Four engineering Ph.D. students have received prestigious 2025 Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowships, a showing that highlights Vanderbilt’s strengths as a hub of transportation research, connected cities, resilience and sustainability.
Eisenhower fellows will be recognized at the 104th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies in Washington D.C. January 5–9, 2025. Lauren Gardner, one of the awardees, is one of only four fellows nationwide invited to present at the annual meeting. All other Eisenhower Fellows present at a poster session.
“It is an exceptional honor for Lauren to be selected to address the National Academy of Sciences, Transportation Research Board at its annual Eisenhower Fellows lectern session,” said Mark Abkowitz, Distinguished Professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies. “Lauren’s research, focused on strengthening climate resilience on our nation’s highway system, is addressing a critical problem with important implications on our future mobility and travel safety.”
The awardees are:
Lauren Gardner, P.E., civil and environmental engineering, advised by Mark Abkowitz. Gardner is a transportation research engineer and prior to her time at Vanderbilt, she was a full-time consultant at Wood (now WSP), working on various projects related to strategic management, transportation asset management, pavement management, and data visualization for various federal and state projects. Her research focuses on transportation asset management and resilience planning. This is her third appointment as an Eisenhower Fellow.
George Gunter, civil and environmental engineering, advised by Dan Work, professor of civil and environmental engineering and professor of computer science. Gunter’s research interests are broadly in applications of cyber-physical systems to civil infrastructure, specializing in smart and connected transportations systems with a focus on traffic modeling and control. This is his third appointment as an Eisenhower Fellow. Gunter is a research assistant in the Vanderbilt Institute for Software Integrated Systems and Vanderbilt Engineering Center for Transportation and Operational Resiliency. This is his second appointment as an Eisenhower Fellow.
Alex Richardson, computer science, advised by Jonathan Sprinkle, professor and chair of computer science, professor of civil and environmental engineering and electrical and computer engineering. Richardson is a graduate research assistant in the Vanderbilt Institute for Software Integrated Systems. His research focuses on the real-world deployment of cyber-physical systems and explainable AI. This is his second appointment as an Eisenhower Fellow.
Najma Thomas, civil and environmental engineering, advised by Mark Abkowitz. Her research focuses on sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience. Thomas explores the integration of wearable technology to mitigate heat stress, addressing challenges posed by climate change and urbanization. This involves developing predictive models to assess heat stress and inform infrastructure design and policy improvements for vulnerable communities. This is her first appointment as an Eisenhower Fellow.
Fellows are selected through a competitive process that includes university panels and a national selection panel. The awards, up to $35,000 each, are made by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. The Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program aims to attract the nation’s brightest scholars to the field of transportation and advance transportation workforce development.
Contact: brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu