ITRE / News / News Archives / News Release 3-27-08

ITRE Organizes and Participates in U.S. - Portuguese Transportation Symposium

March 27, 2008

Raleigh, NC - Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) Director Nagui Rouphail traveled to Portugal this month to participate in the formation of the Luso-American Transportation Impacts Study Group (LATIS-G). The purpose of this group is to identify and discuss priority topics related to transportation systems impacts in the United States and Portugal. Dr. H. Christopher Frey, professor of Environmental Engineering at NC State was also a member of the U.S. team and LATIS-G.

In order to complete this task, LATIS-G held a two-day symposium titled, “Transportation Systems Impacts in the United States and Portugal” on March 6-7 in Lisbon. The core members, made up of professors and researchers from Portuguese and American research institutions, agreed to collaborate on a variety of research topics that will benefit both countries. They also defined a list of short-term initiatives that will further develop the collaboration.

LATIS-G is initially funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Luso-American Foundation (FLAD). Created in 1985, FLAD is a private, financially independent Portuguese institution whose goal is to contribute toward Portugal’s development by providing financial and strategic support for innovative projects by fostering cooperation between Portuguese and American civil society.

In addition to his work with LATIS-G, Rouphail will co-advise a Ph.D. candidate, Guilhermina Torrão, from the University of Aveiro with another LATIS-G member, Dr. Margarida Coelho. Torrão will split her time between ITRE in Raleigh and Aveiro.

In June 2007, Rouphail initialed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between North Carolina State University and the University of Aveiro in Portugal. The MOU was subsequently signed by the vice chancellors for research from the two universities. This understanding promotes collaboration between the two universities – with a particular focus on transport and environmental impacts –to motivate the formulation of a joint research proposal aimed at addressing some common problems in both countries. To see photos from Rouphail’s visit to Portugal, please go to: www.itre.ncsu.edu/ITREmain/news/SS_08Portugal/SS_08Portugal.html

The Institute for Transportation Research and Education, administered by North Carolina State University, is a non-profit organization that conducts research, education, and technical assistance projects on a wide variety of surface transportation issues with the goals of solving problems and creating new products, better services, and smarter workers. ITRE is located on NCSU's Centennial Campus. For more information about ITRE and its related programs, please visit our Web site at www.itre.ncsu.edu.

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