Graduate students Andrea Hamre and Kyle Lukacs awarded 2015 Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship
The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program has recognized two Virginia Tech graduate students in the School of Public and International Affairs in the National Capital Region.
Andrea Hamre from Roseville, Minnesota, a doctoral student in the Planning, Governance and Globalization program and Kyle Lukacs from Kensington, Maryland, in his second year of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program have each been awarded a 2015 Eisenhower Fellowship.
The fellowship program is managed by the Technology Partnership Program of the Federal Highway Administration. It encompasses all modes of transportation and recognizes students pursuing transportation-related disciplines and careers in transportation.
As a doctoral student, Hamre was awarded $10,000; as a master’s student, Lukacs received $5,000. The two also got funding to attend the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in January 2016.
Hamre, a full-time doctoral student for the 2015-2016 academic year, is working on her dissertation entitled "Trends and Determinants of Household Vehicle Ownership and Commuting Across Five Northeast Metropolitan Regions."
Earlier this year, she was awarded a Citizen Scholar Award from the Graduate School at Virginia Tech. Hamre is dedicated to community service, professional and academic experience, and training in transportation. She participated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups in 2010 and continued as a research assistant during the next academic year. Hamre has also volunteered in a number of local and regional organizations and served on a number of committees related to transportation.
Lukacs is a research assistant for Ralph Buehler, associate professor of urban affairs and planning and a faculty Fellow at the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. Previously, Lukacs worked as coordinator for Safe Routes to School for Arlington Public Schools and for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s National Transportation Alternatives Clearinghouse. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Utah.
Lukacs said that the fellowship will help him explore bike share systems. His research will focus on the barriers to bike share use; how bike share connects to transit; and how bike share can assist commuters and increase access to jobs through improved accessibility.
“We are very proud that two outstanding students in the School of Public and International Affairs have received this prestigious award,” said Anne Khademian, the school’s director. “The Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship acknowledges the impact that Andrea and Kyle have already had on their communities and will contribute to their continuing research to influence transportation policies across the country."
Andrea Hamre and Kyle Lukacs
Left to right: Andrea Hamre and Kyle Lukacs, graduate students in the School of Public and International Affairs in the National Capital Region, have each been awarded a 2015 Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship.
