We host presentations by practicing professionals with great technical experience who can share their career trajectory and speak to our students about their own goals,” said chapter advisor Darcy Bullock, the Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering and director of the Joint Transportation Research Program. “These conversations help students identify their career aspirations and develop networking skills. Whether it’s the commissioner for the Indiana Department of Transportation or a recent Purdue graduate who’s now consulting in Chicago, students are eager to learn from professionals in the field.”

Scenes from the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

ITE members are also encouraged to participate in the Purdue Road School Transportation Conference and Expo, an annual event that convenes 3,000 transportation professional representatives from state and local agencies, industry and academia. Student poster sessions allow students to share their research and engage with transportation colleagues from across the state.

“The community of transportation professionals is close-knit,” Malackowski said. “Everyone knows each other in the industry so the earlier you make those connections, the better off you’ll be launching your career. Purdue’s ITE student chapter is a great place to start.”

Bringing Home the Hardware

Purdue’s transportation engineers are consistently recognized at regional and national levels.

Lauren Jenkins and Rajat Verma accept the 2023 Best Student Chapter Award during the ITE Annual Meeting in August.

2023 Best Student Chapter Award
ITE Annual Meeting

2023 Outstanding Chapter Award
Great Lakes ITE District Annual Meeting

2023 First Place in Student Design Competition
Great Lakes ITE District Annual Meeting

2023 Second Place in Traffic Bowl Competition
Great Lakes ITE District Annual Meeting

2022 Best Student Chapter Award
ITE Annual Meeting

2022 Outstanding Chapter Award
Great Lakes ITE District Annual Meeting

2022 ITE Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award
Presented to Professor Darcy Bullock