When
October 10, 2024
Time
11:45pm-1:00pm
Contact Hours
1
Location Online - Course
One Hour Webinar
Description
The Virginia LTAP, in partnership with the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), the research leg of VDOT, invite you to join us for a one-hour lunch and learn event. This new series will showcase VTRC’s transportation innovation and research.
These monthly, one-hour events will take place at various locations across the Commonwealth from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. You may join remotely via Zoom or attend in-person. Lunch will be provided for those who attend in-person. Those attending in-person will also receive some swag.
Topic: Optimizing Winter Road Maintenance through AI-Enhanced Decision-Making
The session will cover the evolving landscape of winter road maintenance and the pivotal role AI plays in this transformation. The one-hour session will delve into the historical advancements in snow removal practices and the collaborative efforts fostering the development of sophisticated decision-making tools.
A significant portion of our discussion will focus on the Smart Maintenance Decision Support System (SmartMDSS), an AI-based platform we are developing, designed to leverage real-time data for optimizing maintenance operations.
The presentation will highlight the critical role of data in forecasting weather conditions, the system’s capacity for learning from past experiences, and its application of visual recognition technologies to improve our understanding of road conditions. Our goal is to share insights on how AI technologies can enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of winter road maintenance.
Instructor
Kevin Waters
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Kevin Waters, Ph.D., P.E. is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Villanova University where he teaches courses in water resources and GIS at the undergraduate and graduate levels. A faculty member since 2016, he received the Teaching Excellence Award in 2022 from the Villanova University Engineering Alumni Society.
Dr. Waters has over 4.5 years of consulting experience, most recently as a Water Resources Engineer with Wood PLC in Chantilly, VA. In this position, he worked extensively in HEC-RAS and ArcGIS to conduct flood studies and flood impact analyses in support of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. He started in this type of work as a Senior Engineer at T.Y. Lin International-Medina in New Jersey, developing HEC-RAS models for numerous flood studies, including a 125-mile study of the Delaware River and streams in Erie County, NY. In total, Dr. Waters has developed and reviewed hundreds of miles of HEC-RAS stream models in VA, WV, MD, NY, NJ, and MO.
Dr. Waters completed his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the University of Virginia in 2014 with research focused in open channel hydraulics and sediment transport in unsteady flows. He earned his M.E in Civil Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, with a concentration in water resources, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Villanova University in 2007.
Registration and Payment
The following registration fees cover the session, all course materials and meals:
Local Government: Free
State/Federal: Free
Private Industry: Free
Click here for UVA TTA's general registration information, cancellation policy, and refund policy. UVA TTA accepts the following credit cards: American Express, VISA, MasterCard, and Discover. Credit card information cannot be taken over the phone. Alternatively, after registering you can print out a voucher to send in with your payment. After you have completed the transaction you will receive an automatically generated email confirming registration and payment if applicable. Final confirmation and instructions will be sent out during the week prior to the class date.
Special Registration Instructions for Employees of the Virginia Department of Transportation
VDOT employees must register through the VDOT Virtual Campus. Registration fees and related expenses for all VDOT employees will be paid from the VDOT Learning Services Center budget. Registrants should contact their District Training Coordinator or the VDOT Learning Services Center (Central Office employees) for instructions on how to seek reimbursement for travel expenses.
Due to current travel restrictions, VDOT employees are strongly encouraged to attend U. Va. TTA workshops on a day trip basis. Overnight travel requires permission from your District Administrator or Chief -- and in some cases higher levels of authority. If you require overnight lodging to attend a U. Va. TTA workshop, consult with your supervisor, District Training Coordinator, or VDOT Learning Services Center on travel approval procedures.